Preparing for the off, the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM lens and my own thoughts on the impact of social media on photography

Looking at the temperature it was nice to see from the Norwegian weather forecast website that I use www.yr.no that Tromsø is presently around -4 degrees centigrade through the night. Although, as I was anticipating, the weather is quite cloudy on the Norwegian Coast with inland areas such as Abisko in Sweden a lot clearer at night. The pay off is definitely in the temperature with Abisko recording -21 degrees centigrade and this doesn't include the wind chill so I imagine it is incredibly cold there at the moment and I don't anticipate that will change greatly in the next few weeks. When we went in February we were out at times in temperatures of -16 degrees centigrade plus wind chill.

Sorry for any non UK readers of my blog as this next piece isn't really of much relevance to you. One major change to our trip is this time instead of flying British Airways from Heathrow to Oslo and having the expensive of an overnight stop in Oslo and then catching an internal Norwegian Air flight from Oslo to Tromsø the next day, we are flying on a new route operated by Norwegian Air that flies directly from Gatwick to Tromsø. This saves a considerable amount of money as Norwegian Air charge just £6 each way for each individual hold baggage weighing upto 20kg so making the total cost just £48 for all our luggage (4 hold bags). Compare this to BA where you get one hold luggage free each but they then charge £34 each way for each excess luggage bag upto 23kg and on top of this you have the cost of the baggage for the flight from Oslo to Tromsø with Norwegian Air which is £6 for each individual item of hold luggage each way. We have therefore saved somewhere in the region of £120 plus the additional cost of an overnight hotel room in Oslo so a total saving of around £200 and £300 depending on which hotel you stay in Oslo. Plus we have the benefit of flying directly to Tromsø.

One other amendment, and one I am really excited about gear wise, is that I have managed to source a lens hire company that have the new Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM available for our trip. I am really looking forward to using this lens as I believe this will have huge benefits compared to my own Canon F2.8L lenses. All the reviews and initial reports I have heard or read about this Sigma lens are extremely positive and from a photographers perspective it is perfect for capturing the aurora borealis as it will hopefully cut down on exposure times or alternatively enables you to reduce the ISO, something I am always trying to balance and play with as I shoot the Northern Lights. The photographers who read this won't need telling, but simply put higher ISO means more noise and nobody likes noise in their images so it will be extremely interesting to see the results, especially if the possible benefits of this lens are realised.

One last piece and something that has been nagging me for a while is the rise of the impact of social media on an individuals perception of photography and more importantly the quality of the images produced and therefore displayed on such websites. I am not going to name anyone, I will though endeavour to point out my concerns. I often see young photographers on say, purely as an example, Facebook who've set up a page for their photography that have literally hundred of 'likes' and yet some of the images posted there are of an extremely poor quality, composition, lighting and even focus are out and in some cases all three basic requirements for a half decent image aren't being delivered. With so many followers via social media though from a commercial aspect does this give any weight to their work and if not can they still manipulate this to their own benefit? 

Anyone can easily steal images from the web and make up a portfolio of these stolen images and pass them off as their own work and then backed up by literally hundreds of followers via social media who would question such credentials, especially if they were selling their services as a wedding photographer etc? Compare this to a good wedding photographer who is in their 40's or 50's or even older who doesn't utilise social media to the extent the younger generation does, in future will their lively hood by jeopardised or suffer despite them actually buying technically a far better photographer just purely based on the number of 'followers' they have or don;t have as the case maybe? Also, the Instagram impact seems to be all the rage with a filter for almost anything and everything and they use of such filters seems to be creeping into both portrait and wedding photography and this, in my opinion, is a great way to mask what in essence could be a poor quality image or even a poor photographer. If such quality and output becomes acceptable and the norm in the majority will this mean literally anyone can set themselves up as photographer and we will end up seeing photographers at weddings with nothing more than a smartphone in future?

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and if If you do like my work please take a minute to view either my personal website Darrell Jordan Photography or alternatively go to my Facebook page Darrell Jordan Photography (Facebook) and please like the page.

An unexpected return to photograph the aurora borealis in Tromsø later this month

Well I didn't think I would start up this blog again and certainly not in 2013. But, as luck would have it though we were recently contacted by the owners of the cabins we stay in Ersfjordbotn, Norway with the offer of a cabin that had become available due to a cancellation.  So we have taken up the opportunity to return to Tromsø for possibly the last time for 11 years. I will be in there between 28th December 2013 until 4th January 2014 and therefore we will get to see the New Year in with the aurora borealis and I, for one, can't think of any better way I would like to celebrate the occasion.

