Epic images from the Northern Lights Photographer of the Year Competition

(Pocket-lint) - Each year, question photography blog Capture the Atlas puts unneurotic an yearly Northern Lights Photographer of the Year competition. This year, the contention has had entries from astir the satellite from the US, Russia, New Zealand, Canada, Norway and more. 

With a multitude of images to take from, selecting the victor was nary uncertainty tough. The Northern Lights aren't casual to photograph either. They're champion changeable betwixt September and April successful the Northern Hemisphere and from March and September successful the Southern Hemisphere and you request a acheronian entity without airy contamination too. 

We're collecting immoderate of the winners for your enjoyment. 

• 34 fantastic photographic firsts
• 37 stunning photos from the 2020 Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards

Forest of the Light

Snapped successful Alaska, Marc Adamus managed to seizure this magical presumption of a snow-covered scenery with an astonishing background.

"Temperatures are often successful the minus 30s and negotiating the easy broken, crusty snowfall connected snowshoes with thing but a headlamp makes for large challenges successful hiking and composing. I utilized the past airy of twilight to acceptable up the changeable you spot present and returned to it hours aboriginal arsenic the lights were dancing overhead."

Polar-snow monsters

This photograph comes from the unthinkable depths of the Kola Peninsula, Russia and offers a batch much than conscionable an awesome presumption of the night's sky. 

Photographer Sergey Korolev explained a spot astir their logic erstwhile taking this benignant of image. 

"I ever thought it was boring to instrumentality pictures of conscionable the sky, but 1 day, I saw Marc Adamus’ photographs with the aurora borealis implicit immoderate beauteous upland scenery and I was truly impressed. Since then, I person had a caller passionateness – taking Northern Lights pictures wherever the scenery and its creation play the main role, and the entity with the aurora is successful harmony with the composition. In this picture, I besides focused connected the “snow monsters” successful the creation to marque this changeable look similar an alien scene."

Aurora Sherbet successful the Apostles

This wonderfully colourful presumption was influenced by absorbing enactment successful the night's sky. 

"The aurora sparked connected this nighttime was from a operation of an M-class star flare and a CME; connected their own, they were not much, but together, they definite packed a punch. No 1 truly saw this coming, and we had precocious been burned by the star tempest that was but wasn’t, i.e., the X-class lawsuit that ne'er materialized. In immoderate case, I saw the archetypal “hit” successful the data, instantly jumped into the car, and drove 8 hours northbound to get distant from the horrible unreality screen implicit overmuch of the Midwest Great Lakes region.

I went to a determination I had ne'er been to earlier – which is ever a gamble – but made it enactment somehow! Hunting for compositions successful the acheronian is ever a challenge. The magnitude of colour item successful this representation is amazing. I’ve ne'er seen truthful overmuch teal and purple. The full nighttime felt similar a dream. Here’s to star rhythm 25!"

Narnia

Amy J. Johnson tells a fantastic communicative of serene and peaceful it is being an aurora lensman who is hunting down unthinkable shots similar this. 

"In March of 2021, a G1 star tempest was predicted erstwhile I ventured to this wood northbound of Fairbanks. For years, I’ve spent galore nights successful this portion waiting for a beauteous aurora show lone to beryllium disappointed.

This night, however, I reached my acceptable determination close successful clip for the commencement of an astonishing show. The achromatic spruce successful this portion of the boreal wood are caked with snowfall owed to hoarfrost and the forces of wind. Finding a bully creation has go much challenging owed to a wood occurrence that dispersed done the portion successful 2020. As I acceptable retired connected snowshoes into this enchanted scene, temps hovered astatine -21 degrees Fahrenheit."

Spectrum

Iceland has plentifulness of fantastic views and this 1 taken implicit the iconic Vestrahorn determination is nary different. 

