This photograph taken last night with my iPhone 14 Pro from our bedroom window is the byproduct of a fruitless hunt for the Aurea Borealis. Due to a recent coronal outburst of our sun, the magical fairy lights were visible much farther south as usual, and the past two nights they appeared over Germany, something that rarely happens. But they didn’t make it down to Frankonia. There were no polar lights.
But what amazed me was the lowlight capability of the iPhone’s camera. It was pretty much pitch dark outside. And this was, what the iPhone saw on a 3 sec exposure, handheld. Insane. Why bothering putting a system camera or DSLR on a tripod for a long esposure??
I was sorry for The Significant Other, who never witnessed the Aurea Borealis. I had the chance to see and capture the polar lights a few times while crossing the Northern Atlantic Ocean at night on a plane. Looks like one day we need to travel north in winter to make the wife’s dream come true…
Have a great Tuesday
Marcus
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That’s truly surprising. No Northern lights but wow, what a gorgeous sky. Now you know that little phone can do it again. I saw the Aurora borealis from a plane once, too, going between Seattle and New York at night. It felt mystical – the plane was quiet and almost everyone else was asleep. It’s so cool to see the movement, I was transfixed.
Thanks for sharing your experience, so happy you got to see it from a plane too 🙂 And I agree, that I felt mystical too, seemingly teh only one noticing it…
We were lucky enough to get a (rare here) great light show in Oslo on Monday night and, while I shot with my DSLR, my better half had his (quite expensive) iPhone along. His captured surprisingly decent images, I was almost jealous. And they are great when he posts on SM. But when it comes to using these images as, say, a desktop background on my large iMac screen or on an annual calendar of Sights of Norway for a family friend back in the US, I am glad I have my images too. I’m sorry the show didn’t quite make it to your neck of the woods. But, there’s always a chance, as I’ve read that next year will be the maximal activity in an Aurora cycle. Then your phone will be happy (and able) to capture the dance.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. I agree about the RAW files from a DSLR (or system camera) generally are better for post-processing of low light scenes. The larger sensors just capture more information. I’m looking forward to next year already to capture the dancing lights 😉
That IS impressive: 3 sec handheld… amazing.
I’m no fan of Apple, but credit where it’s due.
Thanks, Matt, appreciate your visit and comment!
That is a fabulous iPhone photo, Marcus! They do work very well on my iPhone 12 too. I saw the Aurora once in Michigan years ago, they are very beautiful!
Thanks, John, so much appreciated!
You’re welcome, Marcus. 🤙🏻😎