Analogue Northern Lights

These images were taken on the 25. April, and are from the same session as the ones in this post:
https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/topic/even-more-northern-lights-34747

The major difference being that these were shot with my Pentax MX and Fuji Provia 400X. I used the same lens, FA*24mm f2.0, on both my K20D in my other post and here with the MX. In 35mm film format the 24mm is wide enough to catch much more of the Lights, which was important because I do not have a decent wide angle lens for my DSLR. I find the FA* 24mm quite superb at capturing nuances in demanding light conditions like the N.L. C & C is welcome!

1.


NORDLYS_29 by bjolester, on Flickr

2.


NORDLYS_28 by bjolester, on Flickr

3.


NORDLYS_27 by bjolester, on Flickr

4.


NORDLYS_26 by bjolester, on Flickr

5.


NORDLYS_25 by bjolester, on Flickr

Great shots, but I couldn't help but notice that the white specks in each photo are in the same place. Is this perhaps a sign of dust/impurities on your lens?

Thank you! On my monitor all the white spots are identifiable as stars.

Another lovely set Bjørn!

I think the specks Steven is referring to are the ones in the water. They don't seem to be reflections but maybe they are. One slightly up and to the right of the jetty is particularly noticeable.

What made me suspect something "untoward" was that some of the less-bright stars were still visible through the Aurora. I'd have thought that the Northern Lights would have scattered the light they were emitting, or been more powerful, so as to "eliminate" their luminance altogether.

Oh - I see! The small red and green coloured dots in the water are floaters, possibly for fishing nets or crab catching boxes. I can count four on the left hand side and two on the right hand side in the water.

And thank you Gwyn for your comment!

Ah that explains those then Bjørn. Thanks. I hope you have some of these fabulous photos hung on a wall at home?

Only another four months or so until you can try again .
Enjoy your summer!

I thought you meant the stars at first too! I suspect they're caused by dust on the diffuser in the scanner or on the slide holder.

John

I have scanned these slides on my Minolta Dimage Scan Elite 5400 in 16bit, 16x multipass and with ICE noise removal. Afterwards I checked these five images thoroughly with regards to scratches and other contaminants, but since I could not find anything I have not done any spot removal or cloning. It is also quite difficult to tell whether minute circular white spots are stars or dust That being said, I do not have the best monitor in the world (15" Mac Powerbook:lol, so I think I need to check these images again on a larger and better monitor. Thank you for pointing this out to me!

BTW: Here is a close-up of one area that could possibly could contain dust or noise:

[IMG]http://i812.photobucket.com/albums/zz50/bjolester/250412_30_MAGNIFY.jpg[/IMG]

My plan is to take some of these five images to the photo lab and have them printed in A3 or A2, and hang them on the wall. I have not printed any of my N.L. photos yet, so I am looking forward to having them printed, especially these with film grain.

I wish you also a nice summer Gwyn

It's the spots in the water that look odd as they don't seem to mirror anything in the sky above.

I presumed that larger blob was the moon!

John

The strong light source that also reflects on the water is the planet Venus.

Very nice pictures. I would like that hanging on my wall!

Thank you very much for your kind remark Floggitt!

Bjørn

Some lovely shots there. What sort of exposure time did you need?

I'd be very pleased to have taken these and would get some printed up too!

K.