Being primarily a wildlife photographer I rarely comment here. I've come to expect great photos when I see your name attached to a post and this one definitely qualifies. Stunning!
Thank you very much for all comments and appreciation. The location is exceptional and I have never seen a photo with aurora from that particular valley, with Mt. Thor and surrounding peaks. I don't think it existed before I got lucky to be there in right time and location. When I was there in previous years I had amazing aurora over Mt. Asgard, but there was nothing over Mt. Thor. This year I got my wish.
matthewsaville wrote:
A truly stunning image, is it a single exposure? The continuity between sky and earth is absolutely magical...
Yes, it is a single exposure shot.
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mysh wrote:
really cool shot. The river valley makes a great foreground. I am so jealous that you have had many chances to capture Baffin Island.
Is there a reasonable flight to the island? I learned of Baffin a couple years ago but was told it is crazy expensive.
Thank you.
I don't want to use this site as promo place, but this photo was taken at workshops I run there on Baffin Island. If you want more details, send me a private message here or elsewhere on social media and I will give you more details on the topic.
Wow! Baffin Island has been on my radar for some time. What an amazing image. Did you have to carry shotguns in case of polar bears? That valley is truly incredible and I've never seen an image of it with aurora before. Fantastic.
Man, I can only imagine what that was like. I've been shooting landscapes for over 20 years and have never once seen the Northern Lights with my own eyes, let alone travel any distance for photos. I hope some day I can have enough money and good health to see it at least once. Until then, thanks for sharing.
Again many thanks to all for encouraging comments! I appreciate them all. Thank you!
kurt765 wrote:
Wow! Baffin Island has been on my radar for some time. What an amazing image. Did you have to carry shotguns in case of polar bears? That valley is truly incredible and I've never seen an image of it with aurora before. Fantastic.
No shotguns are allowed in the park...or any other type of weapons and they allow only emergency helicopters to land in the park so nobody can be dropped off either. The whole trek is generally by foot. In terms of polar bears: they tend to stay near the seashore where they feed. This trek brings you into the valley so after a day of hiking, you are in polar bears "safe" area.
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JohanEickmeyer wrote:
Man, I can only imagine what that was like. I've been shooting landscapes for over 20 years and have never once seen the Northern Lights with my own eyes, let alone travel any distance for photos. I hope some day I can have enough money and good health to see it at least once. Until then, thanks for sharing.
It is worth all money and hard work (or not so hard work...depending on your body status quo). Life changing experience. There is not much of vertical change in altitude, but Arctic moraines, glaciers and rivers crossings can be tricky. Plus you have to carry all your food and gear. So relatively good shape is a prerequisite. I wouldn't call it the toughest hike I've done, but it is long (about 2 weeks total trip).
It is rare moment to see dark landscape painted green by the sheer power of auroras. Seen this IRL few times and even more weird is to see auroras casting shadows.
I got few shots from Finland with same kind of conditions but the landscape is far off from this one You did very well here.
MJKoski wrote:
It is rare moment to see dark landscape painted green by the sheer power of auroras. Seen this IRL few times and even more weird is to see auroras casting shadows.
I got few shots from Finland with same kind of conditions but the landscape is far off from this one You did very well here.
Thanks. I have taken many photos with aurora this year and in previous years of my Baffin Island Tours and I'd say about half I consider a garbage and never process them. What is usually happening is that some photographers concentrate too much on the aurora and forget that aurora alone is just an abstract on the sky, not a landscape.
It is not easy to make landscape work well with aurora, I know it, but after couple trials one usually gets the shot.
The composition for this shot I froze in my mind in 2014. I had no aurora over Mt. Thor, but instead a full spectrum of an amazing aurora over Mt. Asgard. Then, during my next visits in that location I was just waiting for aurora. In 2016 it finally happened.
What type of backpack are you using for extended treks?
Also what are your main types of boots? Do you use ultralight approach shoes or something more traditional?
This last summer I've been weight training with a new Gregory Baltoro 85L backpack with up to 65 pounds. I never knew the choice of backpack could make such a huge difference for my hiking ability. I did try some other similar packs like the Osprey Xenith 88, but they did not work out right.
I also went through about 10 different pairs of boots and shoes and finally settled on the Salewa Firetail EVO mid GTX approach shoes and a pair of Skechers Go Walk 3 shoes for river fording and backup. Both pairs weigh only 3.3 pounds together for size 10.5 men's.
I sort of find the backpack and shoes are more important than the type of camera or lens, for hardcore adventure landscape photography.