I intend to blog again whilst I am there, although I feel that chasing the light will be a real effort this time. At this time of year the weather isn't great with a significant amount of cloud cover most evenings on the coast and around the immediate Tromsø area. So this may require me to search out new locations further inland to find the clearer skies with locations such as Abisko in Sweden on our radar which is just about in driving distance of Tromsø. 

I am still not certain what not seeing the sun for 7 days will feel like but I am hoping that the colour of the skies will be something to remember due to the lack of sunlight and so offer some different photographic opportunities. Due to the time of year we are going this time it may offer the chance of possibly photographing orca's as they follow the winter herring run along Norway's coastline as well and this is something I have wanted to do and to get close up to these amazing dolphin's, Yes, orca's are part of the dolphin family although they are often referred to as 'killer whales' can be a little confusing.

As I blogged previously I was approached by Warehouse Express, AKA Wex, here in the UK to pen a blog entry for them about photographing the aurora borealis and I am pleased to see that so far that has been read over 2700 times. 

Whilst I do sell my images at local events generally I get the impression that my images of the aurora's only act to inspire people to go and see them for themselves as they are on so many people's bucket list. What never ceases to amaze me is the number of people I have spoken to who have been to places such as Norway, Finland, Sweden and Iceland in search of the aurora borealis and have comeback disappointed as they didn't get to see the Northern Lights. There are 2 recommendations I continually make to people if they are planning such a trip. The first point is to go for as long as you can go taking into account the cost of living in the Scandinavian countries compared to most of Europe and the second point is to try and be mobile and have the use of a hire car. Unfortunately the chances of seeing the lights are controlled by a number of factors including solar activity and weather conditions. It would be wrong of us to think we just turn up and Mother Nature just does her bit and flicks a light switch and puts on a display for you. Then again for those who know this is possibly what makes the anticipation and excitement the aurora even better especially if you have been chasing the light and finally find it.

I have some images aluminium mounted prints of the auroras that measure 100cm x 50cm and are a real focal point for any room and everytime I look at them they just seem to get better and better and I am my own biggest critic when it comes to my images.

During the autumn here in the UK I decided to take part in a competition called '24 hours in Bristol' to photograph the city during 24 hours on a specific day. The concept of the competition was very appealing as you are only allocated a certain hour time slot that you have to take an image in after you have paid an entry fee. This type of photography is well outside my comfort zone and the day in question wasn't great weather wise so it was a real challenge for me. I didn't make the final 3 images that won the major prizes which was no real surprise, but I did take an hourly award for the best image taken between 18:00 - 19:00 and I have to say I was chuffed to bits about this and gladly accepted a cheque for £50 for my efforts.

This year I changed hosting provider for my personal website and so moved across from Clikpic to Zenfolio. I find Zenfolio far easier to administer and to keep updated and a lot friendlier to use. Whilst investigating suitable hosting solutions I did some research and during this time I found a blog from someone who was already using Zenfolio and they mentioned they had had 311 visitors in a year. I set myself a target of achieving more hits than that, just as a bit of fun and as a personal challenge. I am glad to say that I overtook this number of hits after just over 4 months.   

It was also during this time that I used Google image search just to look where my images were being used. I was slightly annoyed after just searching a random 10 images from my portfolio that 1 had been used without my consent on a commercial blog. It is well worth completing such a search for yourselves, especially if your own images are being used without your consent.

I honestly do appreciate those who take the time to read this blog and would just like to say thank you to you as individuals and I am really looking forward to blogging live from Tromsø later this month.

If you do like my work please take a minute to view either my personal website Darrell Jordan Photography or alternatively go to my Facebook page Darrell Jordan Photography (Facebook) and please like the page.

The blog entry I wrote for Warehouse Express concerning photographing the aurora borealis can be found here My Wex blog entry

Chamonix adventure sports festival

Thanks to the courtesy of both What Digital Camera and also G-technology I am going to spend a few days in Chamonix, France this week attending an adventure sports photography workshop led by Tristan Shu

I am hoping to find the time whilst there to add a couple of blog entries whilst I am there....

My Warehouse Express blog entry

Just a quick post it. On returning from Norway I was approached by Wex (Warehouse Express) the UK's leading specialist photographic store to write a blog for them.

