Rustic Cabin and the Aurora
I have a cabin in the Alaska Range mountains, which is nestled amongst spruce trees and beautifully flanked by snow covered mountains. I made my first trip to this area when I was 18 years old and am so grateful to still make such ventures 34 years later! Abundant snow in the area made for some great skiing and exploration. Clear skies and a little northern lights action made for some classic photography of rustic cabin life.
Aurora panorama. Canon 5 D Mark III, Tamron 15-30mm F/2.8, 8 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 2500.
Challenges of Aurora photography
Aurora photography, of all the photography that I do, is the most challenging. This is true from a technical and creative perspective. While I’ve got the technical aspects pretty much down after years of doing it, there are the perpetual creative challenges of working in the dark, managing foregrounds, composing in tight situations with wide angle lenses, being careful of overly distorted views, and deciding what to include as well as what to exclude. Then finally, when I sit down at a computer in a warm office and start reviewing the pictures I inevitably say to myself, why didn’t I move this, or change that, or do some other thing. But that is a healthy learning curve to ride upon. This is one reason that multiple visits to the same location can benefit from round-two modifications. And I’ve got plenty on deck for this scene!
Using Lightroom for Panorama Creation
On this night, I took one panorama sweep of 3 pictures to be merged them together in Lightroom CC. The beauty of using Lightroom CC to do this merging process is that it maintains the combined 3 file image as a DNG and offers all the development modifications intrinsic to a RAW file.
Because photographing the aurora often involves the use of an ultra wide angle lens (in this case, a 15mm focal length), combining several images can provide enough “extra space” for making perspective corrections and minimizing the distortion of objects. In this case, the cabin.
Three files used to create a panorama photo in Lightroom.
Great post! I enjoyed it immensely. Was just about ready to give up on your wonderful blog.
Karen, due to some unknown reason, the feed that used to serve my blog via email to those who subscribed was broken and the list is gone. I’m curious if you were on that list?
Patrick
I’m not sure if I am, Patrick. I go to the blog site daily to check for new posts. That’s how I access your posts. Karen
OK, if you want, you can sign up to get notified by clicking the box in the top right sidebar, and then you would get an email notifying you when I make a new post.
i don’t mind checking, but it seems like you’re not making regular blog posts. It’s been since December since you posted, as it appears to me.
The posts will pick up with more frequency soon, I spent much of January in Europe on a little time off. But no need to sign up at all, just wanted to let you know.
Thanks, Patrick. I really enjoy your blog.
Hi Patrick. A friend and I would be very interested in coming to Fairbanks with our husbands this fall or winter to photograph the Northern Lights. We would be particularly interested in a photography tour where we could get some good advice on best photography techniques, where to stay, etc. Would you be able to advise? Thanks, Donna
Hi Patrick, Tim from Tok here- happy “almost spring”! A couple of professional photographers from Mexico came through Tok tonite on their way to Fairbanks to head up the haul road to photograph the NL’s, then travel the state for a couple weeks. I thought they might call you to see if you had any short trips lined up anytime soon, just in case.
They’ll contact you through your website.
Best to you- 35 years later, and we’re still up here…we must be crazy, huh!
Tim,
35 and later, you are correct, but such a good life it has been!
Here’s to another 35…cheers buddy.
Roger that!