Fan Fair by RyanDyar

Really REALLY needs to be viewed on black. Please? So, well... Getting this image meant I got to cross a bucket list item off while I was in Norway. Yep, that's right... I got to annoy people with my snoring ON ANOTHER CONTINENT. Only a few more to go! Actually, getting to see epic Aurora displays was on the bucket list, the snoring was just a side effect. We knew clear skies were in the works, we had a decent Aurora forecast, and we had a place we wanted to shoot. Problem was, we were all exhausted from the long days and short nights... so while we waited to see what would become of the night sky, we slept in our tour vans. There's nothing quite as refreshing as sleeping sitting straight up in a van that smells of dudes and wet boots... especially after having spent some 18+ hours the previous days trying to sleep on a plane, or sleep on a bench at the airport, or trying to sleep when your body still thinks its afternoon when clearly the clock now displays otherwise. But hey, I made it work and was merrily sawing logs in the drivers seat of the van while my half of our group of clients suffered around me. Then I was rudely awakened to an ear piercing knock on the window, right at face level. I assumed it was the Norwegian cops coming to tell us we were not allowed to sleep in the parking lot (turns out they are actually quite laid back about camping rules over there!) but instead saw Arild rubbing sleep out of his eyes and spouting off about "it's happening" or something. All six of us from my van bolted awake in unison like the ugliest choreographed dance routine you've ever seen. After letting our eyes adjust... yep, there it was! A faint green and purple band of glowing light stretched across the horizon. Many people on this trip, myself included, had yet to be blessed with good Aurora shooting in their lives. So despite our tapped energy reserves, we hurriedly rushed to get our gear and go play. The shooting lasted for hours and we all were able to use the adrenaline to our advantage and make the most of the first (and best) Northern Lights display of our trip. This shot wasn't even from the peak of the Aurora that night. I actually didn't fire off many shots during the best display, as I was too busy standing there gawking at it in amazement like some newborn having car keys dangled in their face. It was absolutely astonishing and easily one of the most addicting things I have ever laid eyes on (Norwegian bacon-wrapped hot dogs not withstanding). I know it's the lamest thing in the world to say this, but it was actually a spiritual type of moment for me. I think many of the guys on this trip felt the same way, as the loud "oohs" "ahhs" and "holy shits" pierced through the dark night as the waves of light twisted and danced in the sky. Luckily, we had scouted out this location previously in the daylight and we all managed to find compositions we liked that we took mental note of to ensure we knew what we were doing later that night in the dark. I had seen this peak and some cool looking striations in the different colored sands that I thought looked promising, but it wasn't until I tried to pull off this shot in the dark that I realized I had completely underestimated what it would take to make it work. This 12 focus points, all shot at 30sec f.28 and iso3200 (it proved to be a pain in the ass to focus stack at super wide apertures) for the foreground and midground pointing downward with my lens, then another few shots panned upward for the mountain and sky... these were exposure blended. Then all of these had to be stitched and blended by hand to get everything put together. This is probably the longest I've spent processing a shot in the past couple years. More than this shot, what stands out to me are the good memories and new friendships that I was able to bring home with me. Arild and I are super stoked to announce two more of these tours, so if you are interested in having a freaking blast in the arctic you'll want to check it out. Also, I recently released a new post-processing instructional video. It's packed with some unique techniques and theories about processing you may not find anywhere else. People seem to really be enjoying the videos and have had nothing but great things to say, so I *think* they are helping people... it's been awesome to see the many before/after shots people have been emailing me. Be sure to check the videos out if you are into that sort of thing. It's all on my website, as well as more photos, photo tour info, processing instruction via Skype like everyone else is doing, etc, etc. 2015 Tour Schedule Lofoten Autumn Aurora - With Arild Heitmann Northern Lights Finale - With Arild Heitmann Processing Tutorial Videos Processing Instruction via Skype via 500px http://bit.ly/1FeX2t1