Chasing Aurora: Detlef Palm

For any photographer, trying to capture the Aurora Borealis feels like stepping toward a moment of truth.

As you guessed, it didn't work out. Instead, I got an image reminiscent of a romantic winter hideout, where Clyde had forgotten to turn off the headlights of their getaway car before joining Bonnie in the cabin to count their loot. (click on any image to enlarge)

We had decided to cruise along the long Norwegian coast to Alta during the long and cold winter nights. The small town lies very close to the North Cape, and is considered one of the best places to see the Northern Lights.

The journey started in Bergen, founded around the year 1000, and now the second largest city in Norway. Bryggen is the historic wharf built by Hanseatic merchants. It is one of the best examples of a northern trading post and a must-see World Heritage Site. 

Temperatures during our journey were expected to drop to minus 20 degrees. We were reminded to dress warmly. Bergen was ideal for last-minute purchases of the famous Norwegian sweaters.

It is a myth that most body heat is lost through the head. Only about 7–10 per cent escapes there, roughly in proportion to its surface area. But if the rest of your body is well insulated, an uncovered head becomes a major heat-loss point. So, take a hat. It's also cheaper than the sweaters.

A cable car leads through an illuminated tunnel to the top of Floyen, a premier view point overlooking Bergen.

On top of Floyen. We had planned a little hike, warmly recommended by the tourist agency, but gave it a pass because of the cold.

And off we go. 

The Inside Passage works its way through the channels and islands, avoiding the open sea, which can be very rough in winter. Sailing from Bergen to Alta takes more than 60 hours without a single stop. 

The world around you looks decidedly inhospitable. It is cold, the weather is bad, the days are short and the nights exceedingly long. You need to know what to do with yourself.

Signs of life appear along a rugged coast that stretches for 1,900 kilometers. The farther north you go, the fewer hours of daylight you get.

In February, we spent more hours in darkness than in even the dimmest daylight. It gave me plenty of time to practice my night photography skills and learn how to work my gear with frozen fingers.

Our little friend on the sun deck of our vessel stayed with us for the entire journey, from Bergen to Alta and back, without shedding a tear.

During the long nights, we learned about the physics behind the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights, and its southern counterpart, the Aurora Australis near the South Pole. The Northern Lights are better known, largely because there is far more land in the Northern Hemisphere from which to watch them.

On a completely different note,  Alex Brodsky from Ukraine kept us entertained below deck, where at least something was guaranteed to appear.

Sunrise, at 9:30 local time, in the Alta Fjord. Alta is well within the Arctic region, and is closer to the North Pole than it is to much of Central Europe and the British Isles. The frequent clear skies are the reason why Alta is considered an excellent location for studying the Aurora Borealis. 

The polar night, when the sun does not rise above the horizon, lasts from 26 November to 16 January. We went at the end of January so that at least we would see something in case we did not see the Aurora.

We set out in hopes of seeing a whale. This involved travelling across the fjords on this vessel and standing outside in the icy wind at temperatures well below freezing, a thoroughly character-building experience. Alta experiences around 232 frost days each year. In February, the mean temperature is -7°C, typically ranging from -4°C to -10°C, which felt every bit as welcoming as it sounds.

The whales don't seem to mind...

... and put on an extra show.

The photogenic church in Alta. I made an extra effort to be there when I thought the light was best. 

Our aurora smartphone app assured us that there would be no Aurora that night at this spot. It would have been the perfect place to watch and photograph the Northern Lights, which seemed to have consulted the same app and decided not to attend.

The lavvu is a teepee-style tent traditionally used by the Sami people. Inside, an open fire offers a warm place, while you wait for the Aurora to show up. Though we did step out to continue practising shooting photos in the dark while gradually losing feeling in our fingers.

For our next attempt to see Aurora, we stopped in Tromsø, with the Tromsø Bridge and another Arctic Cathedral. In 2026, Tromsø holds the title of European Youth Capital, and is therefore a suitable place for a reunion of UN pensioners. The year-long program aims to empower young people and foster youth participation in local governance, which sounds like a UNICEF intervention.

