The northern and southern polar lights have fascinated and hypnotised man for as long as we have graced the planet. The unearthly flame-like lights have been the inspiration of folk tale and legend for generations and since the invention of the camera a holy grail-like conquest for many enthusiast photographers. Image by Orvaratli Named after the Roman Goddess of Dawn (Aurora) and the Greek name for north wind (Boreas) the Northern lights AKA Aurora Borealis, are seen in areas that are within or surround the Arctic circle, for example: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Canada, Alaska etc. Equally the southern counterpart ‘aurora australis’ is visible from high southern latitudes in Antarctica, South America and Australasia. The mesmerizing wisps are actually solar charged particles reacting with the magnetic field as they make contact with the upper atmosphere gases. The most common lights star-gazers are likely to see are the green variety, with the red variant only appearing in tandem with the green.

An Introduction to Photographing the Northern/Southern Lights