I made it safely to Amsterdam, where I will be stuck for the next eight hours due to my canceled flight to Nuremberg. I tried various options to get home earlier, but nothing worked out. I hope that at least my 16:45 flight is on time so I make it to the birthday party of a good friend the Significant Other and I are invited to.
But at least the heaven tried to cheer me up, and this with much success. I was kissed by a magic heavenly light show high above the Northern Atlantic, just as the Delta Airbus left North Western Canada (Baffin Island) for Greenland. And this time I saw the inflight Northern Lights sitting on the right side of the plane, the window facing south. For my how-to and more photos continue after the jump…
Photographing the Aurea turned out to be a bit challenging. Think about it, you shoot out if a moving airplane through a plastic window reflecting cabin lighting into a more or less dark night sky. I had my OM-D E-M1 with the 12-100 F/4 next to me. So I piled up my blanket onto the armrest below the window, but the camera on top with the lens almost touching the window, closed the shades from the top down until it touched the lens barrel, piled my sweater onto of the camera to block out any light reflections from inside the cabin and shot, checking the images through the tilted LCD screen that stuck out from underneath the sweater. Not perfect, but the best I could do. I dialed in 2.5 sec of shutter speed, cranked up the ISO to 6400 at shot wide open at f/4 with the zoom set to wide angle at 12mm. E voilà! I’m quite happy with what I captured, considering a 2.5 sec exposure in a shaking airplane without any tripod.
The heavenly light show lasted about 45 minutes. I got the green version, as well as purple and white. Totally amazing! I saw more Aurea Borealis later in the flight close to Iceland, but it wasn’t as intense.
Seeing the inflight Polar Lights again really made my night! Kissed by the light and happy!
Have a great Saturday!
Marcus
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wouw.. it is pretty good capture especially when you took from the moving plane. I am amazed,the light showed last quite awhile. cheers.
Reblogged this on Random Repeat.
Thanks for the reblog! Marcus
Wow! Thanks so much for sharing, the images and the making of these amazing images! I’d love to get to see the Northern Lights one day, too. A magical display of light and color(s). Fantastic!
I keep my fingers crossed you get to see them one day, Alina! Thanks for your kind words! I hope when doing a NYC trip with my wife in two weeks, we are lucky again and I can show them to her! Am I getting greedy?
Oh my gosh you are so lucky Marcus! Such a magical sight I can imagine.
Thanks so much for your kind words!
One thing I hope to see is the Northern Lights, the vibrant colours that you saw look amazing. I love the effort you took to make sure the lights from the plane didn’t get onto the photos. I did a similar thing when I was up in Scotland, I pressed the camera against the window and covered it with a scarf to block out any reflections.
I hope you have a nice flight back to Nuremberg!
Thanks for your kind words, Adell! I hope you get to see the Northern Lights one day! Marcus
Even though I haven’t seen this magical light show in person, It feels like I have seen it, thank you for sharing. Aurora is hard to capture yet you manage to get a beautiful photo.
Thanks for your kind words! Marcus
Brilliant!!! What a gift and lucky you for being in the window seat!
Thanks so much 🙂 I got lucky in so many ways on this trip! Have a great week! Marcus
Great capture! And that in something that you can call at leest challenging circumstances! 🙂
Great work!
Thanks so much, Bjorn, I really appreciate your kind words! Marcus
Great capture, Marcus. At least you don’t have to travel to Scandinavia or Iceland for northern lights
Thanks, Arv! In fact, friends of mine just came back from a trip to Northern Finland and didn’t see as much of Aurea Borealis.
Ah! Looks like you saved yourself money and trouble. I’m happy that you got to see it without any pains of travel. Kind of perks of traveling! Great!
What a “lucky” capture. Seriously, the photos are beautiful Marcus! I hope you made it home in time for the party. At least the sky tried to make up for the airline’s annoyances. 😉
Thanks, Amy, much appreciated! I got the party just in time to eat, so no problem :-)! Have a good week! Marcus
Great pics! Id love to see these.
