I was looking forward to this. Awesome job as usual! After nine years I finally posted my first RUclips video yesterday. A time lapse of the northern lights over a log home in Missouri. I used S&Q mode so I was limited to 1 fps and therefore couldn’t go slower than 1 second shutters. I used a 23.97p time line. I think it turned out good considering I had never done a time lapse with my A1 and I had never photographed the northern lights before. However, I think the color was over done and maybe too much color noise in the first half of the video. If you have a moment, I sure would appreciate it if you could view it and give me some constructive criticism. You are the King of this stuff in my opinion. It’s less than one minute long. Thanks!
P.S. I also struck out the next night. I got set up near a suburban lake and waited for a couple hours before packing up and going home. Oh well. Sometimes we only get one shot.
I was on the Somerset coast in the UK near a village called Porlock. It was an outstanding night where I met around 6 other photographers after a similar composition. When the Aurora kicked off we were giggling like school children! One of the most incredible nights with a dome of the Aurora over our heads and the pillars visible by eye, mesmerizing and a night I will never forget. So glad you managed to experience it too, so much more special when it is close to home.
I’m working at Auckland, New Zealand. It’s my first time seeing the South atmosphere.. it’s crazy.. I no idea how to shoot Aurora.. but I’m so enjoy the time with it.
Yew it was a wow night all around the world ! Here down under in New Zealand we have the Aurora Australis and when I joined the group a couple of months back i was told there is no way you will capture it in the North Island ! Well that went out the window on Saturday the 11th from 7-00 till 9-30pm as the sky lit up ! at 75 years young i have never witnessed an Aurora so this absolutely mindblowing ! trouble is i have the bug for capturing more ! Bring it on. Cheers from New zealand
It was so wild!! Man, it was 90deg up the sky in Tasmania where it would be low on the Southern horizon. And the surprise was how intense it was here facing the west. Some of the strongest photo results were facing west. And bright. So bright. Glad you got to see and photograph it Machael.
WOW! Those are great images! Glad you were able to capture it. The aurora is definitely one of the most amazing things to see in nature! Everyone should have the opportunity at least once.
I captured the northern lights with my camera last Friday too, but it wasn't as clean as yours! Even with my 16-35gm 2.8 wide open, sigh! Mistake I made was i recorded straight out too instead of intervalometer 😅
I currently live in Michigan and have been trying to see the Aurora ever since I moved here. When the Storm was predicting, we were supposed to have cloudy skies and I was also dealing with grad school and sick children. As all my apps started to go off about the storm, my youngest was really struggling to go to sleep. Finally at 10pm, I got him down, ran outside and saw the red bursts and pillars in the sky! I freaked out, giddy like a child on Christmas day! I couldn't drive anywhere but I had a great time creating compositions in my neighborhood. It's something I'll never forget! Love that you were able to capture the storm from great vantage points!
The Southern Hemisphere didn’t miss out on this one, large parts of Australia were able to witness the Southern Lights (Aurora Australis) illuminate the night sky with flickering shades of green, blue, purple and red. Was a very special evening indeed. Thanks for sharing again Michael, can understand that “speechless” feeling.
I'm living in Redmond Oregon, and I got some great shots of the Aurora using F2.8, 13 sec shutter speed and ISO 100. I found anything over 13 seconds caused the lights to be too bright. I was really surprised that ISO 100 actually worked, but that's just how bright the lights were. It was an historic, once-in-a-lifetime, bucket list event, for sure!
I captured the Aurora here in Cornwall in the UK over West Wheal Owles at Botallack Mine, it was without a doubt the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen or captured…..just mind blowing. Great photos and Timelapse by the way.
I'm still in awe of the experience. It was my first time shooting the aurora and I only wish I had been in a more scenic location for better photos. I found that about 15 seconds worked best for me, but even then it wasn't perfect. Great shots.
Awesome video Michael! I am completely jealous!! 😝 I looked for the lights, but like your second night, I couldn’t see anything. Thanks for sharing your experience!!
