My Finland and Norway trip February 2013

[Lester]

Hi all, from Inari northern Finland where I will be till the 8th February when I will move into northern Norway. I managed to get my first image of Aurora Borealis soon after midnight this morning. Even the though the kp index was only a 1, so extremely low activity the image showed colour that extended outside the FOV of the 14mm lens on Canon 5D MK II.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...psa7b84668.jpg

[colinmlegg (Colin)]

Hopefully that CME brings you some goodness in the next few days, Lester. Enjoy the GREEN

[Lester]

Thanks Colin, hoping the clouds will part soon.

[Rigel003 (Graeme)]

What a great adventure, Lester. Keep warm and send us lots of photos. This is a great start.

[Lester]

Thanks Graeme, yes it's a trip of a life time for me. Hoping for clear skies tonight for the aurora. Here is a image from this mornings Sun rise 9:30 am and was set by 2:30 pm. All the best.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps5a060380.jpg

[Lester]

Hi all, got some more images from 2 nights ago and this time could see the aurora moving rapidly. Had to keep the exposures short to try and freeze the action. The kp was still only a 1 when I saw the activity although earlier in the evening it was 3, but snowing here then. Will join the Aurora Hunters tour today for 2 weeks where they will drive our small group to find the clear skies.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps0bee8ac1.jpg

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps45cb147c.jpg

[pluto (Hugh)]

Nice Lester, good to see, I'll be in Norway next week hunting the aurora, can't wait

[Lester]

Thanks Hugh, from what I have seen here all we need is clear skies and even with low activity the aurora can easily fill a wide angle lens FOV. All the best.

[pluto (Hugh)]

Thanks Lester, good luck to you too!

[Kunama]

Its the perfect place to see the auroras, by now you will have heard the word "Revontulet" used for it. Its the Finnish word for the aurora and translates to " Fox's Fires " from the belief they were caused by the swish of a magical fox's tail across snow covered arctic lands causing the snow to fly up into the heavens.

I was fortunate to grow up not far from Lappi and saw the aurora countless times.

[Lester]

Thanks Matt, for your input; I hadn't heard of "Revontulet".

Here is one of many images I got last night near the Russian border where it was -22 C and the kp was only 0. Could see the aurora band in the sky but not the colour. Nose got uncomfortable as the internal moisture began to crystalize till I put a scarf over my face.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...psd981179e.jpg

[ourkind (Carlos)]

Beautiful photos Lester! Thanks for sharing

[Kunama]

This latest picture looks like it was taken from our backyard in Finland, just beautiful. Keep them coming.

[Lester]

Thanks for all your comments. Tonight 7-2-13 the aurora Borealis went off big time, and at the maximum covered 75% of the entire sky. The kp was still only a 1. More activity is expected tomorrow. These images taken with a 14mm Samyang f2.8 lens, near Inari northern Finland. Tomorrow we move to northern Norway.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...psc6804b20.jpg

This image is over a huge radio tower.
http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...psf227b19f.jpg

This feature hung in the sky for ages like a huge comet.
http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps34b49a8e.jpg

I took over 1,000 images with two cameras going continuously.

[RickS (Rick)]

Very nice pictures, Lester. Makes me wish I was there We had a great time in Norway and Iceland a year ago.

[Lester]

Thanks for all the comments. Here are some more from near Stabbursdalen Norway, 70+ latitude.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps81680aa6.jpg

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps97862328.jpg

this one has the face of an Indian chief with huge head piece of green and red.
http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps18f61014.jpg

[iceman (Mike)]

Been enjoying your photos on FB, Lester. Very jealous!

The hardest part now is going to be whittling those images down to a reasonable number! I can imagine the many thousands you have taken.

Great shots!

[Lester]

Thanks Mike, so far almost 4,000 images taken. So will take some time to get them all sorted and time lapse movies made.

[Lester]

Well last night went off and didn't stop, only the rising Sun put an end to the display. At times covered the entire sky and yet the kp peaked at only a 2. The first image is my favorite so far of all my images due to the colour and structure of the aurora. Taken over Parsanger Fiord Norway.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps02028acb.jpg

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps62b3237e.jpg

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...psbb0136b6.jpg

The last two images taken with Sigma 15mm FE lens at F2.8 to try and capture most of the view. This lens gives a 180 degree diagonal FOV.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...psbb0136b6.jpg

Looking straight up with fish eye lens.

http://i638.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps2792afef.jpg

[Kunama]

Now you're just showing off Lester !!!




Seriously beautiful images , looks like I will have to go and do some renovations on my family cottage in Finland!