Free Roaming Photography by Mike Cavaroc

How to Look for the Northern Lights

‘A green band of the northern lights, aka aurora borealis, glows above Blacktail Butte in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

UPDATE – For those looking to get more specific and accurate, be sure to look into Olivier Du Tre’s comments below.

Despite only seeing them a total of less than 10 times in my entire life, I still seem to be the one that people look to for information on the northern lights, particularly around Jackson Hole, Wyoming. There are first a couple of common myths that I’d like to debunk.

Northern lights can only be seen in Scandinavia, Alaska, or Canada. False. Northern lights can be seen anywhere. It only depends on the severity of the solar storm that impacts Earth (explained further below). A solar storm in the fall of 2011 was even seen as far south as Alabama and Arizona.

Northern lights can only be seen during winter. False. Northern lights can be seen at any time during the year, but because of the previous myth in addition to the latitudes of those locations, there’s only enough darkness to see them there during winter. With nearly 24 hours of daylight during summer months, it’s virtually impossible to see them up there during summer, even though they could very well be out.

With that being said, you really don’t need any special equipment or techniques to know if they’re out. The Aurora Borealis are completely dependent on sunspot activity that takes place on the Sun. A site like SpaceWeather.com gives plenty of information for what you need to see them. There are two images in the left column that are of importance when searching for the auroras, the second being the primary, and more immediate factor. The first shows an image of the Sun with sunspots (if any) labeled. If any of these should erupt while facing Earth (factoring into account orbits, of course), a burst of plasma will head toward the planet, typically within a few days, impacting the magnetic field around the poles, and depending of the strength of the impact and burst, will cause the field to light up and push south (in layman’s terms). Back on SpaceWeather.com, the second image in the left column will show you a radar of sorts imaging the current state of the northern lights. This is an easy way to see if they’re over where you live.

Just below that second image is a reading known as the K-Index. This is simply a scale that measures the severity of the storm in progress as its affecting Earth, as well as its potential maximum impact. It’s its own arbitrary scale, much like the Richter scale that measures earthquakes. This graph showing the K-Index reaches will allow you to see how strong the impact needs to be to see the northern lights depending on where you live. For example, if the K-Index is at 6, I know they will be on the northern horizon here in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at which point I’ll most likely drive up into Grand Teton National Park to get a clear view. If they’re at 7, we’ll be having a good show. A similar graph is also available for Europe and Asia. An important thing to remember is that the graphs show the K-Index necessary to see the northern lights overhead. If you cut the distance in half between two of the lines, that is what you can see on the northern horizon. For example, if you’re in southern Utah and you see that the K-Index is at 9, it’d be very worth your while to find a clear view north and get your camera equipment ready!

When I know there’s an impact imminent, I also find this site very helpful. It’s very text-based, but shows a text reading of the K-Index for the immediate future and is very reliable. I even have it bookmarked on my phone so that I can check it while I’m out waiting or hopeful.

It really is all about just checking either of those two sites and knowing what K-Index you need to see them. If you see a number show up that indicates they’ll be out, or at least a bit north for where you live, head out to clear area away from light pollution, and see what you can see once your eyes adjust to the darkness. Usually you want to give your eyes about five minutes to adjust. A camera can also pick up the fainter lights that your eyes can’t see. Look for another blog post in the future discussing the technical aspects of that.

This particular time is also perfect for northern lights because our Sun is entering what’s known as a solar maximum, meaning sunspot activity will be peaking for the next year or two. With more sunspots comes more opportunities for northern lights! So keep your eyes on the northern lights forecast and get ready for some great shows!

Posted: March 20, 2012

Posted in Article | Tagged Article, Grand Teton National Park, Mountains, Night, Northern Lights, Snow, Wyoming
6 Comments

Northern Lights Over Jackson Hole, Wyoming

The Aurora Borealis, aka northern lights, light up over Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

I was giving up on this so-called great solar storm around midnight last night. Skies had clouded up just after sunset, the impact wasn’t as strong as they had predicted, and I was getting tired. Just out of curiosity, I checked the immediate aurora forecast and saw that activity was beginning to pick up to where it might show up down here in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I went out onto my balcony, which faces north, to do a quick test shot just to see if I would even get anything. To my surprise, the clouds had thinned out considerably and were even beginning to clear out, so I grabbed my gear and headed out.

My instincts weren’t very good last night because despite getting some nice shots, given another chance (which may happen within the next few days!), I would go to completely different spots, and in general just be more prepared. I initially went out onto the National Elk Refuge, where I typically would never go for a landscape because there are power lines and facilities scattered around the landscape. I stayed out there for a few minutes, watching and photographing the faint auroras before realizing there were much better locations to be shooting.

