The northern light blog: Piggsteinen

The post today is about the past, and so is the photo. This photo, from the Balsfjord piggstein (the Name Stone), was taken last year in a tour with a good friend of mine.

We departed from Tromsø towards Skibotn, where we expected to have a small window with clear skies, but we had to stop on the road: the sky was becoming green! We both had been thinking about this shot, and how to take it, for some time. That night was THE night!

The stone is especial because all the paintings it has: it is a tradition to write your name there: if you get close enough to the stone, you will see several layers of spray painting. Definitely worth a look during daytime!

For the non-techy people, maybe you want to scroll down to see the photo... now it is time to be technical!

Our plan was to shoot the stone from a very close perspective, and from a low point of view, so the stone itself would be the main subject. We stopped the car in a safe place (safety first!), and walked close to the stone.

Since we were two people trying to get a similar shot, we had to take turns and be nice to each other. Independently of your shooting mood, whether you are a lonely hunter or a pack-hunter, we always have to be respectful to each other: is YOUR magic shot more important than HIS/HER magic shot?

My opinion is simple: No, your magic shot is as important as any other person's magic shot. During my nights out, I have experienced everything: from random people ruining my shots to totally stealthy photographers that I did not notice at all. And this happens not only with strangers, but with friends: luckily, we can just talk to people and find a way to do things without disturbing each other.

The first and most important rule when you aren't alone: Be careful with your headlamp!

Second rule: Be careful with your headlamp!

Third rule: Avoid walking into other people's frames

Fourth rule: Talk to each other. This will help to avoid conflicts.

All in all, we both had a challenge in our hands: How to take the photo you want, in the setup you want, before the northern light fades away, and be as quick as possible?

First, you need to have an idea in mind. There are lucky shots that just happen, but it usually takes some thought to get a proper framing, foreground and background.

Think of your composition:

What is the main subject? The northern light or, in this case, the stone?

What composition rule will you follow? Rule of thirds, leading lines, none at all...

Think of the settings:

Do you want to illuminate the stone (as I did here with the boat), or is there enough light coming from the moon?

How is the northern light? Is it a green cloud, or does it show curtain shapes? Do you want to freeze the shape?

In this case, my composition was focused mainly on the stone itself, having the northern light as a background element. We had enough moonlight, so I decided to use the natural light to illuminate the stone. Finally, I had a small birch tree on the corner, and I decided to include it to add a third element into the composition.

As for the camera settings, the northern light was a really slow-moving one, so I focused on exposing the stone properly, although I knew that I would not have curtain shapes on the picture.

Had I wished for curtain shapes, I would have needed to increase the ISO settings in order to reduce the exposure time.

The northern light faded out very quickly, so we were lucky to have a plan in mind. If not, we would have been shooting and hoping for the best, while competing with each other on the potential spots.

In summary, think twice, shoot once!

Let me know your opinion in a comment, e-mail or drop me a line in my facebook page!