Roald Amundsen, one of Norway's national heroes, led the first expedition to traverse Canada’s Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in 1903. His party of six men spent three winters trapped in the ice, during which they learned Arctic survival skills from the local Inuit. Equipped with this knowledge, Amundsen went on to become the first person to reach the South Pole in 1911. Fifteen years later, he and his team became the first explorers verified to have reached the North Pole.

By then, I had experienced enough cold to appreciate Amundsen’s achievements, though modern analysis has highlighted his harsh leadership methods.

The Arctic Hunter Monument was erected in memory of whalers and fishermen who lost their lives over the centuries.

The tiny yellow kiosk selling reindeer sausages drew the longest queues in the city. An Arctic icon for more than a century, it seemed to cast a spell over hungry visitors, even though the very same reindeer hot dog could be had just 50 meters away with no wait at all.

Unfortunately, the sky remained overcast and snow kept falling, and the Aurora never revealed itself. 

Approaching Narvik in the early afternoon. Despite being located 220 km north of the Arctic Circle, the warm North Atlantic Current keeps the port free of ice even during winter. Narvik has therefore become the gateway to the iron ore fields around Kiruna in Sweden, the largest of their kind in Europe. It was our last stop in the North, before returning south. 

The Truths

The evening we left Narvik Aurora finally appeared. Not in all its glory, but it was there. Here are some truths about photographing the Northern Lights:

Truth 1: Every photograph of the Northern Lights you have ever admired is, in its own way, a small deception. To the human eye, the aurora almost always appears far fainter than it does through a camera lens. While we see only a fleeting shimmer, the camera patiently gathers light over several seconds, turning a pale glow into something far more vivid than what the naked eye ever witnessed.

The photograph above makes for a lovely memoir, though it is a far cry from the images that grace Nordic lifestyle and photography magazines. Taken from our ship, some motion blur was inevitable due to the roll, pitch, yaw, surge, sway and heave of the vessel; there was also no dramatic mountain backdrop, nor any conveniently arranged Sami teepees in the foreground. Still, it offers a certain consolation: proof that the journey was not in vain, and that we all came away having learned something new.

Truth 2: You don't need a 'real' camera to photograph the aurora. A reasonably modern smartphone with night-modus will do. 

This photograph was taken with the sort of smartphone one might expect to find in the pocket of the average retired UN official. No tripod was used. To avoid the blur caused by unsteady hands, the phone, entirely unbeknown to its user, quietly took several shots and layered them on top of one another, neatly editing out any movement.

Still, I prefer the images taken by a 'real' camera, as one can better control the image for an overall more satisfying experience. For nerds, here is a quick run through what you need to consider:

• Use a wide lens; use a tripod or bean bag to rest your camera on; use a remote shutter release or a self-timer; take spare batteries as capacity is reduced in cold weather and with long exposures. 
• All controls on manual;  exposure 5 - 20 seconds; widest possible aperture; ISO 800-3200; WB daylight; RAW (if possible); image stabilization off. 
• Autofocus off. Note that „∞“ may not work; manually focus on stars. 
• Try series with different settings for exposure and ISO. 
• If possible, add forground such as trees, lakes, or mountains.
• Here are some tips on how to photograph auroras from Nasa. 

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Other photo-stories by Detlef:

• Lunae Montes - a journey to the source of the Nile, in 1980
• Pirates, Penguins, Patagonia (Voyage around Cap Horn)
• Operation Lifeline Sudan, the first years in pictures
• Duruusta Soomaaliya - The Somali Experience
• Sacred Heights - Ol Doinyo Lengai (Tanzania)
• Mud Volcanoes and Candy Cane Mountains (Azerbaijan)
• New York - A Walk on the Wild Side
• Into the Midnight Sun (Journey to the North Cape)
• The Door to Hell and the Path to Health (Turkmenistan)
• Magic South (Southern Africa)
• Azhdahak (from Germany to Armenia, by road)
• Top of Mexico
• East Coast - West Coast, across the USA
• At the edge of the bog - where we live
• Rudaki, a Wedding and Proto-Urban Sarazm (Tajikistan)
• Off-Road - The Trail Is the Treasure (Eastern and Southern Africa)

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More Insights from Outside the Bubble, by Detlef Palm

Detlef can be contacted via detlefpalm55@gmail.com