For the Northern Lights

This representation astir looks similar it's from different planet, with incredibly harsh wintery conditions backdropped by a gloriously colourful view. It mightiness arsenic good beryllium too, arsenic the lensman explains:

"This nighttime was decidedly special. The cleanable conditions for shooting the Northern Lights came together: frost, ice, a afloat moon, a wide night, and nary wind. The upwind was highly difficult; the somesthesia was 34 degrees beneath zero, but flames similar these marque you hide the temperature. I had a definite imaginativeness of the photograph I wanted, and due to the fact that of the utmost weather, I had to physique the photograph successful stages. Thanks to the moonlight, the scenery was nicely illuminated, and I got a decent equilibrium with the overwhelming show of the aurora borealis."

Aurora Australis

Another colourful view, this clip from Australia. David Oldenhof's photograph is fantastic not conscionable for the view, but for the reflection arsenic well. Perfectly peaceful. 

"Tasmania is the astir confederate authorities successful Australia. As good arsenic having beauteous coastlines, World Heritage rainforests, and nationalist parks to photograph, we besides person the added bonus of being capable to witnesser the astir aggravated auroras successful the state due to the fact that we are the furthest south."

Previous winners

The year-on-year popularity of this contention brings plentifulness of photographers with awesome photographs to amusement off. Below are immoderate of the champion we saw from 2020's awards that are worthy seeing too.  

Heavenly Dance

This representation was snapped by Sergey Korolev astatine the Kola Peninsula successful Russia by the seashore of the Barents Sea. The operation of unthinkable airy amusement successful the entity and mist-like waters astatine the coast's borderline effect successful a staggering view. 

Sergey Korolev explained that the representation is really the effect of 2 photos combined into 1 - a speedy vulnerability to seizure the lights and a agelong 1 for the rocks. 

The Hunt’s Reward

Another unthinkable presumption of a colourful night's sky, this clip from Tasmania, Australia. 

Ben Maze, the lensman explains it best:

"Captured successful this representation is simply a trifecta of astronomical phenomena that made for immoderate of the champion astrophotography conditions 1 tin witnesser successful Australia, namely, the mounting Milky Way galactic core, zodiacal light, and of course, the elusive Aurora Australis. On apical of this, a sparkling show of oceanic bioluminescence adorned the crashing waves, adding the cherry connected apical to what was already a breathtaking experience. "

The colours of this 1 are astir antithetic erstwhile compared with the accustomed photos with a greenish hue that you'd spot from these night-time shots. 

Dragon Eggs

This photograph is astir other-worldly with an astonishing icey presumption and breached areas wherever the crystal has seemingly shattered. 

Roksolyana Hilevych created this changeable with images taken successful the Lofoten Islands successful Norway and crafted them unneurotic by focus-stacking 3 photos for the cleanable image.

"I recovered this chartless spot connected the Lofoten Islands arsenic I was moving astir the Gimsoya Islands. That nighttime was precise cold, with temperatures reaching -20º C. It was astir apt 1 of the champion shows of watching and photographing the Northern Lights I’ve ever experienced, due to the fact that successful a spot similar this, it’s not casual to find thing caller with specified a magical foreground and the kp5/kp6 Northern Lights dancing each nighttime long."

Antarctic Night

From the freezing portion of Antarctica comes different unthinkable photo, with a colourful aurora implicit the IceCube Neutrino Observatory successful the South Pole. 

It's really portion of a semipermanent time-lapse that Benjamin Eberhardt was crafting astatine the time, which is simply a tricky happening to propulsion disconnected successful the ultra-low temps:

"...to execute 24h-long time-lapse shots, you request immoderate creativity to vigor and insulate your instrumentality successful bid to support it running, and adjacent rotating, successful temperatures ranging down to -80ºC (-112 ºF). In my case, this was a learning curve implicit aggregate months, with a batch of proceedings and mistake and frostbite. On the upside, erstwhile you person tackled each the challenges, you person plentifulness of reasons to beryllium arrogant of your shots."

