
- How to make manual weather setting for active sky 16 full#
- How to make manual weather setting for active sky 16 free#
Space Weather’s website is worth spending some time visiting! Space Weather Aurora Forecast: Another great website with a broad overview of the aurora forecast for a multi-day time frame. You can also use the aurora activity predictions from this website when visiting Norway, Sweden, Greenland, or anywhere else in close vicinity. Iceland’s Vedur Aurora Forecast: If you’re going to be shooting in Iceland this is the site for you. Space Weather Live OVATION Auroral Forecast: A really nice visual website that provides the current aurora forecast as well as other interesting facts which will help you to capture a photo of the Northern Lights.

Here is a list of the forecasting websites I have used in the past. The photo in this section was from a night with a KP index of 9.

You can get some great shots even with a KP index of 2. I prefer to shoot on nights with a KP index of 4 or greater. Kp-index ratings of 5 or great are considered a storm. The northern lights activity index ( Kp-index) ranges from 0-9 with 0 being the lowest amount of activity and 9 being the greatest. Most countries in the Far North have their own Northern Lights activity service. You can use your local weather website to find the cloud cover percentages. Some websites call this cloud cover percentage. The following graphic is from NOAA’s website for Fairbanks Alaska. I usually aim for sky cover percentages between 0%-30%, which you can see on the blue line in the graphic below. You don’t need perfectly clear skies to get some great shots. Shooting in dark areas will provide the best results, most vivid colors & detail.
How to make manual weather setting for active sky 16 free#
The black areas are free of light pollution, while white and grey areas have high light pollution. The easiest way to find an area with dark skies is to check the Blue Marble Light Pollution Map which is a Google / NASA collaboration. Using this planning technique will increase your odds of getting a good shot. Planning ensures you don’t waste night after night hoping to get some good shots of the northern lights. This will remove any camera shake from pushing the shutter button. Set a 5-second timer to wait 5 seconds before taking each shot. To reduce camera shake and create sharper images I use the Exposure Delay Mode on my camera. You won’t need an intervalometer for shooting the aurora since none of your exposures will extend beyond 30 seconds. Best Intervalometer for Northern Lights Photography It’s also essential to use a tripod head that does not move at all over the long exposures required for northern lights photography.Ĭurrently, I shoot with the Feisol Tournament CT-3342 3-Tripod and Really Right Stuff BH-30 Ball head & L-Bracket. Best Tripod for Northern Lights Photography?Ī carbon fiber tripod, with sturdy legs and adjustable ball head is great for northern lights photography.Ĭheaper tripods will also work but usually nowhere near as well.Ĭarbon fiber tripods reduce vibration in the legs providing sharper images. You’ll learn why this is so important, below.Ĭurrently, I shoot with the Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 for all my night sky images. Shooting at f/2.8 produces a very wide aperture opening, in turn, allowing more light to hit the image sensor over a standard exposure time. Crop sensor focal lengths between 10mm and 25mm are recommended.
How to make manual weather setting for active sky 16 full#
