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Six-Years Ago (08-February-2013) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2013. Chasing the Northern Lights. Day 11: Tromsø.

On our first night in Tromsø, Anna – a local photographer and her husband took us to a couple of locations to view northern lights. The first place, Telegrafbukta is not far (maybe 45 minutes walking) from the center of Tromsø along the fjord. I got many great images of the northern lights. I am not exactly sure what the walkway going into the cold water is for, unless they have a polar bear swimming club. This is obviously a favorite place for locals to view northern lights on a Friday night. There were at least a dozen folks just up the hill. I’ve reprocessed the images, and used them to create a star trails image, and a time-lapse video.

alt_title. (David J Mathre) — Northern Lights from Telegrafbukta Beach in Tromsø Norway. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 24 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/2, 8 sec). Raw image processed with Capture One Pro (David J Mathre)

Individual images in the slide show can be viewed here.

Last year I was contacted by Condé Nast to use one of these images in a publication about European beaches. I told them that they could use the image if they downloaded it from my PhotoShelter Image Gallery and paid the appropriate rate (depends on size and publication circulation). I guess they didn’t like the rate suggested…

We then went to Kvaløya (Whale) Island for the 2nd image. The mountain on the right is lit up with a yellow color from sodium lights at the home near the water. It was a lot easier to photography the northern lights when on solid ground with a tripod. On the ship, even with a tripod you get the motion of the ship.

Early Morning (00:02 AM) Northern Lights on Kvaløy Island near Tromsø. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 24 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/2, 8 sec).. (David J Mathre) — Early Morning (00:02 AM) Northern Lights on Kvaløy Island near Tromsø. Image taken with a Nikon D800 camera and 24 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 24 mm, f/2, 8 sec). (David J Mathre)

Five-Years Ago (07-February-2014) — Florida

Gone to See America. February 2014 Florida Road Trip. Day 7: St. Petersburg.

I went out on a photowalk with my brothers and sister while visiting St. Petersburg. Hawk Guarding the Handicapped Parking Space and then a wet Anhinga. Both at Brooker Creek Preserve.

Hawk Guarding the Handicapped Parking Space. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 300 mm f/4 lens (ISO 2200, 300 mm, f/4, 1/1250 sec) (David J Mathre)

Anhinga in the Rain. Brooker Creek Preserve in St. Petersburg, Florida. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 300 mm f/4 lens (ISO 6400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec) (David J Mathre) — Anhinga in the Rain. Brooker Creek Preserve. Image taken with a Nikon Df camera and 300 mm f/4 lens (ISO 6400, 300 mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec) (David J Mathre)

Six-Years Ago (07-February-2013) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2013. Chasing the Northern Lights. Day 10: Southbound Hurtigruten Coastal Voyage.

On the second day of the southbound Hurtigruten voyage, the MS Nordkapp stoped in eight ports: Mehamn (01:00-01:15); Kjøllefjord (03:15-03:30); Honningsvåg (06:00-06:15); Havøsund (08:15-08:30); Hammerfest (11:15-12:45); Øksfjord (15:30-15:45); Skjervøy (19:00-19:45); and Tromsø (23:45-01:30).

After going in and warming up, I went out on deck again early morning hours (just after midnight). One band of the green lights went all the way from horizon to horizon over the top of the ship. I switched to a fisheye lens and went to deck 7 where I could get this image (notice the big dipper). I had all of my cold weather gear on, and it was still cold, especially since the ship was moving at 15 knots. At this point you could tell who the hard-core photographers were, as we were the only ones still out on deck.

Early Morning (00:24 AM) Northern Lights While Sailing North on the Hurtigruten MV Nordkapp. Image taken with a Nikon D800 and 16 mm f/2.8 fisheye lens (ISO 6400, 16 mm, f/2.8, 4 sec). (David J Mathre)

At the end of the day, I disembarked from the MS Nordkapp in Tromsø. I met up with a photographer friend from France (we both were on a photography trip with Thom Hogan in Patagonia in 2010/2011), and spent the next week in and around Tromsø “Chasing the Northern Lights”.

Six-Years Ago (06-February-2013) — Norway

Gone to See Norway 2013 Chasing the Northern Lights. Day 9: Hurtigruten MS Nordkapp Norwegian Coastal Voyage Northbound (Båtsfjord to Kirkenes) then Southbound (Kirkenes to Berlevåg).

On the seventh and final day of the northbound Hurtigruten Norwegian coastal voyage, the MS Nordkapp stops in four ports: Båtsfjord (00:30-01:00); Vardø (04:00-04:15); Vadsø (07:30-08:00); and Kirkenes (09:45-12:45). After spending 3 hours in Kirkenes, the ship turns around and begins the southbound voyage stopping at three ports: Vardø (16:00-17:00); Båtsfjord (20:00-20:30); and Berlevåg (22:15-22:30).

During the stop in Kirkenes, I took the bus tour which includes a stop at the Russian border.

Just before midnight there were some faint northern lights. I had to increase the ISO to 6400 to get this image. You can clearly see some red in addition to the green color.