Living beyond N60 Lat I witness aurora regularly. Unfortunately at this time of year the sky didn't darken quite enough to really capture the event well... but I guess I shouldn't complain. Those ISO you use are crazy compared to my old DSLR. On dark nights with strong corona I tend to shoot 800 iso at around 6 seconds. Much longer than that the curtains blur a bit. Also... white balance of 3400 suits the night sky (in my cameras). I'm glad so many people, including yourself, had the opportunity to witness the lights first hand. Thank you for sharing.
I'm just now having time to edit my Aurora shots from that night. It was so crazy up here in Canada. Most of my shots were west and SOUTH because it was so strong. And also definitely directly overhead. Just insane! Wish I was smart enough to record doing it all like you did! Night 2 was also a bust up here. But that's why they call it Aurora Chasing. Because, like storm chasing, it's definitely not guaranteed! Great stuff Michael! Just gorgeous compositions!
Amazing. I was in Bodega Bay and totally missed it on Friday. I had my drone and camera and didn’t even know. So was ready Sat night and nothing but fog. So bummed but oh well. What parking spot in Point Reyes are you in to get that view of the coast? That 2nd spot looks like Chimney Rock trail. Beautiful shots.
Absolutely Amazing. I was in Carmel, Monterey & Watsonville and all I saw was fog. I tried on Sunday night back in the valley and nothing . Great Job as usual.
Great video! Living in northwest IL, I had seen small dabs of aurora only twice in my life. Like many others, I hit the Tube and crammed to learn approx exposures, just in case the predictions were right this time. I got up at stupid o' clock, and holy cow, there they were!! I found it cool that I mostly saw greens, but most of my photos are pinks and electric blues, with only hints of greens. My Canon T7 could see things that I couldn't! Mads has a good (long!) video from like 5 years ago, where he explains a lot of the science of vision and color associated with aurora. I may never get to Iceland and see aurora from horizon to horizon, in big sheets and waves, but I got to stand on my own driveway and get some pretty dang cool shots.
I moved to North Dakota from SF 2.5 years ago and I've witnessed the Northern Lights several times, its a beautiful sight to see. The ones recently were literally above my apartment building, didn't have to drive out far to see them.
I feel you ! I am in Washington state, the first day I didn't want to gamble too much so I drove close to home (In a vineyard) and took so many really cool pictures with the rows of vines in the foreground, some of those pictures looking directly up. So the next day I got palsy and went to Mt Rainier Ntl park, hoping to take pictures of the Aurora over Mt Rainier... And nothing 😅 At least it was a great adventure !
I've been trying to see the northern lights for over 15 years, checking the forecast almost every day but there's was always something preventing me from seeing it. On May 10th i was exhilarated to finally see it, the sky's were clear and conditions were perfect but then during the 15 min bike ride to a dark location the sky went fully overcast and i missed everything. I went out the next day in hopes of catching a last glimpse of the fading northern lights, the sky was perfectly clear this time but as the twilight faded the sky's stayed dark. After a while another photographer joined me, we chatted for a while, both not expecting to see anything as the storm had already significantly faded. Then suddenly at 21:20 UTC i see a faint purple pillar to the north quickly joined by several more, i rushed back to my camera and was able to take 2 decent shots, but it was such a short outburst lasting only 2 minutes before degrading into dim featureless afterglow, the other photographer sadly missed it due to technical issues. I really hate Dutch weather, it has ruined many comets and geomagnetic storms for me.
Michael, fantastic images! I was thinking the aurora was a bust in the SF Bay Area...at least in the East Bay, but you proved us wrong! About what time of the night were you shooting those images?
Great vlog Michael It was a beautiful Aurora show. We were also lucky enough to see the southern lights with our eyes on The Great Ocean Road in Australia
Beautiful Michael, truly awesome images and time lapses. I experienced and photographed the northern lights for the first time and it was such a beautiful and jaw dropping experience that night just a couple of weeks ago. Profound memories that I will cherish, as I am sure you will too 😊
The great thing (apart from the amazing quality of the photos) is having a background that's so hard to see in the usual aurora photos. Moreoften is Iceland or Norway or the Faroe islands, but these comps, as you said, are out of this world. Congrats
Michael, amazing vlog! How do you hike late at night alone? lol.. I have been to both of those spots but during the day time. Can't fathom how would it be during the night..
