Hot on the arrival of my good friend Tim, I received a message from my partner in crime Alex. He informed me the stats were looking to be off the charts for aurora activity,
So after a bit of discussion at around 11 PM, we headed out towards Blackmans Bay.
Now I’ve shot at this location previously and made mention of the horrid orange streetlight glow. This prompted us on scouting a bit further down from the jetty, we noticed a few cars and found it was an ideal location to get set up. We quickly made friends with an interstate photographer doing the same thing as us. We shared tips and traded thoughts on camera gear only to be stopped by mother nature with her show she was about to display for us.
This was possibly the greatest aurora activity I’ve seen to date. Pulsing explosions in the sky, a moonbow like no other. This was the greatest show on earth and we were all there to witness it with our very own eyes.
I would strongly advise if you’ve never seen an aurora and have a little SLR, grab a tripod and head on out. Most kit Lenses can capture an aurora fairly easily.
The settings you would need to use are generally (Based on no Moonlight) ISO 1500-2500, the Lowest aperture you can go (Most kit lenses are around F3.5/4) and a shutter timer of around 15-30 seconds, set your focus point to infinity.
Give it a try, you can only learn from it! P.S Watch out for possums!
