Steve Pellatt
Red Sky at Night....(II)
Back in May 2024 one Friday night there was a spectacular Northern Lights show stretching down to the south coast of England. Typically with my luck for the Aurora I had a longstanding engagement that meant I wasn’t able to go out with the camera!
Roll on to the 10 October and the various Aurora apps went into DefCon4 mode and I thought I must try to get out but as I had work the following day I could not go too far.
A look at the weather apps indicated I’d have to go further north than I liked or had scouted for clear skies. To the south and west there was a likelihood of some cloud being about but I had some places scouted from other shooting. After some real dithering I decided I’d drive the 50mins to get to the C12th Knowlton Church in Dorset and cross my fingers for a clear enough sky to see the aurora.
Having arrived and set up I could see the cloud overhead but a slight break on the horizon. I hoped it would grow in my direction but as the evening/night wore on it stubbornly would not come closer towards me.
I tried a test shot and noticed some red colour in the sky so set about shooting at varying intervals. I never did see the aurora proper that night so was really envious of all the shots plastered over Flickr and the media of the great light show that night. Of course I was disappointed and given the sheer volume of photos posted decided mine were not worthy of posting then and I’d look to see about a later date to do so.
Just over 2 months later and I think it’s a sufficient delay to be OK. As time has gone on I wonder if this sky makes for a rare shot than the aurora? If not rarer at least a little unusual.
I did finally get to shoot the Aurora properly in Iceland about a month after this shot…(well sort of) but that’s a tale for later.
For more info on the ruin see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/knowlton-church-...
© All rights reserved to Steve Pellatt. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
Red Sky at Night....(II)
Back in May 2024 one Friday night there was a spectacular Northern Lights show stretching down to the south coast of England. Typically with my luck for the Aurora I had a longstanding engagement that meant I wasn’t able to go out with the camera!
Roll on to the 10 October and the various Aurora apps went into DefCon4 mode and I thought I must try to get out but as I had work the following day I could not go too far.
A look at the weather apps indicated I’d have to go further north than I liked or had scouted for clear skies. To the south and west there was a likelihood of some cloud being about but I had some places scouted from other shooting. After some real dithering I decided I’d drive the 50mins to get to the C12th Knowlton Church in Dorset and cross my fingers for a clear enough sky to see the aurora.
Having arrived and set up I could see the cloud overhead but a slight break on the horizon. I hoped it would grow in my direction but as the evening/night wore on it stubbornly would not come closer towards me.
I tried a test shot and noticed some red colour in the sky so set about shooting at varying intervals. I never did see the aurora proper that night so was really envious of all the shots plastered over Flickr and the media of the great light show that night. Of course I was disappointed and given the sheer volume of photos posted decided mine were not worthy of posting then and I’d look to see about a later date to do so.
Just over 2 months later and I think it’s a sufficient delay to be OK. As time has gone on I wonder if this sky makes for a rare shot than the aurora? If not rarer at least a little unusual.
I did finally get to shoot the Aurora properly in Iceland about a month after this shot…(well sort of) but that’s a tale for later.
For more info on the ruin see www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/knowlton-church-...
© All rights reserved to Steve Pellatt. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.