Uploads from orvaratli, tagged auroraborealis, with geodata

Solar Storm - Reykjanesviti, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:14:19 -0800

orvaratli posted a photo:

I know I am bit late with the solar storm the other day. It´s been 9 days since now but I have luckily been very busy photographing other things and not had much time to do much editing and posting.

This solar storm and the conditions to photograph it where perfect. Lots of snow on the ground, no wind, clear skies, no moon and lots of Aurora. Its is a once a year combo.

Spiked Aurora - Northern Lights near Bláfjöll, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 15:05:50 -0800

orvaratli posted a photo:

One of the most interesting feature of shooting Aurora is the ever changing and almost random pattern they form. Usually they form some kind of an arch over the sky. The shape of it depends on how high it is in the sky. If it is near the horizon the arch shape will be clearly visible. The higher up in the sky the Aurora then it looks less like an arch (because you are under it).

This night was different. There was not clear arch shape, the Aurora was everywhere in many forms.

Iceland 2011 Adventure Photography Tour & Workshop
www.arcticphoto.is/workshops/

V-Shaped Aurora - Northern Lights at Reykjanes, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 14:01:12 -0800

orvaratli posted a photo:

This one is taken a few minutes before my previous shot. The Aurora was unusually spread this night, appearing in almost every direction in the sky. Usually one can only shoot Aurora in one direction and usually to the north here in Iceland. This night was luxurious as I could shoot into almost any direction.

The Orange glow is the lights from Reykjavík and the neighboring downs just 10 away. Some consider light pollution as unwanted in images but in some cases the add interest. Here I feel like they added interest as it brakes up the otherwise almost monochrome colors from the Aurora.

I did not venture far from the car this night. The temperature was not that low but the wind was really howling and it felt really cold. Still nights with -20°C felt much warmer than this night out.

Iceland 2011 Adventure Photography Tour & Workshop
www.arcticphoto.is/workshops/

Aurora Chaos - Northern Lights at Bláfjöll, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 12:41:03 -0800

orvaratli posted a photo:

Last night the Aurora was once again very active. It seems that the activity is picking up again after a couple of years of quietness. Aurora shots seem to be the only photographs I am getting these days. Partially it is because it is dark a large chunk of the day here and partially because of crappy weather when I am not working.

The Aurora last night revealed some of the most complex Aurora I have seen. It was not fast moving or sharp but it was everywhere in every direction. It is not often that I can be picky about which direction I want to shoot when shooting Aurora, but this time I could choose. Usually the location of the Aurora dictates the angles you can choose.

Once again my new Nikkor 14-24mm lens is delivering good images. I am really pleased with the results from it even if adjusting it is a hassle on my Canon 5D MKII body.

Iceland 2011 Adventure Photography Tour & Workshop
www.arcticphoto.is/workshops/

Electric Atmosphere - Aurora at Kleifarvatn, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 15:38:15 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

The Aurora last weekend was quite spectacular. I had planned to shoot the Aurora over Lake Kleifarvatn. I positioned myself at a southern part of the lake so I could shoot over it as the Aurora usually appears from north-west to north-east. I had the perfect view over the lake from a hill waiting for the Aurora. But this time it appeared to the south-west. My lake view Aurora was not going to happen so I pointed the camera the other way towards the hills.

For a short period of 3-5 minutes the Aurora exploded. With my new Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 I could shoot 6 seconds exposure at ISO 1600. When the Aurora is active like this it really count to be able to shoot as short exposures as possible. The shorter the exposure the more details there are and the beautiful streaks or beams are more visible. On long exposures these details get lost, just lake waves in a long exposure seascapes.

Cold and Still - Aurora at Kleifarvatn, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 09:15:18 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

Finally I got to test my new Nikon 14-24mm lens. Yes, its a Nikon on my Canon 5D MKII. I have been unpleased with the results from my Canon 16-35mm f2.8 when shooting Aurora at large aperture. It is simple not sharp enough outside of the center frame. But I am very pleased with the results from the Nikon, it is simply much better than any of the Canon wide angles even the fixed focal length ones. Being able to shoot sharp images at f2.8 means that I dont have to crank up the ISO as high as I would on my old 16-35mm. The extra 2mm of the Nikon is also helpful when shooting Aurora.

I was also experimenting with a new technique when exposing Aurora shots, the so called Magic Cloth technique. Usually when I shoot landscapes I use GND filters to help bringing out details in the foreground. Doing this with Aurora shots would mean I would have to squeeze the ISO much higher up, I tried that with mixed results.
For this shot I covered the upper half of the image for half the exposure. The upper half is exposed for 30 seconds (the max for Aurora shots) but the foreground is exposed for 60 seconds. It worked brilliantly. No reduced image quality due to high ISO or poor quality resin infront of my glass. Thanks to Iceland Aurora for sharing this technique.

Aurora Explosion - Þingvellir, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 16:47:42 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

This from Easter day last year in Þingvellir national park. The Aurora wasn´t that active. Just like a vague thin green layer in the sky. A larger aperture, high iso long exposure revealed what the eye could not see so clearly.

