Suffering With Joy

The Photography of Bjørn Jørgensen

January 30, 2012

A key to suffering with joy is enjoying great beauty in sound and vision.  We need something to lift us beyond the chains that all kinds of suffering shackle us with.  For me, visits to APOD bring me joy, not only in the images of God’s creation, but in the discovery of great and generous talent.

Aurora Borealis, January 2012, Tromsø, Norway, copyright Bjørn Jørgensen, Arctic Photo

This beautiful image of the northern lights, which looks like an angel of God in the heavens and somehow evokes a sense of His power and majesty, was photographed by Norwegian Bjørn Jørgensen, featured at APOD. Naturally, since I am a photography junkie, especially nature photography, I had to see more of his work. I found more stunning images at his site, Arctic Photo, not just of the Northern Lights.

Photographers like Jørgensen become our eyes as we see things we could never view in person ourselves, bringing the harmony of beauty, a window to the Divine, to our everyday lives.  He graciously consented to an interview and gave me permission to show you more of his images here.  As a professional photographer myself, I am always interested in how other photographers work and what it takes to create such striking images.

Interview

When did you decide to become a photographer?

I have been hooked on photography since I took my first photo when I was seven. I started as a professional for the first time 12-15 years ago, but after some years I was offered a regular job (not as photographer), so I decided to take the safe way with regular income.

But 5-6 years ago the photographer in me was too strong and I decided that if I ever was going to make a change in my life, it had to be then, before I got too old…. So I quit the job, and haven’t regretted that for a second!

Tell us how you got started photographing the Northern Lights

I started taking photos of the auroras in 2002, when I got my first digital SLR, the Nikon D100. Digital is so much better than film for photos of Northern Lights; it can capture far more light than film can, and also with far better color purity under such dark conditions.

The Northern Lights are visible only in the winter, and winter here north of the Arctic Circle can be cold. But with proper clothing it’s not a big problem.

Aside from that, the most important thing is patience! Northern Lights are unpredictable, and the more I wait the bigger the chance of seeing them. But they don’t appear every night, so I have spent countless nights outside with no photos at all. It’s been a bit easier the last few years, as scientists have improved in predicting when Northern Lights will be visible, but I have taken some really good photos when there was no forecast of auroras.

How do you handle the cold when shooting outdoors in the winter?

Seaweed with snow on a beach in Lofoten islands.

The cold is actually no problem. Living here north of the Arctic Circle, we are used to it. And of course it’s a matter of proper clothing. Warm, insulated suits, fur hats, double gloves or mittens, Sorel winter boots etc. Quite comfortable actually, but it can be difficult to move with all that padding.

Camera equipment also copes with the cold without a problem, as long as I don’t take the camera straight from the outside into a warm car or house. Doing that, condensation will form both inside and outside on the camera, and if I then bring it out in the cold again, it will freeze and become solid ice! It is also a good idea to have a few spare batteries. They lose capacity in cold temperatures.

Tell us a little about the technicalities of your work – the equipment you use, etc.

It is important to use a camera and lens that works well in low light, and does not produce to much grain in the photos. I often shoot at ISO 1600 to 3200. My experience is that the Nikon D3S is the very best under such conditions. It is also advisable to use a fast wide angle lens to get as much sky and aurora in the photo as possible.

Since the Northern Lights move, sometimes very fast, it is important to use as slow shutter speed as possible, preferably no more than 8-10 seconds, otherwise you will lose the structure and patterns in
the auroras. And to get these short shutter times, I must increase the ISO-setting, and shoot with the lens wide open (f/2,8 or better).

Sakrisøy in Reinefjord, Lofoten islands, copyright Bjørn Jørgensen

Is what we see straight out of the camera or do you make adjustments in Photoshop or other programs?

As for post processing, I shoot all images in RAW format, and convert them in Nikon CaptureNX2 software. Then I open them in Photoshop and do some final adjustments. This includes a slight contrast boost, but rarely much more else. No saturation increase – I actually have to decrease saturation a bit sometimes. And of course no composite or cutting and pasting! I know some Northern Lights photographers are actually doing that, but for me that is cheating the viewers.

Winter in the Lofoten Islands, copyright Bjørn Jørgensen

How do you market your work?

I guess I could do a better job marketing my photography; I am probably a better photographer than a business person. But business is OK. Very few photographers get rich, but that is not my goal either. I love what I do, it is meaningful to me, and I have a free life with nobody telling me what to do!

I sell photos via a few photo agencies, but also on a more private basis. I also take commissions, but this city (Tromsø) is a bit small to make a living only on commissions. I do some advertising and portrait-type photos. I do not have a studio location, but rather I have a complete mobile studio equipped with 5 Elinchrom flash heads, huge softboxes, backgrounds and so on.  Much of my income comes from the Northern Lights; I sell maybe a thousand original, signed prints each year.

Tell us about your Northern Lights DVD.

Unfortunately the DVD is out of stock. I am in the process of making a new and much improved version, including some time lapse sequences that show the movement of the auroras. I expect it to be ready in the end of March.  You will be able to view it on a Windows PC, or a DVD player that works with the European PAL format.

Thank you for giving us a peek at your life as a photographer.  I’m sure readers, as I do, have an even greater appreciation of the fine images you produce.

A final, striking image of the Aurora Borealis.  Be sure to visit Arctic Photo to see other beautiful images.

Aurora Borealis, copyright Bjørn Jørgensen

Tags: APOD, photography

2 Comments to The Photography of Bjørn Jørgensen

1. 

   Good interview! Beautiful photos!
Colleen on January 31st, 2012
2. 

   Thanks, Colleen. His excellent English allowed this as my Norwegian is non-existent.
barb on February 1st, 2012

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