most film cameras to pick up. There are some video cameras on the market, but they don’t capture the auroras very well, she said. But Possberg came across some blogs describing how to make aurora films using still photography. Because auroras occur in low light – generally challenging for photographers – it wasn’t easy to learn, but she got a lot of practice during the couple’s four expeditions to see northern lights: twice to Norway, once to Iceland, and once to Finland. “The first time you see an aurora, it doesn’t seem to be real – it’s like from another world,” she says. “You are infected – you want to see them every day.” To photograph northern lights, it’s best to use a light-sensitive digital single-lens reflex camera, or DSLR, with a full-format setting to capture as much light as possible, Possberg says. The couple shot with three cameras using light-sensitive, wide-angle lenses that were programmed to take a picture every 30 seconds. Possberg also used her iPad to change the ISO and shutter speed – two ways to manipulate how much light is registered by the camera’s sensor – remotely without touching the camera. Because cold temperatures zap battery life quickly, Claus customised batteries normally used for computers to power the cameras. Those batteries lasted up to 12 hours in -4°F (-20°C). To steady the cameras in the polar wind, the team fitted them to tripods – “without a tripod, you can forget it,” she says – and covered the cameras with hoods to shield them against snow or rain. Once everything was set up, the Possbergs would shoot for at least three to four hours at a stretch – sometimes continuing through the night. During post-production, Anna lightly edits the pictures to make them sharper, but does not add additional light or make other alterations. Then the pictures are put together and sped up to create a time-lapse video. This final step is time-consuming, taking about a month of eight-hour days, due to the sheer volume of photos and the careful editing required for each. The toughest part, not surprisingly, was the Arctic chill, Anna says. To capture auroras, the couple had to drive to remote spots and wait, which often meant sleeping several nights in a freezing car. (A tent would be blown away by the wind, and a hotel would emit light that would block the sky show.) The other, even greater challenge was just finding the auroras; the colours don’t appear when it’s cloudy, and the Possbergs couldn’t travel during snowstorms. (…) By publishing her video to Vimeo, Anna said, she can share the aurora experience with people who can’t make it to Scandinavia – and share the beauty of jet-black skies to encourage people to fight light pollution. Her advice for aspiring filmmakers: “Don’t be intimidated by the professionals out there. They also started from zero.” Anna, who studied linguistics, international cultures, and economics at university, worked various desk jobs before she met Claus, whose passion is travel and photography. “Then I started filmmaking,” she said. “I realised that a 9-to-5 job at the desk is definitely not for me.” 0 Anna Possberg thought that she could still cure her cold after . 1 Northern lights are phenomena related to particles emitted by the sun and are best seen . 2 When Anna Possberg realised that she couldn’t film the aurora borealis, she turned to . 3 To keep the camera from moving, they had to . 4 In post-production, Anna creates a time-lapse video by . 5 For photographing the auroras, the most important factor is . 6 As a young filmmaker, you shouldn’t be discouraged by . 7 Possberg gave up her office job when . filming the northern lights 129 Language skills Extras Explore 9 Technology and science Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODE3MDE=