It is sometimes difficult to really say how active or visible the aurora really was when seeing a picture of it. It is often the less active aurora that is more picture friendly because like any other bright source of light at night a very active Aurora can easily be over exposed compared with the foreground.

The orange glow near the horizon is the light pollution of Reykjavík some 35km away. Often city light is unwanted in night shots but I liked this one as it looks like an explosion which the Aurora burst out from. And yet again, it is my wife posing a model on the edge of the peer, illuminated by a handheld flash light.

Aurora over Rusty Shack - Hafnarfjörður, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 17:02:45 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

An almost two week old shot. I was shooting for an photo competition which ended at midnight today. So here is my favorite shot of the night.

The Aurora was really active. This winter is promising regarding Aurora. A couple of good nights already in September. Scientist also predict rising levels of activity this winter and until 2013. Some even say that in 2013 a huge solar storm will occur putting electric systems and devices at risks world wide. I for sure will be putting my camera at risk then by pointing it skywards a that time. Maybe I should start constructing a magnetic shield box for it hehe. Lets see.

Iceland 2013 Winter Photo Tour

Easter Aurora - Jökulsárlón á Breiðarmerkursandi

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:05:58 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

Jökulsárlón, Iceland
One more Aurora photo from a great session last Easter.

Attention
I am posting this image to try to get as much attention to a issue I have with stolen images.

Fox News published 6 of my images with a gallery from the eruption in Iceland without any permission from me. See: Fox News

I have tried to contact Fox News, by email, by phone, sent a bill, sent a polite email to them, sent another less polite email to them via various email addresses found on their website. No response at all. Its like emailing a black hole, there is nothing coming back.

These media company ferociously defend the copyright of their material but them self steal material from others. Its hypocrisy. The difference is that I have no means of defending myself against them. Does anybody have any advice how to claim my rights? Getting a lawyer is probably going to cost me more than I could ever get back.

If you can share this with other please do so, thank you.

30th April 1:31am: I have contacted Creative Commons to get their input on if usage of the image by Fox News is illegal under "Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives". Waiting response.
30th April 11am: Creative Commons did not want to state if the usage was illegal or not.
30th April 11:50am: Contacted Carolyn E. Wright for legal advice as recommended by Younes
6th of May: Fox News agreed on paying a compensation for the image use. Örvar vs. Fox News 1 - 0.

If you would like to photograph the Aurora consider joining my Winter Photo Tour

Erupting Aurora - Eyjafjallajökull Eruptioin

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 08:04:27 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland
The disappointment with the reduced activity of the volcano was more than compensated when the Aurora showed up.

I saw some really nice aurora shots from the night before in the German magazine der spiegel:
www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-54158-4.html

I really should have gone the night before (Thursday) too, but I stayed home as I had to goto work the next day. The Aurora was much more intense that day and could be photographed in a rare south direction. Usually the Aurora is viewable to the north or overhead here in Iceland.

Well one of the images from this session got displayed at Daily Telegraph

Volcanic Aurora - Eyjafjallajökull Eruption

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 21:16:37 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland
Yes, I know, I am obsessed with this volcano. I went there again Friday night. The eruption was not as spectacular as before. It is now at the same intensity as the first eruption at Fimmvörðuháls (a very small eruption).

Getting a good picture of the volcano meant that I have to go very close to it, which means hiking up the glacier. On a very windy day like this it was not an option.

However, very surprisingly, the Aurora showed up. The night in Iceland is getting very short now in end of April, 1-2 hours of darkness so chances of capturing Aurora now are very slim. This was a real bonus. I have always wanted to capture in a volcano and Aurora in a single frame.

The volcano is now spewing ash to the west which is where I was shooting. The ash can be seen as the dark smoke on the left above the ground.

Glacier Aurora - Jökulsárlón

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 02:18:51 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

Jökulsárlón, Iceland
Finally I got shots of Aurora at Jökulsárlón that I allways wanted. This glacier lagoon is one of my favourite places to photograph in Iceland and getting a shot here with Aurora has been on the top of my "things to photograph" list for a long time. I didn´t however get the shot until the last day of our 5 day Easter trip.

Jökulsárlón was formed when the large Breiðarmerkurjökull glacier retreated in the later part of the 20th century revealing a deep valley filled with water it had carved in over the centuries. When Iceland first was inhabited in the 9th and 10th century the glacier was much smaller than it is now. It wasn´t until during the "little ice age" starting in the 14th or 15th century that the glacier began advancing again. It advanced far enough to even engulfed farms that are first now 500 years later coming from under the ice again.

The glacier reached it peak length in the start of the 20th century where it was only 200-300 meters from the coast. It has since retreated more than 10km forming a huge lake, in fact the deepest lake in Iceland more than 200m deep. It is predicted that in not so far future the lake will also become Iceland's biggest lake.

Ice & Aurora - Jökulsárlón

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 17:47:10 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

Jökulsárlón, Iceland
I went on a trip to SE Iceland this Easters. Instead of going shooting fire and heat (volcano) I decided to go shoot ice and cold.

I have for long wanted to capture Aurora at Jökulsárlón lagoon. The first night of the trip the Aurora appeared around midnight very active but so did a cloud cover so that night I captured only greenish clouds. I thought I was not getting any Aurora shot over Jökulsárlón this trip. But on the last night of the trip however the Aurora showed up again and this time with no clouds.

