Aurora Australis (as seen in Kakanui, New Zealand)

[kiwiapple]

The fatigue and weariness I'm experiencing today--the result of accumulated sleep deprivation brought about by a few too many late-night photo sessions to take advantage of the great conditions we have had over the past week here in the central-eastern South Island of New Zealand--seems worth it when I look at the photos I have been able to capture. It also gives me great satisfaction to have introduced six (or maybe seven--I couldn't count all of them in the dark) people to the magic of the night sky.

As I mentioned in another post, yesterday I received an astro-modified Canon 600D that I ordered from a place in Germany through eBay. It wasn't due to arrive for quite some time, so I was surprised when it showed up when it did. I also had no chance to get used to it before taking it out to shoot the aurora that surprised me last night. I wasn't sure whether a full-spectrum modification would be beneficial for an aurora, but comparing the images that I got with it with those I got with my standard R5 leads me to think that it is helpful--it certainly helps bring out some of the reds.

This image was shot with the R5, the rest with the modified 600D. Exif is the same for all: ISO3200, 13", f/3.2 (the 600D was using my Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art, the R5 was using my Canon EF16-35 f/2.8L.

These are all shot with the 600D:

 

[Jon Bev]

Stunning images, any chance of showing the exif? You get the snow and pretty skys while we in Auckland have to put up with the wind and rain.

 

[kiwiapple]

Stunning images, any chance of showing the exif? You get the snow and pretty skys while we in Auckland have to put up with the wind and rain.

Thanks! Beyond what I wrote in the header (ISO3200, 13', f/2.8--I got the aperture wrong), what other EXIF info would you like?

And yeah, the South Island is pretty great--having moved here from a place with MUCH more serious winters (New York City), I find it funny when some from the North Island act like it's a frozen wasteland down here, it's actually paradise on Earth.

 

[Trent Watts]

Wow These are fantastic.

 

[AlanLichty]

Really nice results from the astro modified camera.

 

[Douglas Sherman]

Beauiful images, James.

 

[JimFox]

Wow! You have had a week worth losing sleep over James! I had seen a bunch of images from Northern USA that were showing the Aurora up here, so I was wondering if you were getting part of the show down there as well. It seems like you have!

It's interesting to see the differences between the 2 cameras. I would think a full spectrum would be awesome with the aurora compared to a normal camera? But I do notice that the 600D images have less yellow and more orange. Maybe you need to adjust the WB a bit more for the 600D? I think I prefer the yellows over the oranges?

Did you shoot long enough to do a timelapse from the images? I love watching the aurora dance, and it looks like by the vertical lines it did a lot of dancing for you!

 

[kiwiapple]

Wow! You have had a week worth losing sleep over James! I had seen a bunch of images from Northern USA that were showing the Aurora up here, so I was wondering if you were getting part of the show down there as well. It seems like you have!

It's interesting to see the differences between the 2 cameras. I would think a full spectrum would be awesome with the aurora compared to a normal camera? But I do notice that the 600D images have less yellow and more orange. Maybe you need to adjust the WB a bit more for the 600D? I think I prefer the yellows over the oranges?

Did you shoot long enough to do a timelapse from the images? I love watching the aurora dance, and it looks like by the vertical lines it did a lot of dancing for you!

The photos from the astro-mod camera were much redder straight out of camera; these have been adjusted to reduce the redness a bit. To give you an idea, I've attached one of the images in two versions, one SOOC and one with the WB adjusted to give you an idea. And note, I have never used an astro-modified camera before, and know nothing about how to use it or process the images afterwards, so any pointers would be welcome.

And of course I was there long enough to shoot a timelapse! Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to post the video here, but I have two on my Smugmug page: https://oamarujlg.smugmug.com/Scenery/Astro-Landscape/i-kRWPww3/A was shot with the astro-modified camera, https://oamarujlg.smugmug.com/Scenery/Astro-Landscape/i-Tp9sLF4/A was shot with my stock R5.

 

[MonikaC]

I really appreciate you losing sleep so that the rest of us can enjoy your photos after sleeping in!

 

[kiwiapple]

I really appreciate you losing sleep so that the rest of us can enjoy your photos after sleeping in!

I live to serve! (But I did manage to get 10 hours of sleep last night!)