Under arctic light

The Milky Way or Aurora Borealis??

Even though they both involve using the same type of lenses, f2.8 or lower preferably, both also need dark skies, but in terms of shooting, living in Ireland, the Milky Way involves going as far South as possible while the aurora involves us going as far North as possible.

Below is a prime example, an Aurora image from Lough Salt, Donegal in September 2017 and a Milky Way image from Ardmore, Waterford in February 2018.

Although we don't get as much of the Milky Way core in Ireland as countries further South or in the Southern Hemisphere, it's almost, if not better, to shoot the Milky Way from Ireland, for a few reasons...

- We don't get many nights of clear skies in Ireland

- We don't get fully dark skies in the summer (best times to shoot Feb-Apr & Aug-Sept) due to the Milky Way only lining up and certain times of the year.

- We need there to be little or no moon

- If all of the above lines up, due to early sunrises or late moonrises, we only have a limited time to shoot due to the skies getting bright.

Now, compare this to shooting the Milky Way in somewhere like Tenerife, where its further South, IS fully dark all year round, you can get hours and hours of shooting each night, has much more of the Milky Way core than Ireland and dare I say almost guaranteed clear skies for shooting.

Here is one of my favourite shots from the amazing Roques de Garcia, Tenerife.

Now for shooting Aurora in Ireland...

- Again, we need clear skies

- Best time to shoot with fully dark skies, Sept-Apr

- We need a relatively strong solar storm and hope the BZ goes well south

- If, again all the above happen, once dark, you could have hours and hours of Aurora shooting unlike the Milky Way shooting

Again, lets compare. Shooting the Aurora in Iceland or even further North in Norway. Although like Ireland, skies up in or close to the Arctic Circle are definitely not guaranteed. The advantage they have is they are simply more North than us here in Ireland, so if we happen to be getting a glimpse of the Northern lights here in Ireland, you can bet your house on it she's dancing like mad in Iceland, and even more in Norway.

Below is an image from Skaftafell, Iceland and Uttakleiv in Lofoten, Norway.

 

You must be wondering, how the hell does he prefer shooting these in Ireland?? It may seem strange but I guess shooting in Ireland presents some real challenges, not just for shooting at night but also shooting sunrises and sunsets too, although this Summer of 2018 in Ireland is going to go down as one of the best ever, or at least that I've seen. In general the Irish weather can leave us frustrated when chasing certain shots, in the Winter we check the stats for Ireland and the Aurora, they look amazingly good, we get excited, then we check the weather and its cloud, cloud and more cloud!

But there's that one time where the stats are good and the skies are clear and that is priceless. The same goes for the Milky Way, there's a sense of achievement and a buzz that can't be matched compared to a place where the Skies tend to be clearer and the Aurora will always be stronger and more frequent.

Back to my point? Milky Way or Aurora?

I actually don't think I will ever be able to decide, if I've just been shooting the Milky Way I tend to think "Yup, I definitely prefer to shoot the Milky Way" there's just something about standing under an uninterrupted clear night sky as we point out different stars and planets.

Then I go to Iceland or Norway, you stand under clear skies after sunset, waiting, then all of a sudden... BOOOOM, the sky explodes in a sea of green. It does be pitch dark, so you can't see the excitement in my clients faces, but one thing you can't not hear is the screams of excitement when they catch the first glimpses as the lights go from strength to strength. Then I'm like, yup, I most definitely love shooting Aurora more.

Have you ever seen the Milky Way under dark skies or the Aurora dancing across the sky? What do you prefer or think you'd prefer? Maybe the two shots below could help you decide... Do let me know in the comments.

I most definitely can't decide.

Teide National Park, Tenerife

Uttakleiv, Lofoten Islands

Iceland Photography Tour January 2019

https://www.bglandscapetours.ie/Home/tourDetails?tourID=53

Tenerife Landscape & Astro Photography Tour June 2019

https://www.bglandscapetours.ie/Home/tourDetails?tourID=77

Lofoten Islands Photography Tour November 2019

https://www.bglandscapetours.ie/Home/tourDetails?tourID=63