The Aurora Takeover – Adam Hill

Being here in the north has some nice advantages. I have written here before about the abundance of Aurora we see but, there is another advantage which is Aurora related. That advantage is  that for those who live and photograph here, we get to meet and mingle with other Aurora Photographers. I am lucky to know several of them. One Photographer that I really enjoy shooting with and seeing what he can create is Adam Hill. Adam resides in Hay River, NWT and he is doing some amazing things with his camera and the Northern Lights. I asked Adam to do a post here on my Blog. Adam agreed to share what he does with some insight into how he does it, enjoy. Here it is, take it away, Adam!

The Northern Lights should be considered as one of the great natural wonders of the world. Imagine laying down on a cool fall evening or standing on a frozen lake dressed in your warmest winter clothes while the sky lights up with bands, waves and ribbons of colour. It’s a breathtaking experience.  Ah, the aurora. I never get tired of seeing these light up the sky. I usually get tired from doing it though.  Throughout the aurora ‘season’ I’m constantly checking the weather and aurora forecasts. These forecasts will help you get ready for nights of heightened activity but the best way to help your chances of viewing them is as simple as checking out your window or going out into your yard. When you see them, grab your photo gear and head out somewhere dark!

   First we should talk about photo gear and what you need and what you don’t.   When I photograph the aurora I only bring what I’ll need to use that night: one camera body, usually one lens (a good, large aperture wide-angle), a headlamp, warm clothes (even in the fall and especially in the winter), an extra battery, a cable release and of course, your tripod. Leave all your other gear at home. Become a minimalist when you photograph the aurora and get in the habit of packing your gear in the same place every time, it will help you when you’re searching your camera bag for your stuff.  I usually leave the big back packs at home and pack a simple shoulder bag. 

    When I head out I have a location in mind where I want to photograph. If it’s the fall aurora, I want somewhere with water, still or running. The water can reflect the aurora and this will help build the foreground of your photo while your aurora is in the background, making it a much stronger photograph.

If it’s the winter I like somewhere dark, with snow laden trees or some other element to use in my foreground. The light from the aurora will illuminate the snow in your foreground to make it useful. 

    So now I’m out,  and I’m patiently waiting and finally the aurora are beginning to swirl and twirl above me. Here comes the tricky part: anticipating what to do with the aurora. There is no easy formula as some may say. The aurora can happen fast and they’re impossible to predict. Have your camera set on your sturdiest tripod.  Your camera’s ISO set to a higher setting, I prefer around 800-1200 sometimes I’ll push it to  2000 if I need to. Newer camera models can go upwards of 3200 without real noise distortion. If your camera has any noise cancellations features, use them.  Auto focus won’t work in darkness, so turn your camera to manual focus and if you use a professional grade lens turn your focus just a little left of the ‘L’ marked near infinity. The best method to find your ‘sweet spot’ is to find your infinity focus in the day time when you can accurately check your focus. Use a small sharpie or piece of tape to mark off where your focus dial should be. To increase your sharpness you should also use your mirror lock and use your cable release to minimize and handling of your camera. If you don’t have a cable release use your camera’s timer setting at 2 seconds so you don’t have your hands on the camera when it begins to expose. 

Turn off your automatic settings and go into Manual mode. This will allow you to control your aperture and shutter.  I generally leave my aperture as wide as possible.  If the aurora are moving fast and bright try to set your shutter speed to 5 seconds to 10 seconds. If you use longer shutter times you can easily over expose the aurora and turn them into a messy blur. If the aurora are slow and dim you can use this to your advantage by having to expose longer. I find these aurorae to be easier to work with, you won’t get the crisp movements with brighter aurora but you can use the longer exposure time to help expose your foregrounds. Set your aperture to it’s lowest number (usually F/2.8 or F/3.5 for most common lenses). This setting will allow the most of light to come into your camera’s sensor, allowing you to use a faster shutter speed. 

Trying to balance the highlights from the aurora and the shadows of the foregrounds is one of the great challenges. One tip I find very useful is dim your LCD screen. Do not trust your LCD when you’re photographing at night. The LCD will make your image appear brighter than it is. Always check your histogram and make sure your highlights aren’t blown out and your shadows are exposed.  

When your composing your photo try to set up before the aurora are swirling above you. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and get ‘beauty blinded’ by the moment. Make sure to move around, take a great photograph in each location then move to a new vantage for your next photograph. Don’t stay in the same place with the same view all night long. You won’t enjoy coming back in after a long night of photographing with only one view of a landscape. Try and use the landscape around to help you frame your photographs. Incorporate landscape features to help build a strong landscape instead of just photographing the sky. You’ll thank yourself later. 