I really wish I would’ve seen your video before going out. I took several time lapses all of them between three and four second intervals. It’s just too long, as you said. Lesson learned for next time. At least I got a lot of great single exposures. Great work here. Really impressive to see the aurora even down in California!
Great job on the youtube video. Yeah, you got some pretty pictures, but I feel bad you had to work so hard to make them. Being farther north sure makes it easier. Perhaps next time, drive further. It is rare enough knowing they will be there, if you do know, the drive is worth it.
Crazy beautiful photos as always dear Michael! And so happy to hear that you are also debating with yourself if it's worth it to go to the next spot or call it... ;-)
Absolutely great Michael. Amazing photos and what special memories! I was able to capture a shot in AZ, and while not nearly as good a shot as you got it was still amazing to see the aurora with a saguaro in the foreground.
The A7S is a powerhouse when it comes to low light. But I did have to run the timelapses through a video noise reduction and then used Lightroom denoise on the stills.
Incredible, especially that second location. You couldn't hope the aurora would be so strong it would stretch to the western horizon. That doesn't happen often even in the north. The north coast was clear that night (Fri), but completely overcast the next. Luckily I went inland to Mt Shasta, also perfect weather.Timing!
Well, there’s the difference between us. Once those pillars started to dim I’d have called the shoot a huge (and soul-changing) success, packed up my gear, and gone home to chimp to my heart’s content. You chose to hike into the tick-infested grass for a second go-round and got the shot of a lifetime. Congratulations, sir, you truly earned it.
I'm trying to figure out how I can point something out without coming across as ungrateful or rude. I love your work Michael, I watch all your content I've even donated you some money. When I watch your content I'm always wondering where exactly are you are shooting and I don't quite understand why you keep your locations such a secret. I watch other content creators on RUclips and it's common knowledge where they are shooting and it really helps someone that has a full-time job and cannot put in the endless hours to find these great locations. Thank you for all the great photography content. I appreciate you.
Hi Dennis, Thanks so much for watching my videos and the support! I mentioned the location at 3:50, so no secret kept here. I do find that scouting and finding locations is quite a large part of the creative process, and I always encourage and teach people how to do that for their own adventures. Unfortunately, about 95% of my job as a professional photographer is the same as any other full-time job. Running admin work, marketing, emails, meetings, teaching, and a lot of video editing. So, most of my scouting/on-location photography is ironically done in my free time, as it would be for yours and others. If you ever want to know a lesser-known location that wasn't mentioned, simply reach out to me, and I am usually happy to share. Especially when I know the person will practice leave-no-trace principles and treat the location respectfully.
Great job, Michael! Love the shots you got, especially the wide shot from the 2nd location. I think I was right up the hill from you at your 1st location!
How wonderful. I was up in Ukiah on a whim Friday night and got to experience the same cosmic beauty in a farm setting. But if I was back home in Berkeley, I absolutely would’ve been out there in the same spot because it was such a good choice. So glad it worked out for you! Wonderful image, and time lapse.
Beautiful, Michael! First time I’ve commented but I’m a subscriber, love your work. I was hiking the Cape Wrath Trail in Scotland, UK. Went to vent the tent, and BOOM! Didn’t have my gear but managed to capture a few snapshots. Been waiting to see the Aurora for years. Thanks for the fantastic footage. Very best, Sue 😊
Great video. Friday was beyond words beautiful. I ventured to the north of England (turns out it was so strong I didn’t need to) and had a large, empty quiet field to myself to witness directly overhead powerful full colour aurora opening up like a door to another world. A night I will never forget.
Amazing photos and videos, as always, Michael. I ran out to the Anza-Borrego Desert from my home in the San Diego area Saturday night, and it was a bust. I should have gone Friday night because some folks did come up with some interesting photos.
