These two photos were both taken earlier this year, August, during a camping trip in northern British Columbia. My wife and I drove up to the Spatzisi Plateau Wilderness Park for the weekend and were fortunate enough to see some northern lights from our campsite on Kinaskan Lake.

Both photos are from the south shore of Kinaskan Lake and you can see some repetition in the mountains on the horizon between the two shots. The main difference is the adjustment in exposure settings between the two - star trails and aurora in one image...

[GeoJerry]

Wow, very very nice! How long did you open the shutter to get those star trails?

[shadowsonoureyes]

Wow, very very nice! How long did you open the shutter to get those star trails?

Hey Jerry - thanks for the comment. I believe it was close to 5 minutes (EXIF doesn't seem to be intact? - sorry). I lowered the ISO a bit for that one as well. Makes for an interesting look but you end up losing all of the finer shapes and details in the Aurora - just a big green glowing blob+reflection.

[ebahle]

looking great, wish i was further north to get a better show but michigan will do for now. i seem to struggle with keeping the details in the aurora and battling noise. any tips or suggestions you can pass along to a southerner.

[RobG]

Beautiful! Wish I could see the aurora once. There's been a couple of times I can remember when the Aurora Australis was supposed to be visible from southern mainland, but it was cloudy.

[daacon]

Well done second is my favorite by far. Outstanding photo's both of 'em.

[shadowsonoureyes]

looking great, wish i was further north to get a better show but michigan will do for now. i seem to struggle with keeping the details in the aurora and battling noise. any tips or suggestions you can pass along to a southerner.

If the lights themselves aren't bright enough it's nearly impossible to save any detail without getting a lot of noise. I know some others are using post-processing software to remove noise but that's something that I haven't looked into personally. If you can keep your shutters speed shorter you have a better chance of preserving details, like the vertical light bars, and avoid the large green blob like I have in my first photo here.

Good question though. I would certainly benefit from some tips on this myself. I shot this at f/3.5 with the 18-5mm WR kit lens. I suppose a faster prime lens would help.

[cainmh]

I took these images in Jim Falls Wisconsin of the 10-01-13 Aurora.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/111606611049125551009/albums/5930210875238348721

All taken with a Pentax K5.

Mike Cain

[Dice]

I always love seeing the aurora. Thanks for sharing. One of these days I'll be able to see it in person.

[dane.dawg]

Nicely done.

[slowpez]

Beautiful shots. I didn't realize it was visible that early in the year. Amazing. TFS these.

[shadowsonoureyes]

Beautiful shots. I didn't realize it was visible that early in the year. Amazing. TFS these.

Thanks for the view and comments. Northern lights aren't seasonally dependent so can be seen at any time of year if the solar conditions are right. I think more sightings occur in the winter due to the alignment of the earth and the sun, but there are still many summer occurrences as well.