The essence of the arctic

• Norwegian photographer and Sony ambassador Ole Salomonsen shares his top tips for capturing the best northern lights and wildlife images 
• Exclusive video takes viewers on the journey to see first-hand how the images are created 
• Ole shows how Sony’s α9 and α7RIII are the perfect companions for capturing everything the snowclad landscape throws at him 

A new video of leading photographer Ole Salomonsen plotting the perfect route around northern Norway on a mission to capture the stunning hues of the aurora borealis and whales in their arctic feeding ground is released today. 

Considered by many to be one of the most beautiful natural phenomena’s in the world and featuring highly on the bucket list of nature photographers everywhere, the northern lights are both awe inspiring and tough to capture properly. 

Ole has been shooting photography in these beautiful, but often harsh, wintery environments for over ten years. An award-winning ambassador for Sony, he shoots with the α7RIII and α9 and as he says, “they’re the perfect companion in these conditions”. 

For the Northern Lights, here are his Ole’s tips to help others get the most of the night sky: 

1. Find a high megapixel camera with a good dynamic range - “The Sony α7RIII has 42 megapixels. It’s an amazing camera for landscape photography. It also has an amazing dynamic range. The range between the northern lights and the foreground can be more than 15 stops, so the good thing about the α7RIII is that it has such a good sensor.” 

1. Look for ISO invariance in your camera – “This means I can under expose the picture deliberately not to burn out the highlights of the strong auroral display. But then I can raise the exposure later in post, without adding any noise.” 

1. Lower shutter speeds mean greater detail – “I prefer to push the ISO slightly and lowering the shutter speed to get more of the details of the aurora and this camera actually enables me to do that. The α7RIII is fantastic as I can go as high as maybe ISO 10,000 and still have a clean image and lower the shutter speeds from let’s say 5 seconds to 1 second and I’ll have much more detail in the aurora light.” 

For pictures of wildlife, Salomonsen switches to the Sony α9 where the unique sensor, especially in low light, helps capture wildlife even in the difficult lighting of the arctic whilst 20fps and fast AF enables him to capture the perfect moment, every time. Here’s why: 

1. The benefits of the black-out free screen – “The blackout-free screen you find on the Sony α9 makes it so much easier for me to concentrate on following the subject because you never miss a moment, ensuring you can always keep the subject in view.” 

1. High frames per second is key – “I shoot at high speed at 20 frames per second; it’s such an advantage being able to pick that one shot that is spectacular and knowing that I won’t have missed it.” 

1. Be ready with the help of AF– “When shooting any wildlife, but in particular whales, you have to be ready, you have to try to predict where they are coming up and as soon as you see the nose of them you just start shooting. I love the autofocus of this camera and the hit rate that I get is just amazing.”