Night Ski Photos

[jyw5]

Took some pics of the aurora the other night. I only have like a foot tall tripod which makes it too much of a pain to try and frame shots or anything so this is the best I got.

I REALLY like those shots!

I don't know if you have a time lapse option, or can do a video then edit afterwards, but a .gif or such would be really cool! There are also online .gif converters, compressors, etc.

If this is near you or a parking lot, you could always haul something out to put the tripod on to frame as you like, and a car would give you place to duck out of the cold.

I posted this earlier in this thread, and you can see my breath wafting up into the night air to look at Orion when I stopped on a ski trail.

as you requested, here are some tips


you need the following for a good aurora shot:

1) tripod or stable base/hands
2) dark skies
3) high ISO; 1600, 3200, 6400 optimal depending on camera
4) warm camera batteries
5) cold acclimatized lens and camera sensor
6) wide angle lens, preferably 28mm and wider
7) wide aperture lens, f2.8 or better is optimal
8) dress warm and be patient
9) adjust your eyes to the dark
10) manual focus on bright stars to get pinpoint/sharp focus
11) shutter speed varies according to speed and brightness of the aurora; set camera to manual and experiment with shutter speed at a fixed aperture and ISO setting
12) for advanced photography, take 10-30 dark frames and use software to use these frames to subtract out sensor noise
13) use software to clean up some sensor noise
14) good lens glass can help, but isnt required

concepts for sunset/sunrise photography are similar to taking night sky photos

[jyw5]

some photos from last week's G4 geomagnetic storm and clear skies.

[TallGrass]

here are some tips

you need the following for a good aurora shot:

1) tripod or stable base/hands
2) dark skies
3) high ISO; 1600, 3200, 6400 optimal depending on camera
4) warm camera batteries
5) cold acclimatized lens and camera sensor
6) wide angle lens, preferably 28mm and wider
7) wide aperture lens, f2.8 or better is optimal
8) dress warm and be patient
9) adjust your eyes to the dark
10) manual focus on bright stars to get pinpoint/sharp focus
11) shutter speed varies according to speed and brightness of the aurora; set camera to manual and experiment with shutter speed at a fixed aperture and ISO setting
12) for advanced photography, take 10-30 dark frames and use software to use these frames to subtract out sensor noise
13) use software to clean up some sensor noise
14) good lens glass can help, but isnt required

concepts for sunset/sunrise photography are similar to taking night sky photos

Ever play with Pro mode in a smart phone? It's not a question of which is a better camera, rather the camera average people will have on hand, and in the case of skiing at night, what's in your pocket.

1. Agree, though I only have a tripod with a screw, nothing for smart phone. I've thought of propping it up and seeing if I can use the Timer (2-10 second delay between trigger and when it starts taking a photo).
2. Contrast can be an issue. Just stars with no moon nor city lights, sure, but city lights AND stars?
3. Pro mode allows for 50 - 800
4. and 5. cold lens/sensor and warm batteries, I can do one. I just rely on a full charge offsetting any battery loss due to cold.
6. Not sure what I can do for lens angle.
7. I have a F1.5 and F2.4 settings, and time from 1/6,000 to 10 second exposure. Focus is Flower or Mountain (field depth?), and obvious I go with Mtn.
8. and 9. Yep
10. Mountain and Flower...
11. Shutter speed (time from 1/6,000 to 10 second exposure), yeah longer = more motion blur.
12. and 13. and 14. Not there yet.

Thanks again!
Love a good night photo like the ones you have shared!

[jtb]

I like to skin up under the moonlight. The downhill around me is mostly treed, so I need a headlamp for the descent.

Skin up:


Ski down: