The beauty of the Arctic - captured by Ole Salomonsen
Find out which Sony equipment helps Ole to capture one of the most breathtaking natural phenomena - the Northern Lights - in this interview. You can find even more Arctic Light Photos and impressive landscape shots by Ole Salomonsen on his website www.arcticlightphoto.no
Ole's story: How did you get into Aurora photography?
I've always been interested in technology and photography. I started my career as a band photographer for friends.
then in 2008 I took these incredible pictures of an aurora. One image was printed by some British newspapers. I had these pictures on Flickr and got about 40,000 likes for that one picture alone. That was really inspiring.
It's the fascination with this phenomenon and seeing how it evokes emotions in people.
Northern Lights have apparently always fascinated you?
Absolutely. I grew up here in the Arctic and had almost gotten used to them. But to see how it impresses people who have never seen them before is really beautiful. I've seen grown men experiencing them for the first time and overwhelmed by their emotions, they started crying. In moments like that, you realize how lucky you are. My fascination has only increased with age.
You must make a lot of creative decisions because of the different aspects of your work.
Yes, the Northern Lights never get boring, even if you've seen hundreds of them. Each aurora has a different intensity, color, speed and more. You don't want to miss a single one.
Aurora photography is now a category of its own within photography. For some it is closer to astrophotography, others associate it more with landscape photography, where the Northern Lights are part of the landscape, for me it is more the latter.
Equipment, research and approach
Are technological advances pushing the boundaries of aurora photography?
Yes, camera technology plays an important role.
I also always wanted to capture the movement of the Northern Lights, but back then there was no Sony Alpha 7S. We couldn't film the Northern Lights properly - so we had to take photos and create time-lapse movies from them.
I released my first movie in 2010. I remember it very well because it was my son's birthday that day. The next morning I had around a thousand emails in my inbox from all over the world - it was incredible. At that moment I realized: this could be a real job.
The technological progress has a profound impact, especially on aurora photography. You can get quite good skills with cheaper cameras, but at the highest level you need the best equipment, the fastest lens, the best sensors and so on. That's why I ended up switching to Sony, by the way.
Could you elaborate on that?
When Sony released the Alpha 7R, you could attach virtually any Lens in the world to the camera. The lightweight body, fantastic sensor and wide dynamic range meant you could get more detail out of the shadows. It's a great camera. For me it was a revolution.
Can you explain what "aurora borealis" means to you?
Absolutely. Not only are there the Northern Lights, but we are also lucky to have what is known among photographers as the "golden hour" before sunrise and sunset. This "hour" is about 3 to 6 hours long here because of the angle between the earth's axis and the sun. To be able to capture all these colors, you need a camera with fantastic color reproduction and a very good dynamic range.
In this respect, Sony has really opened up new horizons for me.
How do you research and how do you go about it?
That's an interesting question, because in normal landscape photography you have time. You can plan the optimal composition - you can predict exactly where the sun will be. With aurora photography, you can compose the shot, but you never know if the aurora will cooperate. You can plan the perfect composition, for example a beautifully flowing river plain, and then you may wait in vain for the aurora to appear. Then you ask yourself: "Do I have the guts to wait, or will I forget the composition and take a different shot of the aurora?" That's what makes it so exciting: you can't control it. You often have to stage a subject quickly and spontaneously. It's really intense.
What helps to capture impressive images? -
Ole's view on camera technology and Sony.
What are your expectations for the future of photography?
Simplicity is usually the best, and that's also a general rule in photography.
You don't need a myriad of functions, but a sensor that can better reproduce what the eye sees is definitely desirable. Sensors that combine high resolution with a wide dynamic range would be fantastic.
How do you see your role as an ambassador for Sony?
First of all, I am very proud and honored to be an ambassador for Sony. It's a brand I can identify with. They really listen. I have tried so many times to write to other manufacturers with questions or suggestions - I never got a response. I sent suggestions to Sony for some improvements and they replied. Later, the suggestions were actually implemented - that's just Sony's philosophy. They are very customer-oriented and I really like that.
Sony Alpha 7 V (ILCE-7M5) Body
Straight to the most advanced range of mirrorless cameras, with high-resolution full-frame sensor and wide dynamic range. Sony Alpha Full Frame Series
10.10.2017 | JJ
