JJn Painting with Light

Yes. Winter was pretty long.

And I kind of disappeared off the face of the planet. Its not that I wasn't here, it was just that you couldn't see me because the majority of my world was dark. I was there, just lurking in the shadows, phantom style. Or was that Dick Tracey? I don't own a trenchcoat. Though I do like the idea of wearing my underpants on the outside of a purple jumpsuit. Lets run with the Phantom....

So let me explain. Winter here isn't actually ALL dark. At Davis we have 6 weeks where the sun doesn't clear the horizon, but thats not to say that its totally dark all day. You know that hour or so in the morning before sunrise (ok, lets be realistic here... mum knows that hour, most people I know don't.... unless it happens to have hungover from the previous evening's proceedings....) so... You know that hour after the sun goes down in the evening... after the sunset... (nice input there captain obvious)... how there is a bit of a glow and the light slowly drains from the sky? Well, imagine that hour, but elongated due to the sheer albedo of ... white...

Albedo: definition:

The fraction of solar energy (shortwave radiation) reflected from the Earth back into space. It is a measure of the reflectivity of the earth's surface. Ice, especially with snow on top of it, has a high albedo: most sunlight hitting the surface bounces back towards space.

So I'm a weather nerd. I can hear you judging me....

Even over midwinter - the peak of lightlessness (new word, I dig it) when the sun starts its gradual return to the antarctic, there is still a good three hours of what most would consider daylight. For example. You can see how cold the water that you are planning to jump into in only bikini and volleys (so your wet feet don't stick to the ice on quick exit from said cold water). You can also see the steam coming off the outdoor hottub set up for the occasion. It starts getting light at around 11am, and by 3pm is pretty much night. again. so...

(I'm working up to a point... just in case you were wondering)...

The clear nights this year have been. well. amazing.

We've had one of the most aurorally active years in memory. Almost every night.

Auroras are the drama of the heavens. They change every night, thoughout the night, peak around 3am, can light up the whole sky or just be a silver whisper in the ear of those sparkling pinpricks in the dark blanket of sky. Either way, they are exciting, they build and snake and ribbon and curl across the sky- they change in intensity, waning and sparking back up again on a whim.

And you know what?

We had them so frequently this year that a lot of the time, you couldn't even be bothered running back up the stairs to grab your camera.

Now the light is back 16 hours a day (14 of that sunshine above horizon) I miss night. The hours that Auroras might occur are becoming pretty unfriendly- especially to my shiftwork hours. But they still give me a buzz. Especially while looking through the camera lense.

Early on we were introduced to the idea of playing with light at night time. To shoot an Aurora, the camera must be on a tripod with the exposure around the 30sec mark, generally set to a timer to stop the camera shake as the shutter releases which blurs the stars and the foreground. It's art.

So first imagine standing there, shuddering in the icy cold (oh, literally, its not even a pun woooh!) flicking your torch light on and off and on and off... out of sight of the camera ofcourse so as not to ruin the shot. Until someone tells you that you can light up the foreground for a better shot using just your torch light.

Painting. Like with a brush, careful to stay within the lines.

... And then, after that you walk through the shot...

Rookery Lake Apple, early one morning. That's the moon in the sky by the way, not the sun... jjn

and then you start drawing things- like you did as a kid with sparklers in the crisp night air at new years.. and then you start getting results in this....

Standard JJn tomfoolery... mouth open in photos... such finesse.... (c) J.Feast)

The boy (oh how he loves it when i call him that haha), getting in on the fun. This was his second attempt (the first the S was backwards as you have to write in mirrored), and wasn't quick enough with the light. I love this photo because the letters look like they have legs.... :D





The successful photo.... See the look of accomplishment on his face...

These two shots are great also to show how quickly the auroras ribbon and change. There can't have been more than a minute between these two photos....







The red scribbles came from a small LED light hanging off the back of my head torch...

You've seen this one before in colour... it makes me feel like I'm on the moon ... (c) J.Feast

You can use a flash, with some totally interesting and entertaining results... I could totally show you...

but a girl has to retain some mystery right........?

hehe, and one last one, for mum.....

jjn