Chasing the Northern Lights

It is cold, the clock is ticking towards twelve and we are chasing the Northern lights in the middle of nowhere outside the city of Alta. Out of the blue, our tour guide shouted "look outside the beautiful Green Lady is dancing across the sky". Immediately, we find a safe spot for parking and get down from the mini bus. It was freezing cold that night and you'll see plenty of water vapour formation in front of you when you exhale, but I am blessed to witness such beautiful natural phenomenon occur in front of my eyes. Big shout-out to Paeskatun tours for making such effort and a dream come true for everyone.

Many of you will question what is the difference between Northern lights chase and experience? Northern lights chase is where you join one of the the experienced and knowledgeable tours who will fulfill your dream of seeing the Aurora Borealis. Now when I say prepare, I really mean it because the chase might take up to 5 hours depending on how far the clear skies are on that specific day. Whereas Northern lights experiences are activities that offer that bit of extra adventure to your Arctic experience. If you never see and really want to experience the dancing Aurora then I would highly recommend you to opt for the Northern lights chasing. You will definitely have a higher probability of seeing it. It really depends on your luck because some people get to witness it while they're doing reindeer sledding so it's kind of like a two in one package - if you're short on time and you really want to see the Northern lights, please do not gamble on your luck and opt for the Northern lights chase. 

Things you need to bring in order to capture photos of the Northern lights:

• Camera with a wide angle lens
• Tripod is a must to keep the camera steady
• Warm clothes / layered yourself up to keep warm
• Headlight to sort out your camera setting
• Hot drinks to keep you warm

I personally using Go Pro Hero 7 and the basic Canon EOS 600D camera to capture this beautiful moment. Now, let me share with you some of the basic settings you need to set up in your camera in order for you to capture this Northern lights. Mobile phone camera is not good enough to capture it unless you are very lucky as the Northern lights on that specific night is very strong. In my case, the Northern lights was not very strong so we were only able to see them through our cameras but it was still as magical as I imagined it would be.

Quick Guide for Northern Lights Photography :

1. Set your camera in manual mode
2. Set the focus to infinity
3. Set the ISO to 3200, however depending on the light, 1600 or even 800 might be enough
4. Aperture (f) need to be as wide as possible (the lowest number) meaning go as low as you can.
5. You need to get the fastest shutter speed. Anything from 2 - 30 seconds can work depending on camera
6. A tripod is very important to keep your camera steady. Set the self timer to 2-3 seconds so that you have time to let go before it starts taking pictures.
7. Make sure you set up your camera settings at home before you chase the Northern lights. You want to be ready if she appears. 

Now let me brief you a little about the Northern lights. The Northern lights are known as Aurora Borealis, which means "dawn of the north". Northern lights can only be seen in Northern hemisphere like in Northern Norway, Alta and Tromso. The Northern lights are always present but winter (around September to April) is usually the best time to see because there are not so much light pollution.

The Northern lights occur depending on the weather conditions and solar activity. According to Paeskatun tours, the earth is magnetic and you have magnetosphere that is protecting us. The charged particles mainly electrons and protons strike atoms in earth's atmosphere causing electrons in the atoms to move to a higher energy state. When the energy lost, they release a photon : light. The emitted light is what is known as Northern lights.

I had an amazing time exploring northern Norway and grateful that I have been able to witness the Northern lights although it was only for one night due to heavy snow and cloudy weather. I highly recommend visiting Norway during the winter if you want to experience the Aurora Borealis.

Till then my blog regarding chasing the Northern lights. Please stay tune for my next blog regarding review on Holmen Husky Lodge. Email or leave me a comment if you have any questions, I will be happy to help you all out there. 

XOXO