“Go someplace where it’s dark and preferably where there aren’t going to be a lot of ,” Friesen says.
There are some favourite locations that generally attract many photographers who are looking for a dark place to watch the Northern Lights, such as Oak Hammock Marsh and Birds Hill Park.
“When the alert goes out (that Northern Lights will be visible), those places get inundated with . So, I try to stay away from those. I look for other places that might be places of interest.”
On Friesen’s bucket list is to take a photograph of the Northern Lights with their reflection on a body of water.
Tip 2 – Find a safe place to set up
“A key tip is getting out of the way,” Friesen says, noting that will often park on a gravel road, turning off the vehicle's lights. “So, make sure that if you’re out on the road that you park either well off to the side, but preferably onto an approach or somewhere that gets you off the roadway.”
Tip 3 – Avoid camera movement
“Having your camera on a tripod is likely the biggest tip, you need to be able to hold that camera still. So, whether you are using your cell phone, whether you're using whatever (type of camera), being able to have it in a place where it's not going to get moved during the exposure time is critical.”
Tip 4 – Be familiar with your camera settings
“You want to make sure your ISO is dialed up a little bit. Usually, mine is set somewhere between 1000 and 3200, somewhere in there. Don't worry the noise as much because you can clean that up a little bit in post processing, but you actually want a little bit of the noise because that helps bring in the light of the stars.”
“If your camera has long exposure noise cancellation, turn that off because what it'll do is it'll actually erase stars, and you want the stars in your photo. So, you want to turn that feature off.”
Tip 5 – Include an object of interest
“I think a key to get an amazing photo is to have a foreground object of interest. It might be an old barn, it might be an old car, it could be your cabin, your favourite place, something that has more meaning than just the sky.”
Over the many years of photographing the Northern Lights, Friesen recalls the spectacular event in May of this year as one of the most remarkable events.
“The strongest geomagnetic storm in over two decades dazzled scientists and sky-watchers alike in May 2024. The G5 storm culminated in a remarkable display of the aurora borealis overnight on May 10–11, visible from many areas worldwide, including latitudes where sightings of auroras are uncommon.” - NASA Earth Observatory
“So, you had in Florida that were seeing the Northern Lights for the first time ever that they experienced, and there were in Argentina posting photos, and all over the world that were posting their photos,” Friesen recalls.
During that time, Friesen and his wife, Trudy, were parked along a gravel road just outside of Steinbach.
Northern Lights are less likely to be noticed during the summer months because most are fast asleep when they appear in the early morning hours, often between 2am and 4am.