Thanks, wish you much success of seeing the Northern Lights one day! Marcus
Beautiful shots! Hope I get to see the northern lights in person one day!
Thanks, Alex, much appreciated! I had to wait 50 years before I got lucky! Wish you much success to see them one day! Marcus
Marcus, thank you for capturing this fantastic light show. You did a fantastic job in getting such quality shots. Not a full compensation for not having your connecting flight available but…. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Tim, so much appreciated, it means a lot! Marcus
Marcus, you’re welcome.
Fabulous shots and great improvisation! Hope you made the party too
Thanks, glad you liked the photos. And I did made it, was only a little late 😉
Just in time for Saint Patrick’s Day. Didn’t you just luck out? 🙂
Oh yes, didn’t think of it, but they were green 🙂
Ha ha Marcus, you saw more than I did when I was in Iceland, some people who left the ship saw some, but too much light around the ship to see any…….so I have really enjoyed your photos 🙂 Lynne
Thanks, Lynne, much appreciated! Friends of mine just came back from Northern Finland, and they didn’t see as much! I really got lucky! Marcus
Yes Marcus, you were so lucky, but great to see your photos of what we missed 🙂 Lynne
There will be another day, Lynne! Marcus
🙂
They’re so awesome. You captured them so good, Marcus.
Thanks so much, Nurul, this is highly appreciated! Marcus
That is amazing! I so want to she this once in my life. And the pics are amazing too. Especially reading how you got them!
Thanks, I had to wait 50 years for my first Polar Lights. There is always hope 😉
Again!!! 😄 Beautiful!
Yess…. 🙂 Thanks!!
The lights are amazing and you did great under the circumstances! I caught a gorgeous sunset last Sunday as we landed in San Jose. Not as rare, but very beautiful, too.
Thanks, Susan, so much appreciated! I’m happy you could catch that sunset. Have a good week! Marcus
Great in-flight photos! 👍🏻😎
Thanks, John!
So amazing to see the Northern Lights. Your photos are splendid, hope you make it in time for the birthday party and have a lovely evening.
Thanks, Marion, glad you liked the photos. I managed to get to the party almost in time and had a great evening! Wish you a great week! Marcus
A superb bit of improvisation, it got results. Nicely done.
Thanks, Jase, this is so much appreciated! Marcus
Spectacular! We had a layover in Amsterdam as well, although for a few days & we loved it. We’ll go back but we certainly didn’t get to see this! Great captures!
Thanks so much for your kind words, highly appreciated! Marcus
Been there! Way to make lemons into lemonade. It’s hard to think creatively when you’ve had a tough travel day.
Thanks, Jenn, love your comment, perfect words 🙂 ! Marcus
Kissed by the light is right, Wow! Wonderful experience. Makes me happy just to view your photos. Lucky day!
Thanks, Ruth, your wonderful words mean so much! Have a great week! Marcus
It’s very beautiful!
Thanks so much, Annabelle! Marcus
Lucky you! You picked a good Aurora night with KP4-5! Glad you got to see the lights again but very sorry that you are stuck in Amsterdam. The weather forecast could be better for the south of Germany. Maybe you can go and explore a little!? LG aus dem verschneiten und bitterkalten Erfurt
Thanks, Wiebke! It was really magic, and green lights on St. Patricks Day 🙂 ! Weather in Amsterdam was grizzly, so I decided to stay in the KLM lounge 😉
how wonderful.
Thanks 🙂
Spectacular!
Thanks 🙂
What a wonderful experience for you Marcus.
Thank you Miriam, highly appreciated! Marcus
I’m so glad you had that wonderful experience, hopefully it’s some compensation for the frustration of delays.
Thanks, Richard, your kind words mean so much! Marcus
Wow! Never had the opportunity to see this for real… so a big thank you!
You are welcome, glad you like the photos! Have a good weekend! Marcus
Thanks ! You too!
So beautiful, you were lucky to see it.
Thanks for your kind words, Vesna, much appreciated! I was lucky indeed! Marcus
I love those lights!
Thanks 🙂