Wednesday Aurora in Shetland

Shetland at last had some clear skies and the weather forecast was correct for once with a couple of hours of stars

It was an Orange Alert during the time I was walking St Ninian's isle but no one else came to view.

I don't particularly like totally dark nights as photos tend to look flat, a Moon 25-50% is much better as it lights the landscape

I caught this rare red Aurora on camera and as the Aurora was very active it was showing well over to the west

All the photos were taken with a 24mm Samyang lens and a Sony A7s camera between ISO 6400-8000. The A7s is very good in low light.

                                                                          Bigton Church

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Starry Night in Shetland

No Aurora the other night but just managed to capture some stars before the clouds came in. Pleased to see one of my Aurora photos have been used by Shetland Accomadation Guide 2019

 Bigton Church

Sandwick Church

 St Ninian's Isle without the Moon

 St Ninian's Isle with the Moon out

Looking NW from Bigton

Looking south from Sanick, Sandwick

A Starry Shetland Night

Although we didn't see an Aurora we did get some clear skies which revealed a multitude of stars

The Moon provided some nice light for the landscape, although some people prefer no moon when photographing stars I prefer about 30-40% full

The Moon was surrounded by a halo which added a bit more drama to the scene. St Ninian's always provides a good night time / daytime landscape

Light pollution is getting to be a problem everywhere, even barns(above) have powerful lighting which tends to stay on all night, wish they would at least have them on a sensor but I expect the wind would trigger them off on a regular basis

I love moonshine and the position of the moon just gave enough light to bring out the tombolo. Even shooting at ISO2000 f/2.8 15 seconds not too much noise is showing on the Nikon D610

The Milky Way was showing to the north west, above Ireland (yes we have one in Shetland)

Although it was very cold and windy I was pleased with the photos, no one else came down so I had the place to myself. With the Aurora getting less frequent due to the Solar minimum we will have to be content with looking at the stars, something I always enjoy doing. It never ceases to amaze me that you can photograph something that are thousands/ Millions of miles away and that some star have long gone.

Don't forget to join us on facebook at Shetland Aurora Hunter- just send me a request to join

Early KP8

The weather forecast for Tuesday had not been good before 9pm so when photos started to appear on Shetland Aurora Hunter at 6pm we decided to head straight out.

We had planned to go to a different location but as time was ticking by we went across to Bigton and onto St Ninian's isle about 10 mins away.

You could already see the Aurora in the sky and it was covering more of the sky than usual. Setting up quickly the green  in the sky was spreading.

Activity started to begin with a curtain stretching across from St Ninian's isle to the east side of the  mainland.

Strong coloured pillars started to appear, along with brighter green in the curtain a sign of an active Aurora. You could easily see the green and the pillars with the naked eye, but the camera sensor always picks up more colour.

I rushed down to the beach from the top carpark just as green blobs started to appear, it was becoming one of the best Aurora's for a while.

No one else appeared so it seemed that most folk would be missing this peak activity. You have to react quickly, so within 1/2 hour since leaving home it was at its peak. This lasted about 10 more mins before activity reduced just as someone else arrived.

The height of the green was also reducing although still high compared to most nights. It was one of those nights that will stick in my memory for along time. Folk in other parts of Shetland were not that lucky with the weather as heavy cloud affected the west and north.

After about 1.5 hours the cloud started to roll in and activity reducing all the time. Back home stats confirmed a big one , a KP8 which ended up being visible down in the south of England. It peaked again after midnight but by then I was just dreaming all about the experience.

With nearly 1500 members it time to come and join Shetland Aurora Hunter on facebook, on the 16 November we will have been going just one year so thanks to everyone who has joined. Lots of good phones, camera settings and information available