Convergence

In September 2020, Agnieszka Mrowka took this representation connected the Northern Lights successful Jökulsárlón, Iceland.

Calm weather, a agleam satellite and a fantastic presumption of the glaciers astir the lagoon resulted successful 1 of the astir awesome images you're apt to spot of this region. 

Finland astatine night

Nestled successful the acold forests of Ruka, Finland, wherever temperatures were down to minus 36 degrees C, Kim Jenssen managed to drawback this representation of the Northern Lights dancing successful the entity above. 

After spending hours waiting, they were yet giving up and heading location conscionable earlier this happened:

"On the way down, I saw thing connected my near broadside and told my person to halt and wait. Suddenly, the aurora started to “dance”, and each I had to bash was to leap successful the snow, get my camera ready, and shoot! There was nary readying oregon clip to absorption connected composition. After 5 minutes, the Northern Lights disappeared, but it was a nighttime with a blessed ending."

Lofoten crystal lights

Another breathtaking representation from the Lofoten Islands. This clip with incredibly heavy icicles framing the extracurricular of the representation and adding an absorbing item to the Northern Lights.

Photographer Dennis Hellwig had to beryllium diligent to get this 1 arsenic the lights from passing cars were seemingly ruining the shot:

"Another situation was the airy contamination from passing cars (it was lone 8 p.m. and determination were inactive a batch of radical connected the road) and different photographers with their headlights on. But successful the end, everything went good and I got my picture."

Spring fireworks

This photograph was really taken successful 2019, successful April, which is the extremity of the aurora play successful the Arctic. Finally, the patience paid off:

"I person been chasing the Northern Lights for 10+ years now, and I cognize that they are rather unpredictable. However, immoderate of my champion Aurora captures person so resulted from unexpected events oregon uncertain forecasts."

"That nighttime was 1 of those erstwhile the forecast was uncertain, but I decided to spell retired to this fantastic determination called “Ersfjordbotn”, which is simply a 20-min thrust from the City of Tromsø, and I was truthful gladsome that I did it. A magnificent show took spot implicit my caput aft 1 hr of waiting. I changeable galore antithetic images, but this 1 stretching each implicit the entity with maine lasting connected the stone successful the foreground shows precise good however astonishing and ample the auroras tin be."

The Aurora Borealis, for me, is simply a wonderment of the world. It is the astir magnificent celestial and astronomical reflection we tin marque with our eyes. Although astir Northern Lights determination slowly, oregon look static, if you are fortunate similar I was that night, you tin bask a once-in-a-lifetime experience."

"I deliberation that everyone should enactment “chasing the Northern Lights” connected their bucket list. It is decidedly thing you should witnesser and acquisition with your ain eyes."

Symphony of the lights

This photograph by Iurie Belegurschi is different communicative of bully fortune. After waiting for ages for the Northern Lights to look astatine Thingvellir National Park, Iceland, they gave up. But erstwhile the car got stuck connected the mode location the dancing Northern Lights yet made an appearance. 

When a imagination became a reality

Mohad Almehanna enactment maximum effort into this shot, taking the clip to program it retired and find the cleanable spot for an awesome creation successful Yukon, Canada.

Despite each the planning, hard upwind and debased temperatures made the existent photography tricky. The extremity effect was worthy the effort though:

"The time I took this photo, the upwind was highly difficult; the somesthesia was 20 degrees beneath zero and the beardown upwind didn’t marque the concern immoderate easier. I had a definite imaginativeness of the photograph I wanted, and due to the fact that of the utmost weather, I had to physique the photograph successful stages. Taking galore shots successful antithetic stages of the Aroura rising gave maine a bully accidental to get the last photograph here. The overwhelming feeling of seeing the spectacular improvement for the archetypal clip and racing against clip and acold to get the photograph was specified a thrill that I privation to acquisition again."

Writing by Adrian Willings. Originally published connected 29 December 2020.