Super jealous! I unfortunately was at work when it happened (I work nights). Next time I’m going to be “sick because I ate gas station sushi”. Hoping we get more opportunities like this later this year!
Hey Michael, I tried to catch the aurora on the beach the second night but I didn't see anything. The moon was very mesmerizing though with all the visible stars, so I ended up with moon photos as well. Thank you, as always, for sharing your adventure and perfect images ❤ I'm counting down the days until I leave 😉😄🤗
The setting moon with the tree was a beautiful image. As for the Aurora experience - it was one wild night of activity. It was absolutely crazy in the southern hemisphere. I had the camera pointed to the northern horizon at one point it was so huge! Ridiculous. Never in my life have I experienced something like that. Thanks for sharing what you got to experience and capture of THAT night in the north. A truly globally shared event.
Wow ! Your pictures are amazing! I also had the chance to see the auroras that night in Quebec, Canada. It was my first time seing and taking pictures of Northern light. It was a very special moment!
Thanks Michael! You definitely haven't promised to much and it´s so nice to see you that excited. Even here in Germany we've been able to see the Aurora. Absolutely stunning and great "work" as usual!
Definitely a cool event, everyone with a camera getting to whatever local spot they could get to by nightfall and photographing the same phenomena. It sure produced a huge variety in aurora photos this past weekend and they were all fun to look at. I really had processing trouble too, the colors were so saturated it looked pretty cheesy and fake. Not often I have to put negative saturation on an image.
I was looking forward to this. Awesome job as usual! After nine years I finally posted my first RUclips video yesterday. A time lapse of the northern lights over a log home in Missouri. I used S&Q mode so I was limited to 1 fps and therefore couldn’t go slower than 1 second shutters. I used a 23.97p time line. I think it turned out good considering I had never done a time lapse with my A1 and I had never photographed the northern lights before. However, I think the color was over done and maybe too much color noise in the first half of the video. If you have a moment, I sure would appreciate it if you could view it and give me some constructive criticism. You are the King of this stuff in my opinion. It’s less than one minute long. Thanks!
P.S. I also struck out the next night. I got set up near a suburban lake and waited for a couple hours before packing up and going home. Oh well. Sometimes we only get one shot.
Absolutely gorgeous and wonderful photos you managed to capture there, Michael! I am SO bummed I didn't get to benefit from this opportunity!
I was on the Somerset coast in the UK near a village called Porlock. It was an outstanding night where I met around 6 other photographers after a similar composition. When the Aurora kicked off we were giggling like school children! One of the most incredible nights with a dome of the Aurora over our heads and the pillars visible by eye, mesmerizing and a night I will never forget. So glad you managed to experience it too, so much more special when it is close to home.
Two words Michael - incredibly fabulous!!!!! Thank you.
I’m working at Auckland, New Zealand. It’s my first time seeing the South atmosphere.. it’s crazy.. I no idea how to shoot Aurora.. but I’m so enjoy the time with it.
Yew it was a wow night all around the world ! Here down under in New Zealand we have the Aurora Australis and when I joined the group a couple of months back i was told there is no way you will capture it in the North Island ! Well that went out the window on Saturday the 11th from 7-00 till 9-30pm as the sky lit up ! at 75 years young i have never witnessed an Aurora so this absolutely mindblowing ! trouble is i have the bug for capturing more ! Bring it on. Cheers from New zealand
We're still ramping up towards solar maximum, so there's definitely a chance it can still happen again!
It was so wild!! Man, it was 90deg up the sky in Tasmania where it would be low on the Southern horizon. And the surprise was how intense it was here facing the west. Some of the strongest photo results were facing west. And bright. So bright. Glad you got to see and photograph it Machael.
It was crazy in Tassie! Nuts.
WOW! Those are great images! Glad you were able to capture it. The aurora is definitely one of the most amazing things to see in nature! Everyone should have the opportunity at least once.
