My friend and colleague Patrick Endres has just released a beautifully illustrated new ebook about photographing the aurora. I’ve just finished reading each of it’s lavish 200 pages and was thoroughly impressed.
Patrick recruited the expertise of one of the foremost experts on the Aurora Borealis, Dr. Neal Brown. Dr. Brown fills in a series of sidebars, present throughout the book, that provide tid-bits on the natural history of the aurora: why and how they are created, solar cycles, prediction, effects of the earth’s magnetic field, and more. These were among the most illuminating aspects of the book. At first glance these technical aspects seem unrelated to the nuts and bolts of photography, they are fascinating and provide a deeper understanding the phenomena. As I’ve alluded to on this blog on several occasions good photography owes a lot to the depth of understanding one has of their subjects. Patrick’s decision to include Neal Brown’s input was inspired, and I reckon I will regularly return to these portions of the book.
Fairbanks, and the rest of Alaska’s interior is used as the centerpiece for the discussion of the aurora and information on seasonality. An excellent series of graphs provide a visual understanding of how temperature, cloud conditions, and aurora activity interact to provide the best viewing conditions. (In short, October and March are good times to make the trek north.)
Using personal anecdotes, Patrick provides an excellent section of the book dedicated to winter clothing, gear, and camera preparation. Since I live here in the interior, this was not new to me, but visitors from outside will find this section extremely useful.
The last several chapters are dedicated strictly to photography. An entire chapter each is dedicated to exposure, selection of cameras and lenses, prepping equipment for the conditions, and composition. Patrick’s expertise is landscape photography, and that shows in his emphasis on composition. This is an element very often over looked in aurora photography, as we worry about how to best expose the sky. His advice to remember the foreground should not be forgotten.
The design and layout of the book is beautifully done. Using a fixed layout format, there is no freedom to change font sizes, however never did I have any problem with the amount of text on any given page, even on the small screen of my ipad mini. The images are beautiful. I would have liked to have seen the technical specs (camera, lens, f-stop, and shutter speed) for each of the images in the book, but this information is only provided in the chapters on exposure.
The book is only available from the itunes store for the ipad. This, I fear will limit the audience, but hopefully Patrick will be able to revise it for other devices in the future. (Here is the book’s page on Patrick’s web site with more information and sample pages)
My final quibble is the price. At $19.99 the guide is definitely at the high end of the price spectrum for an ebook. While I still judge it to be worth the price, many may avoid the purchase simply because it seems too expensive.
Final judgement? “How to Photograph the Northern Lights” is an excellent resources for both new and experienced photographers of the aurora. Clearly written and beautifully illustrated, I encourage anyone heading north to consider purchasing a copy. Just be ready for the 20 dollar price tag.