m._schiefelbein

That's some amazing light on those kids...was this lit or natural?

...does no one read the comments or the technical details? i've already edited it twice to try and make it clear i didn't use a filter on this picture. sheesh. :(

miniature images of the buddha, if memory serves me correctly.

Douglas, did you read the commentary on this image? The color effect is from the time exposure allowing the light of the red auroras to illuminate the landscape. (I staunchly avoid manipulating or materially changing my images with filters or photoshop.)

Thanks for the kind words Douglas...to answer your questions: 1. The lighting was just in front of a band of intense showers, so it acted as a giant flash bulb for me and lit up the rain for that nice purple background. The only. photoshopping was to take out a bit of digital noise that had snuck in because of the length of the exposure. 2. I had composed this shot in my viewfinder because I liked the framing and because there had been a lot of strikes in that part of the sky. As it happened, this particular bolt was the kind of multiple strike where you see several flashes right on top of each other at the same point. I instictively pressed the shutter on the first flash, but I'm pretty sure I missed that one and caught a second strike immediately following it.

What a lovely, simple composition...and to think I thought the great plains were boring!

You tilted the horizon, I think...but I like it more because of it.

You're right, the shadows were too dark on the original web version. I deliberately put the horizon a bit off when I shot it, because I liked the effect, but it's just a personal style/taste thing. I usually go to great lengths to avoid my presence in a photo, but for some reason I liked the perspective of my own shadow here.

Very nice. Have you tried converting this to black and white and bumping the contrast way up? I think you could get a really dramatic effect with the way the lighting is in your shot.

I really like the way the light falls on her face and the slight motion blur to her arm. The exit sign, steps, and security gate are a bit distracting though - could you have used a larger aperture or longer lens to throw the background out of focus?

Thanks for the comment...the white specks are indeed stars. I've seen photos of auroras taken elsewhere with lots of distinct rays and whatnot, but this far south we only seem to get kind of a diffuse red glow with occasional bits of green. (At least, that's all I've ever seen here.) Not as spectacular, but it makes for interesting pictures in its own way.

It's pretty rare that the auroras put on a good show this far south,

so this was my first chance at getting to shoot them...comments?