Northern Lights are one of the most amazing natural phenomenons out there. Everyone dreams to see them for once, and it really is beautiful. Not all can have such luck to see, and chasing them might be weary, especially in the cold temperature. But once them appear, I guarantee you that you will forget everything and just admire the beauty :)
Northern Lights are created when the solar storm hit the Earth. When the solar particles collide with different gases in the Earth's atmosphere at different heights, different colour of Northern Lights will be then determined. Green is the most popular colour due to the collision of the gases and solar particles at the height of 100-300km from the ground.
Northern Lights, in Finnish called Revontulet (Repo = a fox, Tuli =fire). Finnish people believe that the Lights are created when the fire fox runs quickly across the snow, its tail create sparks that fly into the night sky. In the Norse mythology, Northern Lights is believed to be Bitfrost Bridge, a pulsating arch that led those who's fallen in a battle to the warriors' final resting place, Valhalla. In China, Northern Lights involved with dragons, while Japanese culture believe that a child who is conceived under the Northern Lights will have blessings with good looks, great fortune and intellect.
The keys of capturing Northern Lights are the camera setting on the holy trilogy: ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed. Depending on how bright the surrounding area is, I would modify the setting accordingly. But the basic rules are:
- ISO level is between 800-1600 (any ISO higher than 1600 will create a lot of noise)
- Lowest number of Aperture as your camera can go to.
- Shutter speed in between 10-20 secs (you can go lower or higher)
And the other two factors to create great Northern Light photos are manual focus and tripod. Try to get the focus right (I usually try to find the brightest star on the night sky and get the focus of it), and always have a tripod with you since you are taking photos with a long shutter speed.
Make sure that you have enough winter clothes. Northern Lights are not always there ready for you to see, so you migh need to wait a bit long until you can see them. The views are rewarding though, so don't give up if the sky is clear :)