I captured the northern lights with my camera last Friday too, but it wasn't as clean as yours! Even with my 16-35gm 2.8 wide open, sigh! Mistake I made was i recorded straight out too instead of intervalometer 😅
I currently live in Michigan and have been trying to see the Aurora ever since I moved here. When the Storm was predicting, we were supposed to have cloudy skies and I was also dealing with grad school and sick children. As all my apps started to go off about the storm, my youngest was really struggling to go to sleep. Finally at 10pm, I got him down, ran outside and saw the red bursts and pillars in the sky! I freaked out, giddy like a child on Christmas day! I couldn't drive anywhere but I had a great time creating compositions in my neighborhood. It's something I'll never forget!
Love that you were able to capture the storm from great vantage points!
Imagine how giddy your kid would have been seeing it.
@@ryanaegis3544 he's 6 months old, so I don't think he would have even noticed 😂😂😂
Absolutely stunning captures from one of my favorite places on Earth! Nicely done!
The Southern Hemisphere didn’t miss out on this one, large parts of Australia were able to witness the Southern Lights (Aurora Australis) illuminate the night sky with flickering shades of green, blue, purple and red. Was a very special evening indeed.
Thanks for sharing again Michael, can understand that “speechless” feeling.
Yep fantastic here in central Vic, and being the first time my reactions were even more excited than his
I couldn't believe how far north people were seeing it - Townsville and Mt Isa! What the!!???
Thank you for sharing your amazing experience, I really enjoyed seeing it.
I'm living in Redmond Oregon, and I got some great shots of the Aurora using F2.8, 13 sec shutter speed and ISO 100. I found anything over 13 seconds caused the lights to be too bright. I was really surprised that ISO 100 actually worked, but that's just how bright the lights were. It was an historic, once-in-a-lifetime, bucket list event, for sure!
This was truly breathtaking. In southeast Kansas, I only got a magenta sky, no pillars. Still, it was a beautiful night. Thanks for sharing yours!
I captured the Aurora here in Cornwall in the UK over West Wheal Owles at Botallack Mine, it was without a doubt the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen or captured…..just mind blowing.
Great photos and Timelapse by the way.
Fantastic shots and time lapses. I cannot believe still we had Aurora over the Bay Area. I watched it at Lake Sonoma. What a dream come true!
I'm still in awe of the experience. It was my first time shooting the aurora and I only wish I had been in a more scenic location for better photos. I found that about 15 seconds worked best for me, but even then it wasn't perfect. Great shots.
Up here in Canada it was SOOOO bright. I was shooting 1.3 - 3.6 sec exposures. It was crazy bright. Love seeing them up here!
Truely awesome work Michael. Fabulous video. Thank you for documenting a very special event.
Awesome video Michael! I am completely jealous!! 😝 I looked for the lights, but like your second night, I couldn’t see anything. Thanks for sharing your experience!!
That was a crazy night. I was on the Oregon coast and it was the best I’ve ever seen.
Living beyond N60 Lat I witness aurora regularly. Unfortunately at this time of year the sky didn't darken quite enough to really capture the event well... but I guess I shouldn't complain.
Those ISO you use are crazy compared to my old DSLR. On dark nights with strong corona I tend to shoot 800 iso at around 6 seconds. Much longer than that the curtains blur a bit. Also... white balance of 3400 suits the night sky (in my cameras). I'm glad so many people, including yourself, had the opportunity to witness the lights first hand. Thank you for sharing.
I'm just now having time to edit my Aurora shots from that night. It was so crazy up here in Canada. Most of my shots were west and SOUTH because it was so strong. And also definitely directly overhead. Just insane! Wish I was smart enough to record doing it all like you did!
Night 2 was also a bust up here. But that's why they call it Aurora Chasing. Because, like storm chasing, it's definitely not guaranteed! Great stuff Michael! Just gorgeous compositions!
Kicking myself not taking a second camera and doing an interval shoot. But still got some amazing images!!! West of Salt Lake City... Or my GoPro!
Amazing. I was in Bodega Bay and totally missed it on Friday. I had my drone and camera and didn’t even know. So was ready Sat night and nothing but fog. So bummed but oh well. What parking spot in Point Reyes are you in to get that view of the coast? That 2nd spot looks like Chimney Rock trail. Beautiful shots.
