![]() This journey ushered in what became known as the "heroic age of Antarctic exploration." 5. New Zealander Alexander von Tunzelmann is also sometimes credited as the first person out of the boat and maintained he was the first ashore until he died in 1957, according to the New Zealand government's NZHistory website (opens in new tab).īorchgrevink went on to lead the first British expedition to Antarctica, in 1899 it was the first expedition to spend a winter on the Antarctic mainland, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich. But exactly which crewmember from this later ship first stepped onto the coldest continent is up for debate.Ĭonflicting accounts put either Norwegian explorer Carsten Borchgrevink or expedition captain Leonard Kristensen as first from the 1895 expedition to touch down on Antarctica. On Jan 24, 1895, seven men from a whaling and sealing ship called Antarctic made the first substantiated landing on Antarctica. (Image credit: Universal History Archive/Contributor via Getty Images) (opens in new tab) ![]() On a full moon I’d use 14mm, f/2.8, ISO 200, 10 seconds.A sketch of Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink on Possession Island in Antarctica in 1895. Typically on a new moon my settings would be 14 mm, f/2.8, ISO 800, 25 seconds. The phase of the moon will influence your settings.Constantly adjust your settings to find the right balance between ISO, f-stop and shutter speed, to get maximum results and minimal noise.UV filters and the like are redundant for astral photography and can often impede a perfect shot. Mountains, sculptures, buildings, islands and lakes all give a photo context and interest. Find a nice feature to add context to the shot.Use a head torch to adjust camera settings, and prevent slips and falls moving to and from your destination.Sharp infinity should be set and remain with manual control. Manually focus the lens either during the day or with a strong source of light at night to focus on.Set the self-timer for 2–5 seconds before each shot, to prevent camera shake when you press the shutter button.Use a wide-angle lens, between 10 and 20 mm, to showcase the majority of stars and auroras, and minimise blur from the earth’s rotation.Use a fast lens of f/2.8 or faster, to allow minimal time for the camera to receive light on the sensor.Any breeze can shake the camera and blur distant objects. Justin has these tips to bring the “dancing lights” to life: I use photo editing software to make minor adjustments to white balance, black, white, exposure, luminance, sharpness and so on.As I shoot in Manual mode I can adjust the exposure time, f-stop and ISO, to the conditions – whether the aurora is weak or strong, static or dynamic.Set the self-timer to 5 sec to remove any camera shake when you press the shutter button.I start with a 15 sec exposure and lowest f-stop (f/1.8 for me). Set the camera on the tripod and point to the aurora (weak or strong).Find a place where there is no light pollution – this is difficult.If I have done this correctly, my focus is right for crisp, clear stars. I auto focus on a distant light source (50–100 metres away). When I first go out of the building to do some astro/aurora photography I set my camera to ISO 320 and my shutter speed to 1/15 sec.My advice is to spend as much as you are able, or can afford, on your gear.Īstro and aurora photography is a unique craft so be willing to learn from others’ experience. My gear is quite expensive, but any decent SLR or mirrorless camera will do. I use a Nikon mirrorless Z7 with a 20 mm, f/1.8 prime lens. I recommend a solid tripod and high quality lens. The 1989 storm caused power blackouts in Canada and the US, as well as radio communication blackouts and satellite anomalies.īarry has been photographing aurora in Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic since he went to Macquarie Island research station in 2014. In fact the 1989 geomagnetic storm was the most severe on record since an event 1921. "But people saw it in places you rarely see them, like Adelaide, Toowoomba and Uluru – it was unheard of,” he said. It was no-where near Mawson and we didn’t see anything because we were inside the polar cap. “The event was so huge that it pushed the magnetic field and the auroral oval towards lower latitudes. Two days later though, sunglasses in hand, a disappointed group of expeditioners saw nothing. “So I wrote on the whiteboard that it was going to be a huge auroral event and people should come outside with their sunglasses at around 1 am, when it would be dark enough to see.” “I was looking at the Ionospheric Prediction Service reports and one came through showing that the biggest category of solar flare – an X15 class – had occurred, and that an intense cloud of solar wind particles was due to arrive in the next 2 or 3 days,” he recalled.
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