Next I pulled out at the Flat Creek Overlook along Highway 89 just outside of Jackson, Wyoming, and while the view was nice, I noticed that it was more of a north-northeast view rather than north. I could tell that the best views were directly north, to which a butte was blocking my view. I also needed a bit of gas at this point, so I reluctantly put a few dollars into my car and finally headed north to the first view point that had the Teton Mountains in them: the Grand Teton National Park welcome sign pullout, roughly 45 minutes later. In hindsight, I should have just driven the extra mile past that to the Gros Ventre Junction, but my excitement had me pull off here and set up a time-lapse without even considering the obstructing foreground objects, such as larger sagebrush and of course, passing cars on the highway.

Regardless, it was quite the show and using a telephoto lens, I was at least able to get the shot below and a pretty nice time-lapse. I may even try to take the cars out since they’re rather distracting during the best part. Either way, I can’t complain. Despite not getting home till 4am, I’d say it was well worth it. There’s still plenty activity picking up and even another solar storm headed this way, so keep your eyes (and cameras) fixed on the night sky!

Northern lights, aka the Aurora Borealis, light up the sky behind the Teton Mountains in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. (Mike Cavaroc)

Northern lights light up the sky behind the Teton Mountains in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

Posted: March 9, 2012

Posted in Landscape, Video | Tagged Cottonwood Trees, Grand Teton National Park, Mountains, Night, Northern Lights, Snow, Time Lapse, Video, Wyoming
2 Comments

Let Nature Live Its Own Life

A fresh wolf print lies in the snow in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Everybody here in Jackson Hole, Wyoming loves the scenery. They love much of the wildlife as well. As long as it’s simply eating grass from a field, they can’t get enough of it. On many occasions, these people even feed many of the more docile wildlife that wander around town: moose; deer; elk; even foxes. Why? Maybe the general population thinks it’s cute to feed a deer. Maybe they feel sorry for it in the winter. It’s even government policy to artificially feed the elk in the National Elk Refuge every winter. Whatever the case, people are overjoyed at having non-aggressive mammals show up to their house, as if they’ve adopted a wild pet. Yet their actions have a consequence that they apparently haven’t bridged a connection to yet. With a growing population of deer and other herbivores around their property, they attract predatory species since there is practically a buffet for these animals to choose from. Once one of these predator species steps foot onto someone’s property, complaints pour in almost as quickly as the deer they continue to feed. In the most recent instance, it’s even just innocent predators scoping out new territory that overstay their three-day welcome in the eyes of some residents.

I can’t help but wonder why anyone would live in a location where wildlife has more right to roam than they have to put up a house, yet insist on kicking out the animals that they don’t approve of. I suppose it’s been the American way since 1492 – take over as much land as you can and only allow back in those you approve of. Every year, black bears are called to be removed from more rural neighborhoods. Earlier this winter, a mountain lion and her three kittens were (almost unsuccessfully) moved because deer were (are still?) habitually fed. Now people aren’t happy with just removing curious wolves from a neighborhood – they’re to be exterminated like cockroaches. None of these instances have had any consequences, yet people just don’t like seeing animals in their property that have more right to be there than they do. They don’t like having to take any more responsibility for their actions than is absolutely necessary. It’s like nature’s trying to remind them of what it means to really be in touch with nature, but their self-defense mechanism kicks in and does everything it can to silence the critics before they can realize what their critics are even trying to tell them. Nevermind that just about every one of these people will go driving, hiking, and in some cases, hunting, into wolves’ and bears’ homes. The thought of a predator visiting their home, however, is unthinkable, or to quote the Wyoming Game and Fish, "inappropriate," as if these wolves should know better. It’s hypocrisy like this that makes me want to fight even harder for wolves to have more protection; to give nature the chance it deserves to live harmoniously with humans and vice versa. Yet as long as there are people who are trying to exterminate everything about Jackson Hole that makes it wild while trying to cope with the nature that they blindly claim to love, the balance of nature will remain upset.

You either love all of nature or you don’t love any of it, and until people learn this, nature will always remain unbalanced because you can’t play favorites with something you claim to love. It’s like saying you love your child, but don’t really care for the head or legs. You can’t love deer and moose and then hate wolves. Living with wolves, or even just accepting them as a part of the landscape goes a long way in living in such abundant nature as Jackson Hole has to offer. You don’t have to completely love wolves and nature, but learning to live with it properly and taking necessary precautions will work tremendously even in other wild places, or places such as Jackson Hole that are still clinging to the last bit of wild it has left. If that’s too much to ask, then you should consider moving to a big city because you’re only hurting the wilderness you think you love. You can then come back and take a wildlife tour and see predators safely from the car window as you drive into their home.

