Adding this to my thread of Norway moments this week, because I just love the atmospheric dance of light in this corner of the fjord. It feels like the entire solar system has jumped in to make a composition for me. So dynamic. So ephemeral. So lucky to be standing here.

This was taken two nights ago, before the rain set in :)

#Norway #Photography #Lumix #Auroras #14mm

And here's the bigger scene to show you where we are. This taken at 28mm, revealing the closer shoreline (and a hint of the salmon factory), and Grovfjord in the distance. That dance of light low on the horizon was a treat today.

I always expect these colours to disappear within a few minutes, but we're in the Arctic and these hues seem to hold for hours. This scene is around 11am, and was still holding at 1pm, although the low clouds had washed over the fjord at Grov and hidden some of the peaks.

#Photography #Norway #Lumix

Adding this to my thread of Norway moments this week, because I just love the atmospheric dance of light in this corner of the fjord. It feels like the entire solar system has jumped in to make a composition for me. So dynamic. So ephemeral. So lucky to be standing here.

This was taken two nights ago, before the rain set in :)

#Norway #Photography #Lumix #Auroras #14mm

Special stratospheric clouds today. It's nearly midday on Dec 25 and there's no sun here for another few weeks, but we do get these funky clouds that are very high up in the atmosphere which catch the sun from over the horizon.

They often turn a rainbow of pearlescent colours, but mostly today they've been leaning into the Trans colours... because Trans rights are human rights :)

#Norway #Photography #Lumix #Nacreous #PolarStratosphericCloud

Got a wonderful opportunity to shoot with the 11mm Fisheye last night. Still not sure this is the lens for me, but definitely can see the value of such a wide perspective on such a big night of auroras.

Here's a little sequence from a timelapse series below. If you want to watch the video, there's a copy of that now posted on my tubes:

YouTube
https://youtube.com/shorts/pm4kH_HWC3A

PeerTube
https://makertube.net/w/74S64nV1htmsVRU6kF14h2

This lens by the way is an 11mm Fisheye F2.8 by TT Artisan. It's noticeably darker than their 14mm F2.8, and even though it's very very small it's noticeably heavier too. These are very affordable lenses and offer a decent ratio of fun:spend :)

#Norway #Photography #Lumix #Auroras #11mm

Adding this little video to my thread. It's not a great video, captured as an after thought. But does show two things...

https://vimeo.com/1149188863/513d029b1e

Firstly, the speed of an active aurora in real time. You see ripples moving across the sky in this footage, and the colour shifts. Some auroras barely move at all, others on this night were racing much faster still. They vary a lot. But hopefully this footage conveys the dynamic nature of auroras.

The other thing this footage demonstrates is the different between still photos and video. A 4sec exposure for the stills, versus 1/25th of second for video. This was shot on a Lumix S9 with an F2.8 lens and ISO 128000. A faster lens would help, not to mention waiting for a moonlit aurora event :)

#Norway #Photography #Lumix #Auroras #14mm

Adding this little video to my thread. It's not a great video, captured as an after thought. But does show two things...

https://vimeo.com/1149188863/513d029b1e

Firstly, the speed of an active aurora in real time. You see ripples moving across the sky in this footage, and the colour shifts. Some auroras barely move at all, others on this night were racing much faster still. They vary a lot. But hopefully this footage conveys the dynamic nature of auroras.

The other thing this footage demonstrates is the different between still photos and video. A 4sec exposure for the stills, versus 1/25th of second for video. This was shot on a Lumix S9 with an F2.8 lens and ISO 128000. A faster lens would help, not to mention waiting for a moonlit aurora event :)

#Norway #Photography #Lumix #Auroras #14mm

Went out to dinner last night for a Christmas celebration with friends. Then things kind of escalated. From now on when we talk about the "Christmas Lights" this is what we're really hoping for :)

PSA, always have your camera gear in the car when you drive to a friends place in the north!

#Norway #Photography #Lumix #Auroras #14mm

One of the challenges for me when shooting auroras is to capture a sense of the scale. The wider the lens, the more you diminish the events in the sky. The narrower the lens, the less of the action you get in the frame.

