Chasing The Northern Lights
Chasing The Northern Lights
Chasing The Lights
There are certain experiences that sit firmly on every photographer’s bucket list. For me, photographing the Northern Lights was one of them. So, when the opportunity came along during a 12-night cruise along the coast of Norway, I was more than happy to head out into the darkness in search of one of nature’s greatest spectacles.
Our journey took us to Alta, at the very northern tip of Norway, where we booked an excursion with Glod Explorer in the hope of catching a glimpse of the aurora. The trip was incredibly well organised, and our local guide knew exactly where to take us, leading us away from the town and into some wonderfully remote locations with minimal light pollution.
For the trip, I had rented a Sigma 14mm f/1.8 lens, which is an excellent choice for astrophotography and, in particular, capturing the vast expanse of the night sky and the aurora.
When we arrived at our first location, it was pitch black. And I mean pitch black. You could barely see a metre in front of you. But as my eyes adjusted and I looked upwards, I was completely blown away.
Millions of stars filled the sky, far more than I had ever seen before. They were crystal clear and incredibly bright, with none of the glow or haze that you get from light pollution in more populated areas. Even before the aurora appeared, the night sky itself was worth the trip.
Then, almost imperceptibly at first, we started to see faint green bands emerging across the sky.
Slowly, they became brighter and more defined, dancing across the darkness. Soon, the green was joined by flashes of pink and purple as the aurora really began to make itself known. Seeing it with the naked eye was something else entirely. It was one of those moments where you almost forget you have a camera in your hands and simply stand there taking it all in.
Of course, I couldn’t resist photographing it.
For the shots, I was using a shutter speed of around 3–5 seconds, an aperture of f/1.8 and an ISO of approximately 1000. The wide 14mm focal length allowed me to capture both the scale of the aurora and the incredible surrounding landscape and night sky.
We moved on to a couple of other locations with the help of our guide, chasing clearer skies and better views, and managed to capture some images that I was really pleased with. Eventually, though, the clouds began to roll in and the aurora started to fade.
But by then, it didn’t really matter. We’d seen it.
Another bucket-list experience had been ticked off, and we headed back to the warmth of the cruise ship, where a well-earned hot chocolate was waiting for us.
As I sat there looking back at the images I’d captured, I couldn’t help but reflect on what an incredible evening it had been. Sometimes, the photographs are the souvenir, but the memory of standing beneath that sky, watching the Northern Lights dance above us, is the part I’ll remember most.
A pretty good night of photography, all things considered.