Absolutely Amazing. I was in Carmel, Monterey & Watsonville and all I saw was fog. I tried on Sunday night back in the valley and nothing . Great Job as usual.
Great video! Living in northwest IL, I had seen small dabs of aurora only twice in my life. Like many others, I hit the Tube and crammed to learn approx exposures, just in case the predictions were right this time. I got up at stupid o' clock, and holy cow, there they were!! I found it cool that I mostly saw greens, but most of my photos are pinks and electric blues, with only hints of greens. My Canon T7 could see things that I couldn't! Mads has a good (long!) video from like 5 years ago, where he explains a lot of the science of vision and color associated with aurora. I may never get to Iceland and see aurora from horizon to horizon, in big sheets and waves, but I got to stand on my own driveway and get some pretty dang cool shots.
I moved to North Dakota from SF 2.5 years ago and I've witnessed the Northern Lights several times, its a beautiful sight to see. The ones recently were literally above my apartment building, didn't have to drive out far to see them.
I feel you ! I am in Washington state, the first day I didn't want to gamble too much so I drove close to home (In a vineyard) and took so many really cool pictures with the rows of vines in the foreground, some of those pictures looking directly up. So the next day I got palsy and went to Mt Rainier Ntl park, hoping to take pictures of the Aurora over Mt Rainier... And nothing 😅 At least it was a great adventure !
I've been trying to see the northern lights for over 15 years, checking the forecast almost every day but there's was always something preventing me from seeing it. On May 10th i was exhilarated to finally see it, the sky's were clear and conditions were perfect but then during the 15 min bike ride to a dark location the sky went fully overcast and i missed everything. I went out the next day in hopes of catching a last glimpse of the fading northern lights, the sky was perfectly clear this time but as the twilight faded the sky's stayed dark. After a while another photographer joined me, we chatted for a while, both not expecting to see anything as the storm had already significantly faded. Then suddenly at 21:20 UTC i see a faint purple pillar to the north quickly joined by several more, i rushed back to my camera and was able to take 2 decent shots, but it was such a short outburst lasting only 2 minutes before degrading into dim featureless afterglow, the other photographer sadly missed it due to technical issues. I really hate Dutch weather, it has ruined many comets and geomagnetic storms for me.
Michael, fantastic images! I was thinking the aurora was a bust in the SF Bay Area...at least in the East Bay, but you proved us wrong! About what time of the night were you shooting those images?
Great vlog Michael
It was a beautiful Aurora show. We were also lucky enough to see the southern lights with our eyes on The Great Ocean Road in Australia
Beautiful Michael, truly awesome images and time lapses. I experienced and photographed the northern lights for the first time and it was such a beautiful and jaw dropping experience that night just a couple of weeks ago. Profound memories that I will cherish, as I am sure you will too 😊
The great thing (apart from the amazing quality of the photos) is having a background that's so hard to see in the usual aurora photos. Moreoften is Iceland or Norway or the Faroe islands, but these comps, as you said, are out of this world. Congrats
Michael, amazing vlog!
How do you hike late at night alone? lol.. I have been to both of those spots but during the day time. Can't fathom how would it be during the night..
I love how you kept yourself together during this unexpected show man! Well thought out locations and comps 👌
Out of this world man
I really wish I would’ve seen your video before going out. I took several time lapses all of them between three and four second intervals. It’s just too long, as you said. Lesson learned for next time. At least I got a lot of great single exposures. Great work here. Really impressive to see the aurora even down in California!
Great job on the youtube video. Yeah, you got some pretty pictures, but I feel bad you had to work so hard to make them. Being farther north sure makes it easier. Perhaps next time, drive further. It is rare enough knowing they will be there, if you do know, the drive is worth it.
Crazy beautiful photos as always dear Michael! And so happy to hear that you are also debating with yourself if it's worth it to go to the next spot or call it... ;-)
Hi Mike from across the pond It was such an amazing night a lovely video from u mike
Beautiful shots and timelapse. Here in Ohio, I got some great aurora timelapse over Lake Erie!
