‘Incredibly exciting’: Kiwis’ aurora images named among world’s best
Stunning pictures by three New Zealand photographers have been featured in the world’s best aurora images for the year.
Paul Wilson, Richard Zheng and Jordan McInally are amongst the top 25 chosen in this year’s Northern Lights Photographer of the Year by travel photography blog Capture the Atlas.
The aurora season generally ranges from September to April in the northern hemisphere and from March to September in the southern hemisphere, although last Friday New Zealand was treated to a stunning Aurora Australis display.
Wilson said it was “incredibly exciting” to be recognised. The Christchurch snapper, who recently launched a new business called NZ Photo Trips to teach photography skills, captured the Aurora Australis from Camp Saddle in Canterbury and saidl it was a bit of a mission to film.
“The journey to capture these images was physically challenging but worth it. Initially, I planned a mountain hike to photograph the Milky Way, but I ended up with an awesome Aurora display.” . “The hike through Craigieburn Forest in Canterbury, aiming for a spot at 1600m altitude as the sun set, was tough. With a 30kg backpack containing photography gear, a tent, and other essentials, the journey was physically demanding.
“It was pretty cold, especially as the temperature dropped below freezing, not to mention random gusts of wind. My gear included my tent, three cameras, and four lenses, taken up so I could shoot timelapse video as well,” Wilson said.
Dunedin-based Zheng has been living in New Zealand for four years, having arrived from China. The amateur photographer said it was a “great honour” to be selected.
His image, “Aurora Flame”, was shot at a lookout on the roadside of Highcliff.
He said there are two skills needed to capture aurora images; patience and the ability to “endure loneliness”.
”Although there is (an aurora) forecast, you cannot grasp the next shape of the aurora that changes by the second.
“Many photographers leave while waiting. They may not be able to capture anything if they persist, but they may also capture images that others cannot capture,” Zheng said.. “Lost Who I Want To Be” is the name of the work by Queenstown’s McInally.
Taken at nearby Moke Lake, he said some friends had told him an Aurora Australis was forecast, “so I had just enough time to rush to this local spot with a painfully steep ascent, watching beams start to dance across the horizon as the sunlight was fading”. The editor of Capture the Atlas, Dan Zafra, curates the photos and said the standard of entries this year was particularly high.
He said that he recently had the opportunity to visit New Zealand. He said he “fell in love with both islands”: “As a landscape astrophotographer, it's simply paradise.”