How to See Aurora Borealis with iPhone
What Is the Aurora Borealis?
One of the natural lights show is the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) which are a beautiful display in the sky mostly near to Polar regions and seen often from Sep to Mar months. These particles react to each other to produce colored light beams dancing in the sky, from green and pink to purple and red.
Why Is It a Bucket List Experience?
To see the Northern Lights in all its glory is like experiencing magic for real. It is unpredictable, spell-binding and short-lived. With this, it is not surprising for this place to be one of the least travelled and explored by tourists and holidayers alike. There is probably nothing more gratifying than being underneath a sky ablaze with colors rolling through the light waves, and even better when you capture this on your iPhone.
The Best Places to See the Aurora Borealis
Northern Hemisphere Locations
The best places to see Aurora Borealis are located in the Northern Hemisphere. Here are the top destinations:
Norway
Tromsø, in the north of Norway is known specifically for this. It is perfect with its high latitude and cold, clear nights.
Iceland
There’s very beautiful scenery and provides a perfect place to hunt Auroras The best part? You can also visit geysers, waterfalls and glaciers!
Canada
With the wide open sky in Canada, especially over the Yukon or Northwest Territories, you have some amazing chances to watch a show.
Optimal Times to See the Northern Lights
Although the Northern Lights are visible through autumn and winter up until early April, it generally shown during the dark winter months where nights are long. The nearer you are to the new moon, the more excellent your luck since light reflected on by the moon can obstruct visibility.
How to Prepare for Aurora Borealis Hunting with Your iPhone
Choosing the Right Time and Place
Timing is everything. Time your voyage for high visibility months with lesser or no clouds at all solar equatorial lands. If you have an Aurora forecast app, it will track geomagnetic activity to give you the best odds of seeing the lights.
Dress Warmly and Stay Comfortable
To go aurora hunting generally requires enduring the cold, often in the middle of the night. Bring some layered clothing, gloves and some good thermal socks to keep you warm while voyaging those days away waiting for the lights to appear.
Protecting Your iPhone from the Cold
Cold Weather Will Kill Your Iphone Battery Carry it in your inside pocket (damn that;p) when not using, to keep the battery alive for longer.
Setting Up Your iPhone for Aurora Photography
Then, you need to adjust the exposure because no matter how great your iPhone is at standard photography, it is not going to know what to do with Aurora. There are few manual setting adjustment which you will need to do.
Use Manual Camera Settings
The colors of the aurora are too fine to be captured in a single shot except when they’re exceptionally strong (like with this display from Oregon).
Adjust Exposure
The more light that hits the camera sensor, the better…and with a subject like the Aurora which is often only visible at night when it’s dark, longer exposure times = more light!
Set Focus to Infinity
Set the focus to infinity to have a sky which look sharp. This is for a high-quality stars and night lights in your scene.
Lower ISO for Clarity
Lower your ISO to get cleaner images. ISOs that are too high will cause graininess.
Use an iPhone Tripod for Stability
This is really the only way to get this effect since you will be working with longer exposure times, and your iPhone must be held steady. As little as a jostle can take a photo from this.
Best iPhone Apps for Capturing the Northern Lights
How much more potential could my iPhone unlock if it were a professional camera? To experience the Northern Lights, these are some of the most excellent apps that you can use for clicking pictures.
| App Name | Features | Why It’s Useful |
|---|---|---|
| NightCap | Manual exposure and focus control | Great for low-light situations, such as the Northern Lights |
| ProCamera | ISO, Shutter Speed, Focus (Manual) | Provides the flexibility required to shoot breathtaking night photos |
| Slow Shutter Cam | Long exposure time control | Great for catching the Northern Lights moving |
Additional Tips for Capturing Stunning Aurora Borealis Photos
When taking the shots, remember to:
- Use a Wide-Angle Lens: The aurora is happening over half the sky in all of these scenes. You want to use a wide-angle as possible, so you can see the most of the screen.
- Avoid Light Pollution: The Darker, The better. I also recommend to stay away from streetlights or car lights, as they can mess up your frame.
- Stay Patient and Take Multiple Shots: Aurora changes in seconds. Don’t limit yourself to just one shot, the more pictures you take- the better your odds of getting the perfect picture.
Editing Aurora Borealis Photos on Your iPhone
After capturing the Northern Lights, you can enhance your pictures with a little editing.
Best Photo Editing Apps
iPhone Apps To Help Take Your Aurora Pictures From Good to Great
Lightroom
Adobe Lightroom adobe lightoom is the powerful editing tool to play with colors, contrast and brighting.
Snapseed
For post-processing, Snapseed is a user-friendly app with plenty of filter options that will perfectly compliment your photos taken using the Aurora.
Enhancing the Colors of the Aurora
Adjust the sliders to increase the impact of colours for greens, blues and purples in Aurora. Just do not over edit and make it look abnormal.
Cropping and Adjusting for Composition
This means a good shot matters. Keep it simple, crop out all the uninteresting sky and leave only the part of the sky you want to show, that way even though your photo is a panorama it will still be focusing on the Aurora.
Conclusion: Witnessing and Capturing Nature’s Light Show
Aurora Borealis is a great experience once in lifetime but recalling that with your iPhone leads to whole another level of contentment. When you use the right apps and settings, however, your iPhone can take incredible pictures which do justice to nature.
FAQs
- Can I See the Aurora Borealis with My Naked Eye?
Yes! While the Aurora Borealis does not require any special equipment to see, it may seem dimmer in photographs due to the long exposure.
- What’s the Best iPhone Model for Aurora Photography?
Improved low light this will translate into stunning results with camera phone, especially the latest iPhone models (iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 14) makes them perfect for photographing the Northern Lights.
- What Settings Should I Use to Capture the Northern Lights?
For best results you want to use manual settings long exposure time, low ISO and infinity focus.
- Can I Record a Video of the Aurora Borealis with My iPhone?
True, but videos just don’t have the same level of detail and color that you’ll get out of a photo. Use time lapse mode instead for a better outcome.
- How Can I Predict Aurora Borealis Activity?
Download an Aurora forecast-based app that measures geomagnetic activity and weather to boost the likeliness of seeing of Northern light.