Here I used a GND filter to balance the light of the reflected part. I usually do this when shooting normal landscapes. This is the first time I have done so successfully with a night shot.

Tech Question:
One thing that puzzles me is how much higher ISO I need to use shooting the same scene as my old Canon 30D had to. I am using a Canon 5D MK II with the old EF-16-35mm lens. Shooting without GND filter I used:
30 sec exposure @ f3.5 and ISO 1600
My wife shot the same scene using my old Canon 30D with a 10-22mm lens. She used: 20 sec exposure @ f3.5 and ISO 800
and got a very similarly exposed image.
Something is not adding up, is my new camera setup loosing more than half the light compared to my old setup? Is the 16-35mm lens absorbing or reflecting this much light? Or is there something bogus about the ISO setting on the Canon 5D MK II?

If you would like to photograph the Aurora consider joining my Winter Photo Tour

Arched Aurora - Reykjanes, Iceland

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:16:26 -0800

orvaratli posted a photo:

Reykjanes, Iceland
This is my best shot at Aurora this year. Yet again I have not been that luck. While I was away in Thailand the skies where quite clear with periods of very active aurora. Now I am back and its thick clouds every day now.

Shot last January on a very windy night, the Aurora was very active so the managed to illuminate through the fast moving clouds. The yellow/redish light on the lower left side is light pollution comming from Reykjavík.

Straumur Revisited

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 04:26:45 -0800

orvaratli posted a photo:

This is a shot from almost two months ago. This was the only proper Aurora session I have had this year. The sun has been very inactive, the weather rather foul and combined with bad luck does not produce alot of Aurora shots.

This location is only 5 minutes drive from my home so I go there alot (some might have noticed that hehe). But it is a beautiful location, much overlooked by visitors as behind me there is a huge aluminum smelter.

Lunar Light

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:54:52 -0800

orvaratli posted a photo:

Finally I got to shoot some Aurora with my new 5D MK II. I am very surprised on how much difference there is on high ISO from my old 30D. Its a huge difference. The noise is much lower and more controllable.

This one is shot with ISO 1600 and the noise levels are similar to noise on ISO400 on my old camera, plus I have 3 times more pixels to go with.

The only thing I am disappointed with is how soft the 16-35mm is on the edge of the frame when open wide. This shot is shot on f2.8 using peripheral illumination correction and it is very soft at the edges although the low res image does not show it.

This shot is taken in Bláfjöll Iceland. Even if it is December already there is no snow yet. But belief me it was cold, it was still freezing outside and very windy. I had to park my car upwind to use it as a wind shield.

Garðskagaviti Aurora

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:56:37 -0800

orvaratli posted a photo:

As the days are getting pretty short here in Iceland now, I only get time to shoot on Sundays as other days I am working while there is still light. Some Sundays have bad weather so there is way to much time between my shooting sessions now.

The good thing is that I can edit more of my latest shots. Here is the only decent Aurora session I have had this season. It was very productive and I still have some good shots unedited.

Shot settings:
Shutter speed: 30 second
Aperture: f3.5
ISO: 800

Mt. Esja

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:15:16 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

Here is another from last weekends great Aurora session. This image is taken 3 hours after I took my first Aurora shot that night. Rarely can you shoot Aurora for so long the same night.

The Aurora was not very active but it seem to hover up there for long periods often almost static. It wasn´t very clear but when I used all my poor old Canon 30D could gather light (highest practical ISO, wide open for 30-60second) the result was quite nice.

This is taken just north of Reykjavík city at the foot of Mt. Esja. The night was unusually calm making a rare reflection at this otherwise windy place.

The light from nearby Reykjavík helped with lighting up the mountain. On the crest you can see remains snow from the cold and snowy days couple of weeks ago

Autumn Aurora

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:28:41 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

Finally I captured some Aurora this season. This was my fourth try since the night got dark enough to shoot Aurora this fall. I can blame inactive sun, cloudy weather and choosing the wrong nights for my bad luck in Aurora hunting so far. Maybe a little lack of enthusiasm as well.

But this night really made up for my bad luck. I could shoot Aurora with varying intensity for nearly 3 hours. I will be posting more soon.

This is the old lighthouse of Garðskagaviti. The lighthouse is not used anymore as a much larger one has been constructed a hundred meters further inland. It is more of a tourist attraction now a days. Unfortunately for us photographers a powerful light source is used to illuminate it during nights. It makes the lighthouse way brighter than its surroundings making it appear burned out in night shots. Fortunately my wife offered to stand right in-front of it and blocking the light.

Cosmic View

nobody@flickr.com (orvaratli) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 12:20:34 -0700

orvaratli posted a photo:

Another one from that brilliant Aurora session. Same location as the three previous. Thanks again to my wife spotting that glowing cloud out of the car window. If she hadn´t I would have driven home before the Aurora became active again.

Exif:
Shutter Speed: 30 sec
Aperture: f3.5
ISO: 800
Focal length 10mm on a Canon 30D 1.6 crop.