
I know this is not the prettiest of photos. I took it handheld with 1/2 sec shutter speed and a whopping ISO 25600. Out of the window of an airliner that was shaking from light turbulence. But for me it meant the world. Just a week after crossing off two items from my bucket list when skiing on Mount Hood I saw the very first Northern Lights of my life. And this was in the top 3 of my list. It came upon me out of the night sky 38.000 feet above the Northern Atlantic. For the full story and a few more images continue reading after the jump…
The regular readers of this blog might remember this post about my last night flight crossing the Atlantic eastbound on my way home from a business trip. Here I wrote that I have seen somewhere on the web amazing photos of the Aurea Borealis someone has taken out of an airliner window. So on that crossing I made sure I had a window seat on the left, north facing side of the aircraft and while staying up and watching a movie I was on the lookout for the dancing lights. There were none that night, and it turned out from another blog I missed them by one night.
When yesterday in Portland I was boarding my Delta Airbus A330 for the night flight to Amsterdam I was originally assigned a seat on the right side. Then another passenger asked me if I was willing to swap seats with his wife, who happened to have a seat on the left side. Traveling alone I obviously had no objections and while moving my stuff over to the other side I even thought that now I was potentially on the correct side to go looking for Polar Lights. Quite tired after a strenuous week I dozed off after dinner, woke up somewhere over Northern Canada. As a super frequent flyer these days I have really seen all movies there are to see, so I decided on a re-run of Titanic, fitting us flying over the icy North Atlantic. I also missed parts of that movie, but woke up again just as the historic liner hit the iceberg. During the hour long or so sinking of the Titanic I occasionally peeked out the window, but there was nothing to be seen. Then, just as frozen Leo started sliding down into the black abyss and poor Kate was lying shivering on that piece of wood my eye caught a shine outside the window. I really wasn’t sure at first. Despite the darkened cabin there are still plenty reflections in the windows, so I tried to cover the back of my head and the window with my sweater while pressing my nose to the window. And it was unmistakeable, the greenish and magenta dancing lights of the Northern skies.
I had the Olympus PEN-F with the mZuiko 12-40mm F/2.8 Pro Zoom in the bag under my seat, so I pulled it out. It really helps if you know how to operate your cam in darkness. I switched to manual focus and turned the focus ring to its infinity setting. Aperture wide open at f/2.8 was a given. I first tried a shutter speed of 2 secs and dialed in ISO 5000, but with the airplane slightly moving under light turbulence it was blurry and still way to dark to really see anything. Then I decided to go all in on the ISO at the Olympus max setting of 25600. I decided I rather have a grainy photo of the Aurea Borealis than none at all. And now I clearly saw the distinctive green textures of the dancing lights on my LCD screen. Increasing the shutter speed in various tries, I found my sweet spot for this extreme situation was 1/2 sec, f/2.8 and ISO 25600. Totally insane, but it did the trick. Sure I will never be able to do blow up prints of those photos, and I had to heavily apply noise reduction in Lightroom when processing the photos this evening. But it got the job done.
After shooting off about 30 frames I knew I had bagged some decent shots. I put the camera down and enjoyed the rest of this amazing performance of Mother Nature. It lasted just the good part of ten minutes, then it faded away.
On this magic travel night high above the Northern Atlantic between Greenland and Iceland I saw my first dancing lights of the Aurea Borealis. And I have the photos to tell the story. A combination of luck, perseverance and preparation. A dream came true.
Even better is that I’ll have a week back home with the family ahead of me.
Have a great weekend!
Marcus
Related Posts:
Business Travel Reality – A Day in a Picture
The Earth from above in monochrome
Oh wow! The northern lights are on my bucket list. Glad that you got a chance to see them! -Amy
I can only recommend to have a left side window seat on your flight to Europe and don’t fall asleep 🙂 ! Then you might get them, those northern lights! Will think about Paris tips (I was there with my two teenagers two years ago) and post suggestions tomorrow! Marcus
I’ve lived in Canada for nearly 30 years, and I still haven’t been able to see them! I hope – one day…
You will for sure 👍👍! Thanks for commenting 😊🙏!
Also, next time I’m flying to Germany, I’ll see if I can get a left-side window seat (or a right-side one on the way back). 🙂
I’ll keep my fingers crossed, Angelika. For Nothern Lights the left side counts on the way to Germany. On the flight back you’ll get splendid views of the Greenland icepack and coast, so make sure you sit on the right side for better light, but no polar lights, as the westbound crossings are always day flights. Thanks so much for visiting my blog, it means a lot! Marcus
Wow – what a gift to be able to see that!!!
Thanks, a gift indeed, and highly treasured. Have a great week!
WOW! Das ist genial! Was für Momente….
Danke – es war in der Tat unwirklich. Und wunderschön!
Fantastic!!! Well deserved with all of the travel that you do.
Thank you so much, Tim, really appreciate your words! Have a great week! Marcus
You’re welcome and I hope you also have a great week. Hopefully there will be time to photograph and to relax with your family.
Thank you Tim, love this wishes 🙂
So glad you saw the Northern Lights.
Marcus, how can you say that these are not the pretties of photos. If I could take pictures like these I would be so happy.
They are outstanding and magical!
Have a nice and peaceful weekend.
Ahhh!!! I’m so excited that you got to see them this time!!! Congrats! The pictures are great! What a different perspective to see them from in the air!
Thanks for your kind comment, Kim! Much appreciated!
Don’t come to DC or Baltimore without hitting me up!
Will reach out next time in the area 🙂
So good that you were able to view the Northern Lights. I hoped to see them on my two winter visits to Lapland but sadly they were not visible. Maybe another time.
Thanks so much, Marion! There will be another time for you, I’m absolutely sure. Have a great weekend! Marcus
I’m so happy for you Marcus! And you say it was over after just ten minutes? Wow! You could so easily have slept through it. Fabulous story and photos!
Thank you :-)) Yeah, I got really lucky on this one. Sometimes things are meant to be! Have a great weekend! Marcus
That is so so amazing and I’m so happy you continue to check these awesome things off of your list. That you are granted to witness such beauty and having the memories of a lifetime. Xoxoxo beautiful captures ❤ enjoy your time with loved ones.
Thank you so much my friend! Hugs!
You are very welcome
Well done!
Thanks, Zeno, so much appreciated!
These lights are on my bucket list! Beautiful captures!
Thanks Vicki! Remember, window seat on left side of the plane…and stay awake 🙂 ! Have a great weekend! Marcus
That is so great Marcus! How fortunate you were!! The shots look great. So glad you had that awesome experience, which is the best part of it. 👍❤
Thanks, Janet, your kind words are so much appreciated. Wish you a sunny Saturday! Marcus
Thanks. I may go to my sisters house in Riverside for a week. New photo ops! Have a good one. 😀
Thanks, Janet!
These are beautiful, Marcus! How lucky you are to have seen this. Your kindness in changing seats was rewarded. Congrats! 👏🏻
Thanks for you kind words, Jane 😊🙏! It was a dream come true!
What a lovely surprise catch, Marcus. I’m happy you got what you wanted! 🙂
Thank you so much, Arv! Have a great weekend! Marcus