First attempt Northern Lights

[KJ_North]

Guys i tried for the first time to get some photos of the Northen Lights. Last night was a very rare occurrence to have visibility of them so i attempted it. Below is what i got.

Here's what i tried. F4 (Widest my lens goes) @ 24mm and 5-10 sec exposure ... letting ISO go where it needed to. Also had lens on manual focus at infinity. I suspect even though i was using a tripod i should have set the camera on a timer as many have blurry foreground etc? I am only guessing as i have never tried nigh time photos? Any help would be appreciated as to what to do next time.

 

[cgw114 140]

Missed 'em last night. Might try this evening if there's anything visible.

 

[smoke665]

Welcome, thank you for following the guidelines. Something you might consider for posting in the C&C is changing your profile temporarily to allow editing.

To me they look under exposed by at least a stop. As to timer/no timer I've done it both ways and with long exposure I'm not convinced there was much difference.

Even though I'm in the country on high ground, light pollution from nearby towns is still a problem.

 

[KJ_North]

Welcome, thank you for following the guidelines. Something you might consider for posting in the C&C is changing your profile temporarily to allow editing.

To me they look under exposed by at least a stop. As to timer/no timer I've done it both ways and with long exposure I'm not convinced there was much difference.

Even though I'm in the country on high ground, light pollution from nearby towns is still a problem.

Forgot all about the okay to edit, i have changed it, thanks for the tip.

 

[KJ_North]

For example photos 3, 4 and 6 seem to be much better focused as stars are clearly visible etc, most of the photos were all taken in same location that's why i thought i might be moving something that is causing the lack of focus etc.

 

[Woolsocks]

Last image edited.

Unless you crop out the power lines and tree's. I think if they're part illuminated they look better such as in this edit.

 

[KJ_North]

Last image edited. View attachment 280345





Unless you crop out the power lines and tree's. I think if they're part illuminated they look better such as in this edit.

Thanks i have fooled around with the colors/black levels etc. My wife likes them less saturated i like them more the way you have edited. Appreciate the feedback

 

[Jeff1545 45]

A very nice set but I would have taken out the wires....

 

[KJ_North]

Okay so wires gone colors tweaked..... Thoughts?

 

[KJ_North]

Here's one more i cropped out some of the left hand side to let the green show a bit more.

 

[Woolsocks]

To me they look under exposed by at least a stop

He's got a point. On my monitor which is not an HDR or 4k it looks dark, still.

Aurora3b-s Looks good.

 

[KJ_North]

He's got a point. On my monitor which is not an HDR or 4k it looks dark, still.

Aurora3b-s Looks good.

I am finding this out as i tried to print and they are far darker then they appear on the monitor. I need to turn the brightness down on my monitor to better reflect what the image is actually appearing as.

 

[smoke665]

I am finding this out as i tried to print and they are far darker then they appear on the monitor. I need to turn the brightness down on my monitor to better reflect what the image is actually appearing as.

Monitor calibration is a monthly maintenance task that involves more than adjusting brightness.

 

[KJ_North]

Monitor calibration is a monthly maintenance task that involves more than adjusting brightness.

Not sure how you calibrate it?

Monitor calibration is a monthly maintenance task that involves more than adjusting brightness.

I,m not sure how you calibrate a monitor? Below is the one i am using

KOORUI 27N7U 27 inch 4K Monitor, UHD (3840 x 2160p) IPS Display, HDR 400, DCI-P3 95%, 1.07 Billion Colors, USB-C, HDMI,​

 

[KJ_North]

Not sure how you calibrate it?

I,m not sure how you calibrate a monitor? Below is the one i am using

KOORUI 27N7U 27 inch 4K Monitor, UHD (3840 x 2160p) IPS Display, HDR 400, DCI-P3 95%, 1.07 Billion Colors, USB-C, HDMI,​

I did a search yep i know what your talking about now, going to order a calibrator as its obvious my monitor is no where close to displaying to what the photo actually is etc. Its way way over saturated, too bright etc etc.