Posted: February 28, 2012

Posted in Article, Wildlife | Tagged Article, Snow, Wildlife, Wolves, Wyoming
22 Comments

Revisiting Black and White Wildlife Photography

A pronghorn doe wanders through hilly grasslands in Yellowstone National Park, Montana.

This past month I’ve begun revisiting my black and white collection. I’ve even been trying some new concepts and ideas with some of them. It’s come as a result of seeing some work that I was familiar with, but seeing it again at this point in time struck me with more motivation and inspiration than when I had originally looked at it.

One such example was Nick Brandt. A friend had posted on his Facebook profile yesterday a link to his work, and while I was already familiar with it, I didn’t really appreciate it until I looked at some examples again yesterday. While I certainly enjoyed the work I saw, it was one specific photo that caught my attention and had me more motivated than ever to try some new things. It’s interesting how you might simply like the way someone’s work looks at one point in your life, then you’re all of a sudden reminded of it years later and for whatever reason, it resonates with you. I believe this has much to do with your own personal evolution in whatever craft or field you choose to put emphasis in. As you grow in that particular field, your overall knowledge expands on the subject, and something that appeared interesting initially may have seemed too impossible at the time for you to accomplish, so simply admired it and continued at your own pace. In sticking with it, however, you learn more. In learning more, you evolve. In evolving, you find more inspiration in the works of others because once you have a firm understanding of all the tools at your disposal, it’s only then that you can experiment with a certain process that you feel might assist or even act as a catalyst in your own work. Perhaps it’s a similar concept as to why painters begin creating more impressionistic and/or abstract work once they’ve shown themselves that they can paint any scene realistically.

After seeing Nick Brandt’s work again yesterday, I felt the urge to revisit some of my recent wildlife shots, since prior, I have rarely had any inspiration to convert my wildlife shots to black and white. Using a few different techniques that I wouldn’t normally employ, I came away with a couple of new black and white photos that I really enjoy. I feel that there’s a certain depth and focus there (more so than the obvious) that the originals didn’t quite capture. Is it something you see too, or do you prefer the originals?

A bison makes its way through snow in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

Posted: February 23, 2012

Posted in Wildlife | Tagged Article, Bison, Black and White, Montana, Pronghorn, Snow, Wildlife, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park
10 Comments

How to Always Capture Wildlife in Action

A snowy owl flies above a grassy field in Boundary Bay Regional Park, British Columbia, Canada.

Many people think that just because they learn how to operate in Manual mode (M), that they need to keep it there to get the best shots. I can’t even begin to tell you how many great photos I would have missed if there were any truth to that.

The simple fact is, the other modes are there to help you get important shots when time is a factor, such as with wildlife. I’ll certainly use M if I have the time to set up something like a landscape. If I’m out shooting wildlife, however, I keep my camera set to Time Value (Tv), also known as Shutter Priority. This way, if I happen upon an animal, my camera is already set to a shutter speed that I know I can hold steady for crisp shots. Then all I need to do is pick up the camera, start shooting, and let the camera figure out the aperture. The ISO I’ll typically set on my way out the door depending on weather conditions or when conditions are changing.

Another handy trick is to reprogram some of your buttons. It may sound scary and too uncomfortable to bother with at first, but the benefits enormously outweigh the disadvantages. On most cameras, the default method for achieving focus is to push the shutter button halfway down. If an animal is moving toward you, or at some kind of diagonal direction, this means that by the time you push the shutter down, your shot will already be out of focus. Most cameras nowadays will allow you to set different functions for your buttons, thus allowing you more flexibility when you need it most. On my Canon 7D, I switched the AE Lock button to be my focus button. I combined that with switching out the Depth of Field button to switch the focusing mode to AI Servo. Since I normally leave it on One Shot by default, I can now instantaneously swap focusing modes to capture action should a bird take flight, for example, or if I didn’t even see it coming, as was the case with the above photo. Had I not had these settings ready to go, this shot would not exist.

It takes a little practice, but it’s a new combination that when done repeatedly will feel completely natural. Another advantage to swapping out the functions for the buttons is that now you can hold down the focus button and it will constantly focus, allowing you to snap away all you want and get the shots that make it all worth it.

Learn it, use it, and have a great weekend with it!

Posted: February 17, 2012

Posted in Article, Wildlife | Tagged Article, Birds, Boundary Bay, British Columbia, Canada, Owls, Pacific Northwest, Snowy Owls, Wildlife
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