(Pocket-lint) – Annually, journey pictures weblog Seize the Atlas places collectively an annual Northern Lights Photographer of the 12 months competitors. This yr, the competitors has had entries from all over the world from the US, Russia, New Zealand, Canada, Norway and extra.
With a mess of photos to select from, choosing the winner was little doubt powerful. The Northern Lights aren’t simple to {photograph} both. They’re greatest shot between September and April within the Northern Hemisphere and from March and September within the Southern Hemisphere and also you want a darkish sky with out gentle air pollution too.
We’re gathering a few of the winners on your enjoyment.
Forest of the Mild
Snapped in Alaska, Marc Adamus managed to seize this magical view of a snow-covered panorama with an incredible background.
“Temperatures are sometimes within the minus 30s and negotiating the simply damaged, crusty snow on snowshoes with nothing however a headlamp makes for nice challenges in mountain climbing and composing. I used the final gentle of twilight to arrange the shot you see right here and returned to it hours later because the lights had been dancing overhead.”
Polar-snow monsters
This photograph comes from the unimaginable depths of the Kola Peninsula, Russia and affords much more than simply an superior view of the night time’s sky.
Photographer Sergey Korolev defined a bit about their logic when taking this form of picture.
“I at all times thought it was boring to take footage of simply the sky, however sooner or later, I noticed Marc Adamus’ pictures with the aurora borealis over some lovely mountain surroundings and I used to be actually impressed. Since then, I’ve had a brand new ardour – taking Northern Lights footage the place the panorama and its composition play the primary position, and the sky with the aurora is in concord with the composition. On this image, I additionally targeted on the “snow monsters” within the composition to make this shot appear like an alien scene.”
Aurora Sherbet within the Apostles
This splendidly vibrant view was influenced by fascinating exercise within the night time’s sky.
“The aurora sparked on this night time was from a mix of an M-class photo voltaic flare and a CME; on their very own, they weren’t a lot, however collectively, they positive packed a punch. Nobody actually noticed this coming, and we had not too long ago been burned by the photo voltaic storm that was however wasn’t, i.e., the X-class occasion that by no means materialized. In any case, I noticed the preliminary “hit” within the information, instantly jumped into the automotive, and drove eight hours north to get away from the horrible cloud cowl over a lot of the Midwest Nice Lakes area.
I went to a location I had by no means been to earlier than – which is at all times of venture – however made it work someway! Looking for compositions at the hours of darkness is at all times a problem. The quantity of colour element on this picture is superb. I’ve by no means seen a lot teal and purple. The entire night time felt like a dream. Right here’s to photo voltaic cycle 25!”
Narnia
Amy J. Johnson tells an exquisite story of serene and peaceable it’s being an aurora photographer who’s searching down unimaginable photographs like this.
“In March of 2021, a G1 photo voltaic storm was predicted once I ventured to this forest north of Fairbanks. For years, I’ve spent many nights on this area ready for an exquisite aurora show solely to be disenchanted.
This night time, nonetheless, I reached my set location proper in time for the beginning of an incredible present. The black spruce on this a part of the boreal forest are caked with snow attributable to hoarfrost and the forces of wind. Discovering a pleasant composition has grow to be tougher attributable to a forest fireplace that unfold via the area in 2020. As I set out on snowshoes into this enchanted scene, temps hovered at -21 levels Fahrenheit.”
Spectrum
Iceland has loads of implausible views and this one taken over the enduring Vestrahorn location is not any totally different.
For the Northern Lights
This picture virtually appears prefer it’s from one other planet, with extremely harsh wintery circumstances backdropped by a gloriously vibrant view. It would as properly be too, because the photographer explains:
“This night time was undoubtedly particular. The right circumstances for taking pictures the Northern Lights got here collectively: frost, ice, a full moon, a transparent night time, and no wind. The climate was extraordinarily troublesome; the temperature was 34 levels beneath zero, however flames like these make you neglect the temperature. I had a sure imaginative and prescient of the photograph I needed, and due to the acute climate, I needed to construct the photograph in levels. Because of the moonlight, the panorama was properly illuminated, and I obtained a good steadiness with the overwhelming show of the aurora borealis.”
Aurora Australis
One other vibrant view, this time from Australia. David Oldenhof’s photograph is implausible not only for the view, however for the reflection as properly. Completely peaceable.
“Tasmania is probably the most southern state in Australia. In addition to having lovely coastlines, World Heritage rainforests, and nationwide parks to {photograph}, we even have the added bonus of having the ability to witness probably the most intense auroras within the nation as a result of we’re the furthest south.”
Earlier winners
The year-on-year recognition of this competitors brings loads of photographers with superior pictures to indicate off. Under are a few of the greatest we noticed from 2020’s awards which are price seeing too.
Heavenly Dance
This picture was snapped by Sergey Korolev on the Kola Peninsula in Russia by the coast of the Barents Sea. The mixture of unimaginable gentle present within the sky and mist-like waters on the coast’s edge lead to a staggering view.
Sergey Korolev defined that the picture is definitely the results of two photographs mixed into one – a fast publicity to seize the lights and a protracted one for the rocks.
