Northern Lights over Webster, New York – Anne's Travels

Northern Lights over Webster, New York

AnneOctober 11, 2024October 11, 2024 Photography

Northern lights in Webster, New York — One of my favorites – to the naked eye, the pink was a lovely glow

Last night was a night to remember! I went out to a field in the Whiting Road Nature Preserve, but nothing was particularly exciting. (It was wet, though.) I could tell that something was happening in the sky (it’s not usually this bright or vaguely green, which only tells me that I used to see northern lights as a kid when my siblings and I would go outside after dinner to slide down the snowy bunny hill by our parents’ house on our sleds), but that was it. And then suddenly, just before 10pm, shafts of light began to appear in the northern sky. We were in awe! The shafts came and went, glowing pink in places, for about 30 minutes. Maybe it got better again after I went indoors, but wow, what a show! I couldn’t stop taking photos – so here’s what my camera saw during the event! (Note: Cameras can “see” more than I could with the naked eye. I used exactly the same editing settings that I’d use for any other photo I put up here on Anne’s Travels, with the exception of a little extra noise reduction.)

Northern Lights in Webster, New York — Near the beginning of the show, taken at 10:05pm

The Big Dipper and Northern lights in Webster, New York — The streaks of light were incredible!

Northern lights in Webster, New York — Less dominant streaks in the sky

Northern lights in Webster, New York — If you’re wondering why the stars are blurry, that’s the turning of the earth. When I leave my shutter open too long (this one was 10 seconds), the earth turns, making the stars appear as though they are moving across the sky. Technically, if I took a very long exposure, the stars would go all of the way across the sky.

Northern lights in Webster, New York — I love the way this shot shows the sky on the left without any northern lights vs. the lights to the north/northwest

Northern lights in Webster, New York — So many colors to the northeast!

Northern lights in Webster, New York — Can you see the Big Dipper?

Northern lights in Webster, New York — One last shot as the show began to fade

If you’re super techy, here are the deets:

Camera: Canon M6

Lens: Tamron 18-400mm (NOT the lens for the job, but it’s what I own – I kept it at 18mm)

Manual focus, set to infinity

All photos f/3.5; all (except the following) 10 sec. exposure, ISO-200. First photo, 30 sec. exposure. Last two photos, 6 sec., ISO-400.

I also set a 2 sec. delay to eliminate camera shake and (of course!) used a tripod.

Astrophotography, New York, Northern Lights, Photography, Views, Webster NY, Whiting Road Nature Preserve

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