A year on chasing aurora in Hundvag, behind the house

This is the most recent video made on the Sony A7S (EF50/1.2), a recording made at a nature park locally known as Trolleskogen (or Troll's Woods) behind the house 16th Mar 2016.



Meanwhile this video below was recorded in front of the house also on Sony A7S, 15th of Dec 2015.



And this was recorded on timelapse almost a year ago on Canon 6D (EF24/1.4), 17th Apr 2015. It was  recorded circa 2am on a rocky outcrop just 300m north of Trolleskogen, a stone's throw away from residential spaces and a small marina.



I think it's been a super year for aurora in Stavanger, Norway. Frequent CME outbreaks, more clear nights and more people chasing after the wonderous events throughout the different locations in and around the city.

What started out as an accidental find while out on cold dark nights chasing Milkyway on Sele Beach sometime back in October 2014 has grown to 1100+ loosely grouped enthusiasts from all levels on FB group, Stavanger Aurora Chasers set up by Marisol Vaca.

An aurora event captured at Sele Beach, 17th Oct 2014 while out chasing Milkyway, while  the image on the bottom was from Lundenesset, Hundvag the following night (surely if you can see it in Sele, you can see it from Hundvag).

Actually the first posting I saw about the possibility of aurora this far south is from a blurry mobile phone posting from one of the expats on the FB group, Stavanger Expats suggesting that it was indeed possible to see them here. It's come a long way since then,  there are now appreciable number of people looking out for aurora  whenever the group raises alerts of the possibility of sightings following a CME on good, clear nights in Stavanger. There will be quite a number of folks at numerous locations enjoying the spectacle whenever it's visible here.

Personally as well, I changed from shooting aurora timelapse with Canon 40D or 7D with Samyang 8/3.5 lens to shooting videos and stills on full frame cameras Sony A7S and/or Canon 6D with a couple of fast lenses. It's a steep learning curve, but it's been a happy one. Next stage will be involving star tracking, pan and tilt and maybe even sliding motion.

It's been a lot of joy for quite a few people especially those who saw it for the first time, and what makes it extra special is the occasions to see them this far south  of the 69.

A year on sine the first sighting on Sele, here's to more CME outbreaks!