The Hunt’s Reward
One other unimaginable view of a vibrant night time’s sky, this time from Tasmania, Australia.
Ben Maze, the photographer explains it greatest:
“Captured on this picture is a trifecta of astronomical phenomena that made for a few of the greatest astrophotography circumstances one can witness in Australia, particularly, the setting Milky Means galactic core, zodiacal gentle, and naturally, the elusive Aurora Australis. On high of this, a glowing show of oceanic bioluminescence adorned the crashing waves, including the cherry on high to what was already a wide ranging expertise. “
The colours of this one are most unusual when compared with the usual photos with a green hue that you’d see from these night-time shots.
Dragon Eggs
This photo is almost other-worldly with an amazing icey view and broken areas where the ice has seemingly shattered.
Roksolyana Hilevych created this shot with images taken in the Lofoten Islands in Norway and crafted them together by focus-stacking three photos for the perfect image.
“I found this unknown place on the Lofoten Islands as I was moving around the Gimsoya Islands. That night was very cold, with temperatures reaching -20º C. It was probably one of the best shows of watching and photographing the Northern Lights I’ve ever experienced, because in a place like this, it’s not easy to find something new with such a magical foreground and the kp5/kp6 Northern Lights dancing all night long.”
Antarctic Night
From the freezing zone of Antarctica comes another incredible photo, with a colourful aurora over the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in the South Pole.
It’s actually part of a long-term time-lapse that Benjamin Eberhardt was crafting at the time, which is a tricky thing to pull off in the ultra-low temps:
“…to achieve 24h-long time-lapse shots, you need some creativity to heat and insulate your equipment in order to keep it running, and even rotating, in temperatures ranging down to -80ºC (-112 ºF). In my case, this was a learning curve over multiple months, with a lot of trial and error and frostbite. On the upside, once you have tackled all the challenges, you have plenty of reasons to be proud of your shots.”
Convergence
In September 2020, Agnieszka Mrowka took this image on the Northern Lights in Jökulsárlón, Iceland.
Calm weather, a bright moon and a wonderful view of the glaciers around the lagoon resulted in one of the most impressive images you’re likely to see of this region.
Finland at night
Nestled in the cold forests of Ruka, Finland, where temperatures were down to minus 36 degrees C, Kim Jenssen managed to snap this image of the Northern Lights dancing in the sky above.
After spending hours waiting, they were finally giving up and heading home just before this happened:
“On the trail down, I saw something on my left side and told my friend to stop and wait. Suddenly, the aurora started to “dance”, and all I had to do was to jump in the snow, get my camera ready, and shoot! There was no planning or time to focus on composition. After 5 minutes, the Northern Lights disappeared, but it was a night with a happy ending.”
Lofoten ice lights
Another breathtaking image from the Lofoten Islands. This time with incredibly thick icicles framing the outside of the image and adding an interesting highlight to the Northern Lights.
Photographer Dennis Hellwig had to be patient to get this one as the lights from passing cars were apparently ruining the shot:
“Another challenge was the light pollution from passing cars (it was only 8 p.m. and there were still a lot of people on the road) and other photographers with their headlights on. But in the end, everything went well and I got my picture.”
Spring fireworks
This photo was actually taken in 2019, in April, which is the end of the aurora season in the Arctic. Finally, the patience paid off:
“I have been chasing the Northern Lights for 10+ years now, and I know that they are quite unpredictable. However, some of my best Aurora captures have indeed resulted from unexpected events or uncertain forecasts.”
“That night was one of those when the forecast was uncertain, but I decided to go out to this fantastic location called “Ersfjordbotn”, which is a 20-min drive from the City of Tromsø, and I was so glad that I did it. A magnificent display took place over my head after one hour of waiting. I shot many different images, but this one stretching all over the sky with me standing on the rock in the foreground shows very well how amazing and large the auroras can be.”
The Aurora Borealis, for me, is a wonder of the world. It is the most magnificent celestial and astronomical observation we can make with our eyes. Although most Northern Lights move slowly, or appear static, if you are lucky like I was that night, you can enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
“I think that everyone should put “chasing the Northern Lights” on their bucket list. It is definitely something you should witness and experience with your own eyes.”
Symphony of the lights
This photo by Iurie Belegurschi is another story of good fortune. After waiting for ages for the Northern Lights to appear at Thingvellir National Park, Iceland, they gave up. But when the car got stuck on the way home the dancing Northern Lights finally made an appearance.
When a dream became a reality
Mohad Almehanna put maximum effort into this shot, taking the time to plan it out and find the perfect spot for an awesome composition in Yukon, Canada.
Despite all the planning, difficult weather and low temperatures made the actual photography tricky. The end result was worth the effort though:
“The day I took this photo, the weather was extremely difficult; the temperature was 20 degrees below zero and the strong wind didn’t make the situation any easier. I had a certain vision of the photo I wanted, and because of the extreme weather, I had to build the photo in stages. Taking many shots in different stages of the Aroura rising gave me a good chance to get the final photo here. The overwhelming feeling of seeing the spectacular phenomenon for the first time and racing against time and cold to get the photo was such a thrill that I want to experience again.”
Writing by Adrian Willings. Originally published on .