Editing your photographs is another story and you need to be able to properly edit your photos properly to make them look right. The aurora are surprisingly bright in comparison to the rest of the photograph. If you’re in the Hay River area and are interested in learning more about the aurora and how to photograph/edit them check at the Hay River library, you may find a free Aurora Workshop from yours truly!

Adam

For anyone reading this and wanting to see more of Adam’s work click this link www.adamhillstudios.ca or go to https://www.facebook.com/adamhillstudios1

Thanks Adam for doing this guest post, it is a great piece, thanks to everyone for checking in to the blog, enjoy and as always Happy Shooting.

The Aurora shoot without Aurora.

Yesterday, Steve Schwarz and I took the travel trailer out again, this time we went to Prelude Lake Territorial Park. We watched the weather and it seemed to be a little different then the forecast we watched the day before so, with high hopes for another Aurora shoot off we went. We were out and set up just as it got dark and sat around wait for a crystal clear sky and some Aurora. We walked and scouted several locations for future shoots and as the night sky cleared and stars appeared we headed to a good photo spot and waited. After waiting for a while we were presented with new cloud cover and no Aurora at all. We did capture some starry sky images before headed back to the camper. We continue our waiting until around 12:30 am before calling it a night. This morning we were up early for some great conversation and some more photography. We know we will be back to some of these spots soon to try for Aurora again but, for now here are some of my images from our morning shoot. Stay tuned for future images from our new locations. Enjoy these images, thanks for checking in and as always Happy Shooting.

 

 

 

 

 

Another Cameron River visit

If you have been following my blog for any length of time you will probably have read several posts where I mention the Cameron River. The Cameron River is one of my favourite places to visit and I am there quite often. I go there by myself, I go there with family and quite often I go there with friends. A few months back a group of us went out to the Cameron River to hang out and cook dinner over a campfire. We made a day of it and were there for 5 or 6 hours. We hiked, talked, photographed and had great eats and drinks. I took more photos than I remember and I am now just getting through them all. I thought I should post a couple here for you to see. Here they are. If you live in Yellowknife or are ever here visiting and want to visit the Cameron River look me up, I am always ready for a Cameron River road trip. Enjoy these images, thank for spending some time and as always Happy Shooting.

 

 

 

Pontoon Grey Jays

On our last visit to Pontoon Lake Territorial Park with friends, we were visited by several Grey Jays (or Whiskey Jacks). I believe there were 6 in total that decided to hang out with us, hoping we would drop some food that they could then grab and fly off with. Almost, everyone there had a camera and snapped away shooting the Grey Jays continuously. I was no different and capture several dozen images. I had actually brought 4 cameras with me, 2 film cameras and 2 digital cameras. Jenna and I finished off all the film I had with me and we then turned the DSLRs on. We continued to shoot and got a few hundred images of the area and the birds. Jenna easily took more than anyone else, she was snapping nonstop for what seemed like an hour. It was another great visit with family and friends. Here are 6 images I capture of my grey friends. Enjoy, thanks for visiting and as always Happy Shooting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday’s sunrise or not.

Yesterday, I was up early and went out to capture sunrise. Here in Yellowknife the sun was supposed to rise at 7:41 am. I was going to try to capture the sun rising above Latham Island and Yellowknife’s Old Town. I went to the Giant Mine Boat Launch and waited. I watched the sky and the clock and there was no one around except John Mayer, lol. I got out of the truck and got my camera gear set and ready but, it wasn’t going to be much of a sunrise. It was overcast and grey. I captured a few images there even though it wasn’t the scene I was hoping for. I then drove the Ingraham Trail to the end and returned toward Yellowknife. The entire time I was really just scouting new photo shoot locations. There were a couple of places that looked very favourable and I made mental note of them. When I was almost back to Yellowknife, about 2 1/2 hours from when I left, I remembered a location that Steve Schwarz and I had discussed a few weeks before. I had to stop and check it out. When I arrived I parked the truck and gathered my gear. It was only about 3 or 4 minutes to get to the location and it was amazing. Better than I ever thought it would be. I grabbed quite a few images there during my early morning trip and I can’t wait to do some Aurora work there but, for that I better wait for Steve. For those of you who want to know where it is, well I guess you will have to watch and follow Steve and I around for a while. I am not sure if I am ready to tell everyone just yet. For now here are some images from my Sunday morning drive. Enjoy, thanks again for hanging out and as always Happy Shooting.

The lack of Sunrise

 

 

 

 

Range Lake Trail.

