Weekly picture

This time, it is not a picture, but a video: another real-time video of a northern light. It is a challenging technique that requires plenty of technical adjustments, and the result, as you can see, is far from being perfect. On the positive side, this is exactly what we could see on the night of the 6th of April.

However, there are some thoughts I would like to share with you:



First of all, have you ever tried to record a video at night? Everything is black. The DSLR cameras are able to record HD video to a certain extent, but night video recording is still a challenge.
Second, the noise (grain) in the video: I am using the extreme settings for my camera: this means that I am forcing all the settings, and that reduces de quality of each frame. However, the quality loss is a price I am willing to pay.
Why am I so eager to pay this price? The answer is really simple: when you see pictures of northern lights, you see a 10-15 seconds exposure picture, which means that the it actually concentrates all the light that happened in a single frame. Or, in other words, the picture is a lie. Some people call it an art, some people want to just impress everyone with green glooms all over the sky. The problem with this is that, when you come to see the northern lights, you expect to see something like what you have seen all over the net. Then, you get disappointed when you just see a green gloom, that sometimes looks just like a bright cloud.
Therefore, I want to show the real process. My time-lapses are not as impressive as other time-lapses you can see on the net, but that is not due to lack of expertise. I could perfectly make these time-lapses, with northern lights that move like snakes, and brighten the sky with a green light, almost like if it was another sun.
I have been getting messages through my facebook page that ask me why are my pictures and videos so pale compared to others. I have replied them all the same thing: I want to show what I see, not what I would like to see.
Said that, it is also important to say that sometimes, but not too often, we get extremely strong northern lights that may resemble what you see in the pictures.
It is extremely important to be aware of the limits between the divulgation of a natural phenomenon and the art related to it.
What do you think about it? Leave a comment, send me a message or write in my Facebook wall. I am open for any suggestion.