Night Sky for Night Owls
How to Photograph Starry Skies and Northern Lights
Dear night owls:
This one is for you.
Winter nights can be long, dark … and perfect for photography. Join us for some starry sky views, a virtual thermos of hot chocolate, and tips from two nocturnal shutter bugs.
Astrophotography 101
“For most of us, the world at night is a foreign place,” writes photographer Peter Pearsall. “When we venture from the lights and clamor of our cities and immerse ourselves in the nocturnal landscape, we are transported into the unexpected.”
Take a night sky tour with Peter, and plan your next star-filled adventure:
You can walk the very same path or view the same vista in daylight and in darkness, and the two can seem nothing alike: a night-and-day difference.
Outdoors under the night sky, your senses become attuned to the intimacy of darkness — you are acutely aware of what is near, while everything distant falls to the periphery. It’s only after you linger for a while — letting your eyes adjust to the darkness, slowing your pace to quiet your breathing — that those dim peripheries resolve.
You might hear owls hooting, coyotes yipping, rodents scampering across the ground you stand on. You may clue in to the rustling of leaves and branches in a slight breeze which escaped your notice until that moment. Then you glance upward. Stars, untold millions of them — along with planets, comets, meteors and other celestial bodies — all aglow above you, shining with a light already eons in the making before it reaches your eyes.
Astrophotography gives us the ability to capture these incredible scenes. Modern cameras have the capability to illuminate nightscapes in a way that isn’t possible with the unaided eye. Long exposures and imaging sensors capture light that normally eludes us.
To shoot the night sky, have an objective
Do you want to capture the Milky Way, or compose star trails? Do you want a light-washed nightscape, with the stars outshone by a rising moon? Do you want portions of the night sky to align with a pre-composed image you have in mind? Before you set out to shoot, take these considerations into account.
Many factors go into astrophotography. Some of the most important are:
Timing
Know when to expect conditions favorable for the shot you’re after. When does the moon rise or set? What phase is the moon in, and how will this affect your shoot? When is the galactic core of the Milky Way visible? You need to coordinate with such variables to have a productive shoot.
Location
For darker skies with more visible stars, you’ll need to get away from the light pollution of cities. Astrophotography can be done under a wide variety of nighttime conditions, but in general, the darker the skies, the better the results.
While any view of the night sky makes for a pleasing backdrop, it often helps to have an interesting foreground element, too. Scout areas during daylight hours to get a sense of what might work. Lakes, ponds and other bodies of water can reflect the sky on still nights. Mountains, rock formations or other landscape features can be especially striking when illuminated by moonlight.
Preparation and settings
You’ll need a camera with adjustable settings. You’ll need a tripod or something similar to stabilize your camera for long exposures. You’ll need to be familiar with your camera’s settings and be able to manipulate them in the dark. Start with a wide angle view and a low f stop (f/4 or below), and experiment with your ISO and exposure time to capture the light.
Patience
Conditions can change quickly. Clouds can move in and obscure your view of the stars, or a fierce wind can whip up and make steady long exposures impossible. Have a backup plan or settle in to just enjoy the nighttime world, and bring your camera back another time.
Happy shooting, night owls!
Northern Lights
The farther north you venture, the longer the winter nights become. When the skies are clear and dark, check the aurora forecast and keep your gear ready for a chance to capture dancing sheets of color.
“I’m a night owl, I’m up until midnight, 1 in the morning all the time.”
When he worked at the Koyukuk and Nowitna National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska, Keith Ramos would often find himself heading out the door in subzero temperatures during the wee hours of night, chasing after the shimmer of northern lights with his camera. He shares, photos, tips, and what he loves about the aurora in Alaska:
“You usually see greens, bright greens most of the time. But when it gets going, the curtains of red, pink and green light will come in. That’s just spectacular. The camera really picks up those colors even more than your naked eye.”
As with other astrophotography, capturing the northern lights requires a longer exposure, giving the camera more time to record available light. The camera will often “see” beyond the ability of human eyesight, revealing the pulse of color against a backdrop of stars.
When the the lights aren’t as strong and vibrant in person, you can still discover them through a longer exposure.
With luck, you might see the lights on a night when they are very strong, the result of a big geomagnetic storm on the surface of the sun.
“Then the camera caught the curtain coming down from right overhead, and it was actually dancing like that in real life, moving like a river in the sky, making its own path.
“I just get goosebumps thinking about it. I‘ve sat down on the ice before to look straight up, and watched the lights moving and flashing and jumping and pulsing down like boom-boom boom-boom boom-boom.”
How to chase the lights with your camera
Follow an aurora forecast
Similar to a weather forecast, the aurora forecast tracks wind conditions and storms: from the sun! The lights of the aurora come from electrically charged particles carried on a solar wind as they interact with the gasses of earth’s atmosphere. Several websites and apps report the auroral “weather” and can alert you to increased activity using a Kp index that measures aurora strength from calm (0 or 1) to a geomagnetic storm event (anything above a 5).
Find clear, dark skies at higher latitudes
The aurora is always happening somewhere, but it might be faint or obscured by clouds or other light. A dark and clear sky is key. Northern latitudes mean more chances of seeing lights even when aurora activity is lower. In northern Alaska, the aurora viewing season lasts from early fall through spring, with some of the highest activity during the equinoxes.
Use a longer exposure, high ISO setting and a tripod
Photographing the northern lights is a balance of technical settings on your camera. Try shooting with a wide open aperture (f/4 or below), with an exposure time of a few seconds. A higher ISO setting will let you have a shorter exposure time with less blur, but keep a close eye on the results. Too high of an ISO can mean more grain or “noise” in the image. No matter what setting, you’ll need a tripod to keep your camera stabilized.
Safety and gear:
Astrophotography can be its own adventure! Stay safe and prepared while out with the stars:
- A headlamp with the option to use red light, which doesn’t interfere with the human eye’s capacity for low-light vision, can help you find your way around between shots.
- Appropriate clothing and footwear for your outing (it can be helpful to check forecasts for your area, not only for temperature but also for cloud cover, wind, humidity, etc.).
- If you are shooting in cold environments, bring extra batteries and a reliable form of transportation so you don’t get stranded in the brrrr. Don’t lick the metal tripod.
- Pack plenty of snacks and water to keep you going while the stars are turning.
- Keep your situational awareness for the company of other critters. If you are in bear country, practice good bear etiquette.
- Tell a friend where you’ll be and when you expect to return.
Contributed by: Peter Pearsall, Keith Ramos, and Lisa Hupp.