You can find it here, I hope you enjoy the piece as I much as I do.

http://www.wexphotographic.com/blog/how-to-photograph-the-northern-lights-in-arctic-norway

The end of the chase

Well that's nearly it for 2013 for the aurora chase for us. We certainly struck lucky at the start of the week.

The end of our holiday which coincided with the end of this week has come and gone with little more than a whimper and so we are no getting ready for our journey home tomorrow back to the UK, and by all accounts that is a snowy UK so we should be more than able to handle anything thrown at us when we touch down at Heathrow tomorrow early evening.

The weather, which we are aware of our previous trip and something I have mentioned before regarding the climate in Norway has taken a turn for the worse. We haven't been out for the last 3 nights as there has been a weather front hanging all over northern Norway which has produced rain, rain and more rain along with some sleet which is now turning into snow. When we arrived at Ersfjordbotn we were welcomed with snow covered mountains adorning the sides of the fjords. These same mountains have now taken on a very different look with the majority of the snow being washed off and probably now only covering between 30%-40% of them rather than the 90% coverage when we arrived. We have had so much rain that the small waterfall next to the cabin sprang  back into life and has been almost been in a state of spate for the last 3 days solid as the water literally pours off the mountainside.

We are leaving with flood warnings and also high alerts of avalanches advised for the locality due to the sheer amount of rainfall that has been nothing short of relentless.



It goes without saying seeing the auroras at the start of holiday, which was always our goal, was the highlight. The lowlights include the Polar Zoo, which for the distance travelled and cost was a waste of both time and money. We found it very disappointing, certainly when visiting in winter time as we did. The drive there was the only high point of the trip through the fjords and mountains in nearly cloudless blue skies which afford great views to Bardu where the Polar Zoo is.

The zoo has elk, wolves, wolverines, deer, arctic foxes, lynx and whilst these are very appealing animals to photograph there is only one very small viewing platform over one of the wolf camps which was inaccessible due to snow when we went. All the other time you have to shoot through wire fencing so you are picking a single focus point so you can obscure the wire out of your images.

One of the highlights apart from the auroras was undoubtedly Grotfjord and standing on the beach surrounded by snow covered mountains and seeing the afternoon move into dusk just before sunset that afforded us a great opportunity to capture some great long exposure images like the one below.

The last opportunity we had to capture the auroras entailed a 60 mile drive to Nordkjosbotn in search of clear skies on Thursday. Although, slightly obscured at times by cloud we still had the chance to capture the aurora in temperatures that dropped down to -10.

So that ends our trip for the this year, it is hard not to fall in love with Ersfjordbotn Kystferie due to it's location and the beauty of the aurora borealis on a cloudless evening in winter time over the fjord. Having visited twice now in literally just over 12 months we need to consider all our options for next year. Time for somewhere new or time for a new project maybe, I don't think I or my suffering family know that answer just yet. I seriously doubt though we will find anywhere that feels as much as home as this place does though. A lot will depend on the solar maximum and if it has peaked already? Then I think pastures new will be calling............ In my heart though I hope it hasn't.

I have some projects I would like to devote more time to at home that I have been planning for a while. Anyone though he has taken interest in my blog and fancies a trip next year to this place please let me know................... I am always happy to give you a quote for my personal guiding services ;-)

Aurora borealis the chase is on...!!

So I am sitting here in Ersfjordbotn with family and friends waiting for the cloudy weather to pass us by at the moment.

We have been incredibly lucky with the weather this year and so have been treated to some amazing displays from the aurora borealis so far. We have been left in awe and wonderment at their beauty.

If our secret hideaway is now more out in the open than it was before, then it is a shame. Although, Henry the owner of the cabins here won't be too upset. We even had to book a year in advance for the dates we wanted, which just shows how popular it is here already.

We have been blessed with the auroras and far more importantly clear skies at points during the past few days. This has only served to capture the images I so hoped for.

In my previous blog post I mentioned Lens Locker who I had hired a Canon 16-35mm F2.8L lens from specifically for this trip and I have to be honest and say it is possibly the best short term investment I have made with regards camera gear. Most of the images posted in this blog post are taken with that lens and it certainly has been the lens of choice without a shadow of a doubt. I also have a Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM and a Canon 24-70mm F2.8L with me. The majority of the time these have stayed in my bag though as the 16-35mm has just been what I needed and certainly the lens of choice. 