Awesome video, it was an incredible night for sure.
Thanks so much!
Wildly jealous.. Just... absurdly jealous of everyone who got to see it. I was too far south and totally clouded over .
Amazing pictures. I think those images with the pastel colors should be more bright, for some reason it feel a little bit muted.
Absolutely great Michael. Amazing photos and what special memories! I was able to capture a shot in AZ, and while not nearly as good a shot as you got it was still amazing to see the aurora with a saguaro in the foreground.
Lovely video and absolutely brilliant work! Bravo!
Now was that epic or not? Thanks for sharing your insights Michael.
Really amazing to witness, thank you Michael for taking us along on this shoot.
So glad you got out for them!!
Exquisite! Unfortunately I live too far south to see any of the Aurora.
Can't believe how clean that timelapse is for ISO 12800! Did you use noise reduction on the images themselves, or through video processing?
The A7S is a powerhouse when it comes to low light. But I did have to run the timelapses through a video noise reduction and then used Lightroom denoise on the stills.
Incredible, especially that second location. You couldn't hope the aurora would be so strong it would stretch to the western horizon. That doesn't happen often even in the north. The north coast was clear that night (Fri), but completely overcast the next. Luckily I went inland to Mt Shasta, also perfect weather.Timing!
Shasta was definitely high on my list of possible locations! I saw a few really cool shots from up there, maybe yours!
Wow 🤯 very nice; thanks Michael ‼️
Amazing footage. Love the photography.
Incredible pictures 😍 love your work ❤
Well, there’s the difference between us. Once those pillars started to dim I’d have called the shoot a huge (and soul-changing) success, packed up my gear, and gone home to chimp to my heart’s content. You chose to hike into the tick-infested grass for a second go-round and got the shot of a lifetime. Congratulations, sir, you truly earned it.
That's the thing about the Aurora. You can get 1 or 2 or 3 shows in a night... Or be completely skunked! That's why it's called chasing!
Stunning, as usual. Fantastic work!!
I'm trying to figure out how I can point something out without coming across as ungrateful or rude. I love your work Michael, I watch all your content I've even donated you some money. When I watch your content I'm always wondering where exactly are you are shooting and I don't quite understand why you keep your locations such a secret. I watch other content creators on RUclips and it's common knowledge where they are shooting and it really helps someone that has a full-time job and cannot put in the endless hours to find these great locations. Thank you for all the great photography content. I appreciate you.
Hi Dennis, Thanks so much for watching my videos and the support! I mentioned the location at 3:50, so no secret kept here.
I do find that scouting and finding locations is quite a large part of the creative process, and I always encourage and teach people how to do that for their own adventures. Unfortunately, about 95% of my job as a professional photographer is the same as any other full-time job. Running admin work, marketing, emails, meetings, teaching, and a lot of video editing. So, most of my scouting/on-location photography is ironically done in my free time, as it would be for yours and others. If you ever want to know a lesser-known location that wasn't mentioned, simply reach out to me, and I am usually happy to share. Especially when I know the person will practice leave-no-trace principles and treat the location respectfully.
Great job, Michael! Love the shots you got, especially the wide shot from the 2nd location. I think I was right up the hill from you at your 1st location!
Hey thanks so much, hope you got some great stuff!
Excellent work, awesome shots 🥳👍🏻
Could you see the colors & pillars with your eyes? The pillars you captured are better than what I saw here the Dakotas. Thank you for sharing!
There was one moment at 8:30 when the pillars were super vivid to the naked eye. But I could definitely see them for most of the night. Thanks!
Amazing .thank you michael
How wonderful. I was up in Ukiah on a whim Friday night and got to experience the same cosmic beauty in a farm setting. But if I was back home in Berkeley, I absolutely would’ve been out there in the same spot because it was such a good choice. So glad it worked out for you! Wonderful image, and time lapse.
Absolutely mesmerizing!
Beautiful images and locations. What an amazing night!! Still buzzing!
