Every year, photographers and enthusiasts travel far and wide to witness the mesmerising Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis. With heightened solar activity expected in 2024 and 2025, now is the perfect time to plan a shoot that captures this natural wonder at its most vibrant.
The sun is approaching a peak in its 11-year solar cycle, the solar maximum. This means there are more solar flares and coronal mass ejections – waves of charged particles and plasma that are explosively hurled into space. These ejections collide into Earth's magnetic field, creating geomagnetic storms, and this phenomenon results in brighter Northern Lights that shimmer at lower latitudes than usual. This drew Canon Ambassador Menna Hossam, a fine art photographer born and raised in Egypt, to more northern latitudes than usual.
Menna’s photography merges fine art and high fashion, creating dreamlike, fairytale-inspired images that celebrate her creative heroes while capturing global landscapes in unique ways, but shooting the Aurora has been a dream of Menna’s for years.
“I think they’re magical," she says. "It’s like no other thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Inspired by an article in National Geographic, Menna knew this was her moment. Using her Canon EOS R5 with a Canon RF 14-35mm F4L IS USM lens, Menna documented the Northern Lights over Iceland’s iconic Kirkjufell mountain.
Here, she shares her experiences from her first time photographing the Aurora Borealis and the best camera settings for the Northern Lights.
Dancing lights, fairytale frames: shooting the Northern Lights with Menna Hossam
As the Northern Lights reach their most spectacular peak, Menna Hossam ventures to Northern Europe to shoot this wonder. Here she shares tips and learnings about how to capture the Aurora Borealis.
Her camera of choice, the Canon EOS R5, enabled Menna to capture images of the Aurora in dim conditions with minimal noise. The EOS R6 Mark II has even higher ISO performance – up to a remarkable ISO 102,400, promising clear images with lower noise levels in dark environments. The EOS R8, with the same ISO range as the EOS R6 Mark II, is another more affordable, full-frame option. Taken on a Canon EOS R5 with a Canon RF 14-35mm F4L IS USM lens at 14mm, 8 sec, f/4 and ISO 2000. © Menna Hossam
Where to photograph the Northern Lights – finding the best locations
According to Menna, “Iceland is magic.” That's why she chose this location, out of the various countries across Northern Europe where the phenomenon can be seen, to shoot the Aurora Borealis.
It’s important to understand the best time and place to photograph the Northern Lights to increase your chances and your readiness. If you do plan to travel to a snowy region, for example, it's useful to understand how to best shoot in extreme weather conditions.
In addition to having the right camera equipment (more on that later), Menna says spare batteries, warm clothes and keeping an eye on the weather conditions is a must. Logistically, you’ll spend hours waiting for the Aurora, and more hours shooting the Aurora, moving around, looking for the perfect composition and perfect angles.
“It was really windy. It was very cold. You need to stay warm in order to be able to survive the night," advises Menna. Weather-resistant equipment is a necessary part of the process. She adds: "You need to have a sturdy tripod and a proper wide lens."
There are several apps available that Menna says are extremely valuable for photographers. Some offer real-time updates about when and where the Northern Lights will be visible, meaning you can plan shoots much more effectively. App alerts and location services for best viewing spots are also handy tools to support shooting.
Once you arrive at your chosen setting, there comes a second round of planning and preparation before you click away and capture the stunning phenomenon. When it comes to positioning and figuring out where to shoot, regardless of how popular the location is, Menna's advice is to find spots that are less busy, “so that you can have the time to set up and experiment.”
Menna opted for the Canon RF 14-35mm F4L IS USM lens, pictured here, to capture stunning wide-angle shots of the Northern Lights, allowing her to take vivid images even in challenging low-light conditions.
The Canon RF 15-30mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM is a great budget-friendly wide-angle zoom lens. Its 5.5-stop Optical Image Stabilizer helps ensure sharp handheld photography and filming at slower shutter speeds, a useful option in darker environments if you take the opportunity to explore other natural wonders in the location you are travelling to. Taken on a Canon EOS R6 with a Canon RF 15-30mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM lens at 15mm, 0.3 sec, f/5.6 and ISO 3200.
Choosing the best camera and lens for Northern Lights photography
Prior to travelling to Iceland, Menna did some research to help choose the right lens for Northern Lights photography. It was important for her to have a very light lens, to cope with the challenging environment and for e