And then there's a question of how close you push elements of the scene into the foreground. The lens choice also plays with the perspective. Am sure a few of the more dedicated landscape photographers here can attest to the tendency for ultra wide lenses to make an otherwise magnificent mountain range look small and trivial.

Would love to see what other folks here are doing with the fish-eye perspective. How to lean into it, versus trying to subdue it.

#Norway #Photography #Lumix #Auroras #11mmFishEye

Got a chance to experiment a little with the 11mm fisheye last night before dinner. Might take a while to get my head around the fisheye effect, and whether this lens will suit my creative bent.

#Norway #Photography #Lumix #Auroras #11mmFishEye

Very early this morning, at around 5am, I was awake to see clear skies above and the very tail end of last night's auroras. Popped out to grab a few shots on the new 14mm F2.8, then headed back to bed for a sleep in :)

#Norway #Photography #Lumix #Auroras

And here's the bigger scene to show you where we are. This taken at 28mm, revealing the closer shoreline (and a hint of the salmon factory), and Grovfjord in the distance. That dance of light low on the horizon was a treat today.

I always expect these colours to disappear within a few minutes, but we're in the Arctic and these hues seem to hold for hours. This scene is around 11am, and was still holding at 1pm, although the low clouds had washed over the fjord at Grov and hidden some of the peaks.

#Photography #Norway #Lumix

Starting a new thread today for my Bhutan travels, because "Tsechu" :)

Most reasonable sized temples and dzongs in Bhutan have one big festival each year, where the monks dance and invite good fortune for their village. This year we're in Bumthang, and attending a few familiar festivals.

The monks dress as demons and deities, and perform sacred dances (cham). Festivals are a genuine challenge for any photographer to capture. So much going on, tricky light, and an overload of stimulation.

I love it!

#EwenInBhutan #Photography #SquareMood #LumixS9 #Lumix #Bhutan #Himalayas #Bumthang #Tshechu #40mm

Crane story in three acts.

Have had very few opportunities to get close to the cranes with my telephoto lens in Bhutan this trip, but they have totally been worth it.

#EwenInBhutan #Photography #SquareMood #LumixS1RII #Lumix #Bhutan #BirdPhotography #Phobjikha #BlackNeckedCrane #Lumix100500mm #WildBhutan

Crane story in three acts.

Have had very few opportunities to get close to the cranes with my telephoto lens in Bhutan this trip, but they have totally been worth it.

#EwenInBhutan #Photography #SquareMood #LumixS1RII #Lumix #Bhutan #BirdPhotography #Phobjikha #BlackNeckedCrane #Lumix100500mm #WildBhutan

Sometimes I forget that Bhutan is a real place, and not just a fantasy in my head where horses are grazing in front of a 17th century dzong while a river flows by with glacial waters and a flock of shelducks.

#EwenInBhutan #Photography #SquareMood #LumixS9 #Lumix #Bhutan #40mm #Himalayas #Punakha

Starting a new thread today for my Bhutan travels, because "Tsechu" :)

Most reasonable sized temples and dzongs in Bhutan have one big festival each year, where the monks dance and invite good fortune for their village. This year we're in Bumthang, and attending a few familiar festivals.

The monks dress as demons and deities, and perform sacred dances (cham). Festivals are a genuine challenge for any photographer to capture. So much going on, tricky light, and an overload of stimulation.

I love it!

#EwenInBhutan #Photography #SquareMood #LumixS9 #Lumix #Bhutan #Himalayas #Bumthang #Tshechu #40mm

Sometimes I forget that Bhutan is a real place, and not just a fantasy in my head where horses are grazing in front of a 17th century dzong while a river flows by with glacial waters and a flock of shelducks.

#EwenInBhutan #Photography #SquareMood #LumixS9 #Lumix #Bhutan #40mm #Himalayas #Punakha

"I see red I see red I see red"

#SquareMood #LumixS9 #Lumix #Nepal #Photography #Tika #EwenInNepal