Thank you! :)
What time of the morning were you out to take your aurora shots? I was out at 11 PM in the Central Valley near Stockton and saw nothing.
This video was captured from about 8pm-3am on Friday. The most intense activity was at about midnight or so.
Beautiful, Michael! First time I’ve commented but I’m a subscriber, love your work. I was hiking the Cape Wrath Trail in Scotland, UK. Went to vent the tent, and BOOM! Didn’t have my gear but managed to capture a few snapshots. Been waiting to see the Aurora for years. Thanks for the fantastic footage. Very best, Sue 😊
Great video. Friday was beyond words beautiful. I ventured to the north of England (turns out it was so strong I didn’t need to) and had a large, empty quiet field to myself to witness directly overhead powerful full colour aurora opening up like a door to another world. A night I will never forget.
File these under "W" for Whoa!
Way to get this out fast! Very niiiice!
Haha thank you, definitely one of the quicker vlogs I have ever put together!
Thank you for sharing - stay safe
Wow, fantastic captures
Awesome! A few years back I flew all the way up to Yellowknife, Canada to shoot the auroras. This time was a 1 h drive. Epic show on the sky!
I bet it was stunning up there!
@@MichaelShainblum It was. Very wild. I couldn't get over how vast the landscape was!
Amazing photos and videos, as always, Michael. I ran out to the Anza-Borrego Desert from my home in the San Diego area Saturday night, and it was a bust. I should have gone Friday night because some folks did come up with some interesting photos.
Great to experience this and especially in California. Stunning photos! I love your editing of the colors.
Super jealous! I unfortunately was at work when it happened (I work nights).
Next time I’m going to be “sick because I ate gas station sushi”.
Hoping we get more opportunities like this later this year!
Incredible, what an evening that was! I'll never forget seeing them, even in my back garden! You nailed this Michael, well done indeed, amazing!
Hey Michael, I tried to catch the aurora on the beach the second night but I didn't see anything. The moon was very mesmerizing though with all the visible stars, so I ended up with moon photos as well.
Thank you, as always, for sharing your adventure and perfect images ❤ I'm counting down the days until I leave 😉😄🤗
The setting moon with the tree was a beautiful image. As for the Aurora experience - it was one wild night of activity. It was absolutely crazy in the southern hemisphere. I had the camera pointed to the northern horizon at one point it was so huge! Ridiculous. Never in my life have I experienced something like that. Thanks for sharing what you got to experience and capture of THAT night in the north. A truly globally shared event.
Wow ! Your pictures are amazing! I also had the chance to see the auroras that night in Quebec, Canada. It was my first time seing and taking pictures of Northern light. It was a very special moment!
Absolutely stunning
Great video and Wowsa
Marvelous! I'm down in Sacramento, and didn't get a peep. Glad to have your images to enjoy.
Amazing chase
Great shots! The town I live in was directly underneath the Aurora and it was epic! I could look up and see it with my naked eye 369 degrees!
Thanks Michael! You definitely haven't promised to much and it´s so nice to see you that excited. Even here in Germany we've been able to see the Aurora. Absolutely stunning and great "work" as usual!
Great images! I was able to get some too in Connecticut. 😁
That's awesome, I bet it was amazing up there!
beautiful. I couldn't see the phenomenon in person, but I'm contented by watching this.
Definitely a cool event, everyone with a camera getting to whatever local spot they could get to by nightfall and photographing the same phenomena. It sure produced a huge variety in aurora photos this past weekend and they were all fun to look at. I really had processing trouble too, the colors were so saturated it looked pretty cheesy and fake. Not often I have to put negative saturation on an image.
Great job!
Beautiful.... 🎉
Beautiful pictures, Michael! I got a few shots of a pink glow on the first night from the southeast, but nothing on the second night.
Great photos.
Thank you!
Great shots
Absolutely incredible work, Michael! 🤯
Amazing!
I am so bummed that I didn't get out there. Aauugghh
Ah sorry to hear that! Hopefully we get more activity this year. Hard to say if CA will see any in the future, but possibly as far south as Oregon.