[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.8.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.8.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.8.2″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/DNOAKFB0540-2.jpg” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.14.2″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” title_text=”DNOAKFB0540″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.14.2″ _module_preset=”default” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”|||0px|false|false” custom_padding=”||0px|||” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Northern Lights captured by Z 6II \/ Z14-24f2.8<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.14.2″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#000000″ text_font_size=”16px” custom_padding=”20px||30px||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”post_content” sticky_enabled=”0″]Many years ago I was in Barrow, AK, and late one night while tucked into my warm room, I heard howling. I thought it was just sled dogs calling so went back to sleep. Nights later long after lights out, there was a panicked pounding at my door. I got up to find Bunna standing there all excited. “The Lights are out, let’s go!” On the shore of the Beaufort Sea on a gorgeous clear night, I experienced my first North Lights shoot. The howling was the locals celebrating the dancing heavens and it was a celebration. The skies were magical, my photographs of them, not so much. I vowed to go back and do much, much better. Fast forward the clock fifteen years and you find me outside Fairbanks, AK a couple of weeks ago doing my own howling.<\/p>\n
The shooting process begins with scouting during the day. The day had only five hours of light from the sun appearing over the horizon. Basically from 10AM to 3PM, I looked for locations with dark skies and some sort of character in the foreground. Using Aurora and Aurora Forecast Apps and heading to the Geophysical Institute<\/a><\/strong>, I’d determine the activity and likelihood we’d see and photograph the lights. The first couple of nights, they were just screaming overhead but we couldn’t see a thing. Clouds, snow clouds prevented any observation of the heavens. The last two nights though we had totally clear skies and the times of our lives out in the -34 degree temps shooting up a storm!<\/p>\n The photography was really very simple. The Z 6II \/ Z14-24f2.8 were attached to the Platyball and set up on a tripod out in the cold. The Z 6II was connected to the MB-N11 which has two batteries. The Z 6II was set to Aperture Priority and I changed the exposure comp based on the lights, from 0 to -2 stops. The Z14-24f2.8 was set to Infinity and I had the self-timer going taking nine shots at a time. Did that for two reasons. The first is the lights are moving, it’s like waves crashing on a shore and at the same time, changing in intensity. The second reason for the self-timer, get my hands back in my pocket to stay warm between shots. The first night we stood out in the cold for a few hours with no issues. The second night the cold set in so we went inside our running vehicle and controlled and fired the Z 6II with Snapbridge.<\/p>\n And the whole time, we just enjoyed the amazing show. The lights lasted two hours one night, nearly three the second night. The Z 6II had no issues, operational or battery being out in the cold that whole time so all we had to do was enjoy the light show. The -34 really wasn’t an issue since there was no breeze. We just took in the lights. I more about the Arctic that I’ve enjoyed for so long and have a new appreciation and love for Northern Lights. I am going back in ’23 just to see the heavens dance![\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Northern Lights captured by Z 6II \/ Z14-24f2.8Many years ago I was in Barrow, AK, and late one night while tucked into my warm room, I heard howling. I thought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59330,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"1219","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","sync_status":"none","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"The Heavens Dance! https:\/\/wp.me\/p6YJx-fqV are an experience all need to enjoy, there is no guarantee but with the lights appear, wow! @BedfordCamera @NkonUSA #nikonambassador","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-59329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-landscape-photography"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/DNOAKFB0540-2.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Podcast.jpg?fit=1500%2C1500&quality=100&ssl=1","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"https:\/\/www.audible.com\/pd\/Podcast\/B08JJQC1GR?ref=a_pd_item-n_c0_bc&pf_rd_p=1da7ab30-c785-4a0e-a160-4a7e7077b353&pf_rd_r=EEDMYHQM3DZ05FPRTHMJ","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"rss":{"key":"rss","url":"","label":"RSS","class":"rss","icon":"rss.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/2fRA9VaVfSdQMKf1ipxr0tipxr0t","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"itunes":{"key":"itunes","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/moose-podcast\/id1107405746","label":"iTunes","class":"itunes","icon":"itunes.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/www.moosepeterson.com\/blog\/feed\/podcast\/moose-podcast","embedCode":"The Heavens Dance!<\/a><\/blockquote>