Northern Lights in Southern Skies

[Gary_Randall]

Critique Style Requested: Initial Reaction

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Image Description

My workshop partner Alyce Bender and I were preparing for the arrival of our workshop clients when, as we were preparing to call it quits for the night, we got aurora alerts and so I checked my social media accounts and saw several folks in the southern United States posting phone photos of it. Bender and I were caught completely off guard by this. An aurora in south Texas and at Caddo Lake? Not likely, right? I just decided to go outside and see what I could see. We really didn’t expect anything.

I found a dark place and looked at the sky and saw the distinct red glow in the sky unaided by the camera sensor so I captured some test shots and ran back to the lodge to let her know what I had found out. I arrived almost breathless and showed her the back of the camera. We immediately grabbed the map and looked for likely views toward the north. We determined that our best bet would be at a familiar and favorite location of ours and off we went.

When we arrived we went to work. I can’t explain how excited I was when I reviewed my photos. I captured several photos that I’m proud of but we wanted more. We were hearing that it would return the next night so we decided to hire a good friend and guide on the lake to take us out at night. He agreed.

This photo was taken the second night from the lake when Bender and I went out on a Jon Boat with a mud motor. The aurora wasn’t as strong as the night before, but it showed up. Cruising through the bayou at night was an amazing experience that I will never forget.

Of all of the photos that I took during this event, this one is probably my favorite.

Technical Details

Technical details are pretty much what one would do on a typical night shoot. Open aperture and elevated ISO. The only challenge was planting our tripods in the lake. It was uneven, most likely branches on the bottom, with about a foot of mud. It took a couple tries but finally got the tripod set and level. Having my camera about a foot above the water’s surface made me a bit nervous, but I was careful.

Specific Feedback

Please feel free to comment on all - Aesthetic, conceptual, emotional or technical. I appreciate the feedback.

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[stephen_rauch]

Beautiful photograph, Gary. I think the composition works very well—the larger tree in the foreground paired with the smaller trees in the background creates a nice sense of balance. I’m not sure what lens you used, but I find myself wishing it had been a wide or ultra-wide lens. That would have allowed room to include the top of the foreground tree, a bit more breathing space, and possibly the tree’s reflection in the water. A wider field of view might also have captured more of the sky, potentially revealing more stars or dark sky to balance the colorful light on the horizon. Overall, the richness and range of colors in the image are wonderful.”

[Rob_Sykes]

My first impression was that my eyes did not know which to look at - the Aurora or the largest tree. I went back and forth between the two. I wonder if a composition from farther left, zooming in on the group of trees in the left hand third in silhouette would have produced a better result. The colours are great, particularly the pinks merging to the blue sky and stars.

Bit envious

[Marylynne_Diggs]

Hi Gary,
What a great juxtaposition of a bayou tree and northern lights. It’s wonderful. I too feel like something is a little off in the composition. Having shot the northern lights in northern Alaska when they were lighting up 360 degrees of the sky for 2 hours, I know it’s hard (even with a ton of time) to compose a shot.

For me, the issue here is the big tree is too centered. I’m not usually bothered by a centered subject, but in this case, it separates us from the other subject–the sky itself. f it were possible to shift that central tree through cropping, or if you have a different frame where you are a little more to the left or right, that might be more pleasing. Of course that one might have had movement from the boat, or less pin-pricked stars, or …

I did a quickie screenshot. I don’t think it’s better. Maybe we need less of the left, although the reflection there is cool. In doing that, I noticed that the tree is NOT centered. Maybe it should be?

Here are a couple of options

Then again, who cares? It’s great to have seen and shot this. Right?
ML

[Diane_Miller]

Wow!! What an amazing location for this rare event, and the glass-calm water is wonderful! The side-to-side centered composition works for me as the aurora is centered on the big tree. The colors and detail in the trees are just right. I would also love to have more room at the top. Having the tripod in the water probably precluded doing a pano stitch, as the movement would have disturbed the water, but a wider angle would have been a nice option. But that is just idle thinking – I would be more than delighted to have captured this!

[Paul_Holdorf]

Amazing! I love old Cyprus Trees and to have the Aurora behind them is just wonderful. I see the other’s thoughts about the composition. With the more stable formation yogurt that far south, this might have been the perfect time to turn the camera vertical and do a 5 or 6 image pano. I suggest this mainly to get some sky above the big tree. Then you have a little more room to tweak the composition, although other than the crowding at the top, I don’t mind how you’ve composed it as-is. Its a fantastic image and I bet you will NEVER forget that moment!