The aurora borealis (northern lights) light up the night sky and a reflection glows in the lake in the Mentasta Mountains, boreal forest, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image above to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

Here’s another northern lights photo. This one I tried my darndest to catch the reflection in the foreground, but the slight breeze thwarted my every effort.

I’m seriously considering buying the Nikon 24mm 1.4 lens, specifically for northern lights photos. The difference in shutter speed with that lens, versus using a 2.4mm lens, is enormous.

For example, this northern lights photo was taken at f.28 and a shutter speed of 25 seconds. That means after the exposure, is then need to let the camera effectively take another 25 second exposure for noise reduction .. meaning the total time elapsed is 50 seconds. That’s a lot of time to be not shooting. it also means, with that long exposure, the lights tend to wash out a little, and lose definition that comes with a faster shutter speed.

Conversely, if you happen to be suffering from Strep throat induced diarrhea, the longer exposure can work to your benefit; you’ll certainly not be in any rush for the camera to finish doing it’s business while you tend your own. Just say’n, cause trust me, it CAN happen! 🙂

On the other hand, a lens with max aperture of 1.4 is 2 whole stops faster .. Continue reading →