Through various app groups of which Tim Conijn from Oostknollendam is a member, the amateur photographer knew that last night the moment might be coming. And yes, around half past eight in the evening, Tim prints from his attic window and manages to capture the northern lights in great detail. “Euphoric”, is how Tim describes his feeling when he inspected the result. “It worked, I’m happy.”
You need a little luck to capture the rare light spectacle. The circumstances have to be right. For example, there should be no cloud cover and the amount of artificial light from, for example, street lamps should not be too dominant. And then it also comes down to the right timing. “I have often driven somewhere, to Friesland or the Afsluitdijk,” Tim says about his previous attempts. “Watched all evening. Nothing. We were ten minutes late and nothing came for the rest of the evening. It could be over in five minutes.”
Correct camera setting is key
But the photography itself also requires the necessary attention. The correct camera settings are a must. “I use the manual setting, so everything is manual,” Tim explains. “I set the ISO to 1600 so that you get a lot of light in. Set the aperture number as low as possible so that you also get more light in. Focus manually. Use the largest possible ‘wide-angle’ lens so that you have a large flat. I used ten seconds of shutter speed. Take a photo, wait ten seconds and then it is there.”
The chance that the Northern Lights will be seen again tonight is small. Solar activity has decreased. “Nevertheless, there is a chance again tonight,” said Tim. “It’s never possible to say. I’ll keep an eye on it. But it could be that it’s nothing tonight and it will be in three days. It’s impossible to predict.”