Just a week ago Dale, Megan, Jenna and Bella the dog were getting ready to head out for a walk. Dale called to me and asked me to come along. I grabbed a camera and got me coat and shoes. We walked to Parker Park just a few seconds away, from there we headed south on the Range Lake Trail. After about 15 minutes we turn back north and headed back the way we came. When the Trail gets to the path into our backyard the Girls and Bella headed to the house, while Dale and I continued on the Trail for a few more minutes. After a short distance we too headed home. So, why I am telling you this small story about a short walk? Well it is important that everyone knows, you don’t have to travel far from home to find great things to photograph. Just have your camera ready and your eyes open. Here is a sample of what I saw in our short walk just minutes from my door. Enjoy, thanks for being here and as always Happy Shooting.

 

 

 

 

 

Ingraham Trail Morning!

A few weeks back Steve Schwarz and I took the camper out on the Ingraham Trail for an Aurora shoot. We also had a great time the next morning when we were joined by our new friend the Eagle. Of course, if you follow my little blog you will have already read about those two items. For me there was another part of that trip I really enjoyed and that was the fall landscape shooting we did that morning. Before, during and after the Eagle shoot, I took some time to capture some landscape images. In addition to shooting where Steve and I had set up the Camper, we also made a few stops on our way home to get some images. There is a rock outcrop just north of the Cameron Falls/Hidden Lake parking area that I have also wanted to shoot from. It would give me a clear unobstructed view of the Cameron River and Hidden Lake valley I thought. We stopped there and took a few seconds to get to the top and I grabbed a few photos from there. From the road we probably looked pretty crazy with tripods and cameras set up at the edge of the rock face but, we didn’t take any shots of one of us at the top. From there we headed back to Yellowknife to unpack and clean up. As I said before, it was a great short trip. Here are a few landscape images from that morning, one will give you a view of where Steve and I set up for our night of shooting. Enjoy, thanks for coming by and as always Happy Shooting.

 

 

 

 

 

Go north to Paulatuk.

Back in July of this year I was able to travel to Paulatuk for work. For those readers who don’t know Paulatuk, here is a little info; Paulatuk is a hamlet in the Inuvik Region of the NWT (about 400 km east on Inuvik). It is in Darnley Bay on the Amundsen Gulf in the Arctic Ocean. Paulatuk means place of coal, named for the coal found there back in the 1920s. There are around 310 people who live in the Hamlet. I had never been to Paulatuk before and was really looking forward to the trip. Although it was a work trip I knew there would be time for photography, with the sun being up 24 hours there had to be time for photography, lol. Each night after work, usually around 8 or 8:30 pm I would head out to explore, some nights with a fishing rod and some with a camera and a couple with both. Surprisingly, there is a lot of road to travel around Paulatuk. Garry, my business partner, and I had a truck to use and we explored almost everywhere the truck would take us. My favourite drive was the Rat Lake Road. Rat Lake appears to be made by the Hornaday River and the Hornaday is the river that flows through Tuktut Nogait National Park. Although the Park is around 40 km away, Garry got me as close as he could and I even got to put my feet in the Hornaday. It was awesome and it was cold, lol. In addition to the amazing landscape, Paulatuk offered up some great wildlife experiences. In my six days I saw 5 Grizzly Bears, a Caribou Buck, lots of Sik-Siks, and several types of birds. It was an amazing trip. On September 27 I will head back to Paulatuk for another work related trip and I will bring my camera gear so, hopefully I can capture some more of Paulatuk’s beauty. For now here is a sample of what I saw in early July. Enjoy thanks for being around and as always Happy Shooting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The waiting is over!

