Norwegian photographer and filmmaker Ole Salomonsen made waves earlier this year with his film “Soaring”, which captured the Aurora Borealis in real time video. The film was possible thanks to the high ISO capabilities of the Sony A7s, and Salomonsen has continued to showcase the camera’s incredible low light capabilities with his new film, “Lights For Friends”. Salomonsen, proud of his country and the incredible light shows that it provides, included outdoor scenes while caping with friends in the cold Arctic air. Salomonsen told me.
With this film, I wanted to show my friends under the Northern Lights, to show how we experience it, and how wonderful it can be to live outside under the northern lights, if even just for a night.
All the footage was captured with a Sony A7s and a Ronin M 3 axis stabilizer, as well as the Odyssey 7Q 4K recorder/screen.
The week I filmed, there was little to no moon and no snow, so it was very dark and challenging.. In fact I stumbled several times with my Ronin-M as I could not see where I was walking, and I could not use any lights to light up my path, since the slightest light would interfere in the scene while I was walking with the gimbal. So I had to use available light such as the fire when shooting close to it.
The film is another example of why Norway is one of the most popular destinations for Aurora hunters, and with the advancement of video cameras capable of capturing this phenomenon in real time video, expect to see more real-time films that show how beautiful life can be under an Aurora show.
To see more of Salomonsen’s work, visit his website, Facebook, Vimeo and YouTube.