As you shoot on manual focus the speed of autofocus isn't an issue. The ability to shot wider or closer in depending on the aurora itself, plus the quality of the images captured is what you need in my opinion. The aurora is forever changing in size and position and so a fixed focal length lens will always be a challenge so I feel you need some flexibility offered by a zoom lens.

I have been shooting anywhere between 400-3200 ISO and this is really dependent on the strength of the aurora. The stronger the aurora then you can drop the ISO and adjust your exposure time accordingly. The exposure time I use is usually around 4 to 10 seconds long whilst trying to factor in the strength of the aurora itself and also ISO settings I am using. This is very much a trial and error learning curve that you very quickly pick up as you go so I can't give any exact advice on this. If you are lucky enough to see the aurora for long enough you have the chance to perfect these settings yourself though and you soon pick these up.

Unfortunately whilst we have been here I managed to fall down the stairs in our cabin (I still wonder why they insist on calling them cabins when they are really like a house). I ended up tearing a hamstring muscle that I felt rip across my leg as it went. It wasn't very nice and has limited my ability to walk long distances up scramble up the sides of the fjords. At the moment that hasn't been a major inconvenience to me though.

We have managed to have a quick walk around Tromsø and visited a really lovely glass blowing shop called Blåst which is the most northernly glass blowing shop in the world. Tromsø is full of the 'World's most northernly' shops and businesses I believe. I do though want to thank Silja the owner of the shop for allowing us to photograph her and her staff/partners at work there yesterday afternoon and they have some wonderful pieces there that you can purchase.

Norway and Tromsø in general isn't just appealing due to the auroras. Yes, they are one of the main reasons for the tourists, certainly in winter time. From a photographers perspective it is a a paradise though. If you have an off day from hunting the auroras then wake up the next morning and if the weather is good you may be rewarded by a sunrise as I was over the Lyngen Alps 

Alternatively if the skies are clear then look out for a brilliant sunset at a suitable location and you may be rewarded as well. The image below was captured on a Canon 24-70mm F2.8L lens using a Heliopan ND 3.0 filter (This filter is what some people refer to as a big stopper)

So it isn't just auroras that Norway or Tromsø has to offer, there is plenty of things to do if or see if you look around. All I would say is simply........... if you hire a car make sure it is a 4x4, even if it is a Skoda Yeti like ours.

There is a lot of solar acitivity at the moment and the outside possibility of an X class flare in the next 24 hours. Whilst there weather isn't looking great for Saturday if one is released from the sun then I will certainly be travelling as far as is needed to reach clear skies as that will be worth the effort and also a lack of sleep.

Tomorrow is also forecast to be fairly good weather and possibly clear skies as well, as I said at the start of my blog we have been blessed with good weather for the majority of this week here and I am so pleased that it has been on our side. As anyone who has been here or lives in Norway knows, when it gets bad it gets very bad.

Hopefully I will get another post of before the end of the week and include some more images of the auroras, if the weather holds.

Welcome to Ersfjordbotn Norway our first night!!

 Well having not blogged for a while due to work commitments taking priority I have finally got around to posting again.

We arrived in Ersfjordbotn yesterday in the mid afternoon. After completing the vital tasks like going to supermarket to buy supplies and so spending a huge amount of money on very little food we settled down for our first evening here. Little did we realise that we would also get a light show as well from the auroras

The first image is our cabin/apartment here in Ersfjordbotn Kystferie bathed in the green of the auroras. They were present between 8.00pm and 9.00pm and then returned between 11.00pm ans 12.00am


It was wonderful to see and experience the auroras on our first night and totally unexpected. Last year we had to wait 4 or 5 nights to experience them, so to get a sighting before even having a nights sleep here was wonderful, although slightly tiring.

The weather for the next week is the usual mix bag of snow and cloud. Although with a CME being launched from the sun yesterday and forecasted clear skies for tomorrow evening the prospects for sustained auroral activity over a number of hours is a huge possibility that will keep us all entertained and very busy. 

I would just like to thank Jo at Lens Locker who helped me out when I wanted to hire a Canon 16-35mm F2.8L for our trip and I hope that she smiles when she reads this as all the images posted on my blog today were taken using that lens so thanks Jo for you assistance.

Today's forecast isn't great and so in anticipation of a very long night tomorrow it will be a quiet one here this evening. I am though very excited about tomorrow.

Hopefully I will get to see someone I know on the look out point over Ersfjordbotn, who know's?