Yesterday I did a post about the Eagle that Steve Schwarz and I encountered on our overnight trip. A trip that was about getting some Aurora photos. Well this post is about some of the Aurora images  I created on that trip. Before I get into the images I will give everyone a little background on a couple of things. First is the idea of bringing the travel trailer to a remote place and staying in it to get some Aurora photos. That idea came about from a conversation that Steve and I had about three weeks ago. I ran into Steve downtown and we were talking about his previous trip to an island on Great Slave Lake. I said I really would like to go on his next trip and we than discussed maybe taking the camper out to use a home for some Aurora work. Steve than mentioned that he was asked by someone in tourism for some Aurora shots with an RV or camper in them. He thought it would be a good idea for us to try to get some of those. Unfortunately someone else was thinking the same thing, Dave Brosha posted an image from one of the parks with the Aurora over someones travel trailer. However, considering our island adventure was not going to happen and plan b was to go out with the trailer, we thought we would capture some images with the Aurora above our overnight home regardless of being first to do it or not. So, there is the first item that needed some background information, the second is about photographing the Aurora. Here in Yellowknife we are a little spoiled when it comes to being able to view mother nature’s lights and I certainly have taken my share of Aurora images in my time here in the north. With that said I will explain that I quite often don’t go out when the Aurora is on display. I am not one of those people who needs to be out for every light show. I actually have a better time with this subject when there are others out. I enjoy the company, I enjoy discussing what everyone is capturing and seeing other photographer’s images. For me to want to really get out and shoot the northern lights requires a little more than just the lights themselves. Capturing a great landscape with the Aurora would cause me to want to adventure out, reflections of the Aurora on the water is another, sometimes shooting in a new location may do it but, as for the lights themselves, well I am not always that excited to capture them. I could probably just sit and watch them more than trying to always capture an image. So there it is, I said it! Don’t great me wrong I love great images of the lights, just not the stuff that seems to be out there in quantity. My family can motivate me to go just by saying they would like to go with me. Being out under the lights with family is always great and the family time is never bad. This trip was to capture the Aurora in a new location, with a friend and some great conversation. As I said company is always a bonus. Steve, I am sure, took more Aurora images then I did, he found the better locations and was using multiple cameras to do his work. He probably even has some better images, either way I had a great night out and enjoyed my time with camera in hand. Maybe I will get Steve to write a guest blog post to show some of his Aurora work. For now here are some of my images from friday nights display, enjoy them and thanks for hanging out. Of course as I always say Happy Shooting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Eagle has landed!

Last night Steve Schwarz and I went for an overnight camping trip on the Ingraham Trail. Our original plan was to head out on Great Slave Lake to an island on Wool Bay and overnight there. The wind had other ideas. So, as I said we headed out the Ingraham Trail. Our Plan B was to take the travel trailer out to a location near some water and wait for the Aurora to arrive. It wasn’t a bad Plan B, we had 30 feet of living space, lights, a fridge, a stove, a furnace and of course beds. The boating plan had, a tent and sleeping bags. I actually would have really enjoyed the originally trip but, with 30 km/h winds the idea of going 35 or 40 km on Great Slave in a freighter canoe probably wasn’t a good one. We arrived at a place we liked and set-up for the night. The Aurora came early and stayed past our willingness to stay awake. It was a great light show. This post however will skip over the Aurora images I captured and will focus on what happened this morning. Before we headed back to Yellowknife we wanted to capture some landscapes and other images from the area where we spent the night. We hiked around the rocky hills near Tibbett Lake and captured a few great images. I wandered over one rocky area and a young eagle flew up and past me. Steve, who was better prepared for such an encounter, noticed it first and watched it as it journeyed past. The eagle landed on a tree a couple hundred feet away. Steve had his Leica 400mm lens mounted and was getting a few shots, I was there taking landscapes and had a 17-50mm lens. Unlike Steve, who was carrying two cameras with two different lenses, I had only one and my other camera with the long lens was still in the truck. I decided to hike towards our eagle friend just to see how cooperative he/she might be. Amazingly, the eagle let me get to around 30 or 40 feet, close enough that I was actually able to get a couple of shots with my short lens. As I continued closer the eagle finally flew away but, he/she circled and landed just a 100 feet or so from the tree it had just left. Again, I found my way closer as Steve continued to shoot from a distance. The eagle seemed just as fascinated by me as I was by it. Again, I got very close. When the eagle flew off for a second time, it went a little farther from us. We headed in its direction and I made a short detour to get my longer lens. I continued to try to get close and Steve continued to focus from a little farther away. The eagle continued watching me approach and again allowed me to get pretty close. Then it flew off once more. I knew the direction the eagle flew but didn’t see where it finally stopped. I called to Steve to see if he could still see the big bird and he told me to keep moving straight ahead. I continued but still couldn’t find it, all the while conversing with Steve (quite loudly as we were quite a distance apart). At one point I stopped and explained I couldn’t see the eagle as Steve shouts that he/she was in a tree almost directly above me, only 20 or so feet away. Still I was blind, lol. With that, the beautiful creature flew off again. I continued to move in its direction but, this time I wouldn’t be able to get that close. I took a few more images before the eagle finally flew directly toward Steve and then headed off, well past our view. It was awesome. Never before have I seen an eagle interact with a person like this. I was like a kid in a candy store. By now we had spent more time shooting than I expected and it was time to hook-up the trailer and start heading home. It was an amazing way to spend the morning. Steve, thanks for agreeing to come out, it was a great photography trip. For everyone one else visiting the blog, thanks for doing so. Below are some eagle images, the first 4 taken with my little 17-50mm and final 2 with my 120-400mm. Enjoys, thanks again and as always Happy Shooting.