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Aurora Australis, October 25 2016

The aurora made something of a comeback a couple of nights ago – there was an amazing show just on dusk – which I missed 🙁 – but still a very enjoyable dance continued til the wee hours.

aurora seven mile beach tasmania

The aurora battling with the clouds at Seven Mile Beach… October 25 2016

Wrenching myself away from “Oceans 12” I headed out to Seven Mile Beach (which is basically my “go-to” location in Hobart if I haven’t pre-planned anything). There was a very distinct glow in the sky on arrival, but also some pretty serious-looking clouds. I thought the night was going to be a bust, but remembered a similar night way back in October 2012 where the clouds parted over this very beach and decided to wait it out – and I am glad I did! Here is an in-camera timelapse video of the first 20 minutes or so on the beach, including the happy moment the clouds parted.

The couds part – Southern Lights at Seven Mile Beach, Tasmania. Oct 25 2016 from Luke O’Brien on Vimeo.

Here are some shots taken over the next couple of hours before the clouds returned sometime after midnight.

Aurora Australis over Seven Mile Beach, Tasmania. October 2016

A beautiful arrangement of beams right across the southern horizon.

Aurora Australis over Seven Mile Beach, Tasmania. October 2016

Another from the same sequence of beams

Aurora Australis over Seven Mile Beach, Tasmania. October 2016

A little later, the clouds are starting to appear again but this time they are adding something to the composition rather than just getting in the way!

Aurora Australis over Seven Mile Beach, Tasmania. October 2016

Again the clouds are making a nice dark and somewhat sinister look to the scene. It was a very enjoyable shoot – and the best aurora I have seen since October 2015.

Aurora Australis over Seven Mile Beach, Tasmania. October 2016

One of the last shots before I packed it in near 1:00

The “glimmering” aurora

By around midnight-1:00 this aurora was doing something I have never seen before. At first I thought there might have been a light house/floodlight waving across the sky, but that wasn’t it. As I watched more closely, it appeared as though the aurora and the sky above it was rippling. It was very fast and didn’t show up in camera. I tried shooting at high ISO (12800) and short shutters but wasn’t really able to distinguish anything out of the ordinary – just something extra special for the memory banks 🙂

 

 

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About Luke

Luke O'Brien runs a stall at Hobart's popular Salamanca Market every Saturday where his prints and cards are available for purchase. Follow Luke's photographic adventures on Twitter at @lukeobrienphoto, at his Facebook page or by subscribing to his email newsletter.

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