[Leica] Northern Lights Trip

Tue Dec 12 06:42:10 PST 2017

G'day and I hope the snow where you live is more manageable than in Atlanta,
Warmth, don't bring jeans, bring several pairs of the new technical pants
rated for the temperatures that you expect with the accompanying under
layers.  Do the same for your three or more upper layers including a hat
that covers your ears and a scarf or balaclava that covers your face.  The
newer versions of the above will pack flatter than down and dry much
quicker.  You could do worse than buy some outfits from military surplus
for cold to extreme cold weather but the goods available at REI etc will be
properly rated for where you are going.  If you are toasty warm then you
will take your eye out of the viewfinder and just enjoy the show instead of
rushing back to shelter.

The suggestion for wide angle lenses is appropriate as the sky is a big
place, plus with a wide angle you get a longer exposure time before the
background stars start to blur; with a 21 I believe you get in the
neighborhood of 15 seconds.  I also think that if you don't already have an
area-swiss mounting system on your tripod solution you should look into
one.  With the appropriate mount on your camera you can quickly and with
little hand on metal time securely mount your camera to the tripod head
when your are cold and possibly more concerned with not sticking to your
gear than securing in tightly.  Don't ask please.

Fast lenses will be very helpful, remember everything is at infinity and a
fast lens lets you use a lower ISO giving you much cleaner images.  I ran
into some issues with my A7R as my top ISO for clean images was 1250-1600
and I didn't want star trails for some images: the northern lights will
pose similar problems as you want a long enough exposure to show the
beautiful forms but not so long as to show star trails for some of your
images.

Also, take a look at some of the articles written about shooting the stars
over the Grand Canyon especially getting the milky way orientated how you
want it; you may be after the Northern Lights but if they aren't
cooperating then you can shoot the stars and the landscape around you while
you wait.

Last, battery life in the cold is very, very short.  If you can create a
warm pocket space then rotating the battery after every few shots will help
keep you shooting as a warm battery will take some more images before
succumbing to the cold.  Ten charged batteries would not be too few if you
intend to stay out for hours in the cold.

All the best and I will report the experiences of a friend of mine who is
in Iceland now sitting by a warm geyser watching the lights...

On Tue, Dec 12, 2017 at 9:11 AM, Tina Manley <tmanley at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks, everybody.  I knew I could count on you for good advice!  I will
> consider taking an M body as back-up.  Tripod and monopod.  Extra layers of
> clothes.  I'm going to try out my Voightlander 12 on the SL and see how
> that works!  I know the 19R does great.  I'm going to pack my camera
> backpack, weigh it, and start taking things out ;-)
>
> Tina
>
> On Tue, Dec 12, 2017 at 2:04 AM, Philippe <photo.philippe.amard at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Xmas is close, very close.
> >
> > Wouldn’t it be high time for Tom to finally get his own SL body?
> > He’s been dreaming of one for so long ...
> > ;-)
> >
> > Against the cold, I don’t see many solutions but the onion technique.
> > I sometimes even wear silk gloves under my ski gloves … makes it
> difficult
> > to feel the shutter release button though.
> >
> > I’ll ask a friend who made the trip with his nikons, and report when he’s
> > anwered to me.
> >
> > Till then
> >
> > Amities
> > Philippe
> >
> >
> > > Le 11 déc. 2017 à 23:26, Tina Manley <tmanley at gmail.com> a écrit :
> > >
> > > PESO:
> > >
> > > One of the items on our bucket list is to see and photograph the
> Northern
> > > Lights.  We have planned a 25 day trip through Norway and Sweden
> > beginning
> > > January 24 until February 17.  It is going to be cold and dark.  We
> will
> > > stay in a cabin on an island some of the time, but there are a lot of
> > > transfers from boat to bus to train all along the way.
> > >
> > > In a nutshell, we need to travel with as little luggage as possible.
> > Right
> > > now, I plan to just carry my SL with the two SL lenses that I have
> 24-90
> > > and 50/1.4.  I have the M to L converter and a couple of M lenses and
> > the R
> > > to L converter and couple of R lenses.  Battery charger, batteries,
> power
> > > pack, memory cards, tiny netbook, downloader, external hard drives,
> > cables,
> > > converters, power plugs.  That should all fit in my Lowepro backpack
> and
> > an
> > > M Classic satchel.
> > >
> > > Clothes will be long underwear, jeans, turtlenecks, down coats, boots,
> > > gloves, hats, thermal socks - all fitting in one roll-on bag. Small
> > > travel-sized tubes of toothpaste, soaps, etc.
> > >
> > > I've made my list and checked it more than twice.  Am I forgetting
> > > anything?  Have you photographed the Northern Lights?  Any
> > recommendations?
> > >
> > > TIA
> > >
> > > Tina
> > >
> > > --
> > > Tina Manley
> > > www.tinamanley.com
> > > tina-manley.artistwebsites.com
> > > http://www.alamy.com/stock-photography/3B49552F-90A0-
> > 4D0A-A11D-2175C937AA91/Tina+Manley.html
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Leica Users Group.
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> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Leica Users Group.
> > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Tina Manley
> www.tinamanley.com
> tina-manley.artistwebsites.com
> http://www.alamy.com/stock-photography/3B49552F-90A0-
> 4D0A-A11D-2175C937AA91/Tina+Manley.html
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>

-- 
Don
don.dory at gmail.com