Hunting the Northern Lights - part 3

So I was thrice lucky. Managed to watch the spectacular aurora borealis for 2 nights in Tromso, Norway and another night in Kiruna, Sweden.

The aurora I saw in Kiruna was incredible. But photos won't do it justice cos there's too much light pollution in the city.

Next time I visit Sweden, I'll make sure to book Abisko National Park wayyy in advance. We wanted to stay in Abisko but too bad, all accommodations were fully booked by November for our travel dates.

Anyhow, here's some information about the fascinating aurora cos you know.. surprisingly there are some people who don't know what it is! I showed my photos to a friend and that person innocently asked,
"What's that?"
I was like O_O

What are the Northern Lights?

They are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. They are known as 'Aurora borealis' in the north and 'Aurora australis' in the south. It appear in many colors although pale green and pink are the most common.

How to see it?
You can see it with your own eyes, no telescopes required. To capture it on the camera, a high quality camera that allows you to manually adjust the settings is needed. You can also capture it using smartphones if there is a manual setting but the photo won't be that nice la kan.

Where to see it?
Head to the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland. Tromso and Abisko are
particularly popular destinations so book your accommodations in advance. Iceland is also a good choice but its skies are always cloudy so you need big luck or spend many days there waiting. Other than those countries, perhaps you wanna head to North America and Alaska.

When to see it?
The best time to see the Northern Lights is during winter time when the nights are longer, colder, darker and clearer. Unfortunately, the time of night when they can occur varies without prediction. It might be around 8pm, 10pm or midnight or even in the wee hours of the morning.

Who should see it?
You and me, people who love nature!

Why you should see it?
It's one of the best natural wonders!

How much does it cost to watch it?
It's free! But if you want to increase your chances, pay some amount and follow local tour groups.
Or you can rent a car and drive on your own chasing it.

So that's the 5W and 2H of the Northern Lights hahaha.

Some other information that is also useful to take note.

Camera setting.
This can be tricky. Usually the tour guide is more than happy to help you with the settings.
But in case you are on your own, feel free to follow these settings;

1. Set your camera to Manual setting
2. ISO setting - ISO 1600 is a good start
3. Aperture - f-2.8 (or the lowest f-number you can get)
4. Shutter speed - 20 sec is a good start
5. Use a tripod. Please do not forget to bring your tripod cos your camera shutter speed is going to be too slow to hold with your hands. If not, your photos will be blurrrrrr.
6. Zoom and focus. Zoom out (lowest mm setting on your lens), and then to the infinity symbol, if you have one.
7. Remotely release the shutter. Use the timer or remote app cos you'll shake the camera when you press the shutter button.

Just play around with your settings. If your image is too bright, lower your shutter speed or ISO. If your image is too dark, up your shutter speed or ISO.  Defo not a pro, I also learned it from the Internet.

Part 1. Part 2