On the evening of January 20^th, Australian skies hosted one of the most ethereal shows of nature as the Aurora Australis shimmered above the southern horizon.

I subscribe to the Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre Aurora Alerts issued by the Bureau of Meteorology. We were told that a severe geomagnetic storm was sweeping past Earth thanks to a powerful solar flare and fast-moving coronal mass ejection from the Sun, making this an unusually strong event. And as is often the case the best viewing conditions were in the southern states.

This was particularly exciting since I had never had the opportunity to photograph the Aurora before. With all that time spent in the tropics on Anui, we have never been in the right place, at the right time to witness these stunning light shows. I was not going to miss this chance!

We are lucky on the Surf Coast, being away from brightly lit towns and only a few minutes drive from the best viewing spots. It is perfect for astrophotography. That night, even though it was too overcast for Milky Way shots, it was stunning for the Southern Lights! A faint glow was visible with the naked eye, but the Aurora was unmistakable through the camera lens.

Wade was too exhausted from the day’s work and chose to crash into bed. I took off in the car, bound for my favourite vantage points. There were lots of people with the same idea, but I managed to get some pleasing shots. Although I brought my Canon 7Dii, I found the best results came with my iphone resting on the camera tripod for a 10 second exposure.

I started at South Side. Initially it was mainly the mauve we could capture and a few bright stars.

I took many more shots, mesmerised by the deepening of colours as darkness set in. In the following two images, green as well as purple is intensifying. I haven’t “fiddled” with the colours as Wade puts it, this is pretty much what came out of the camera.

My next move was to Point Addis, but it was crowded and my vantage point was not great. I like to have a view of the coast in the foreground, rather than just a blob of purple in the sky. However the colours were deep and the movement of the lights dramatic.

Finally I drove back to Bells Beach. It was nearly 11.00 pm, the purple and green colours were intense, the lights dancing across the sky and reflected in the ocean.

If you wonder why the camera sensors capture the auroras better than our eyes, it is because they work very differently. Your camera goes: “Give me 10-15 seconds… I am going to absorb every bit of light I can and make this dazzling show look like magic”. Meanwhile your eyes go: “Uh… it’s dark. I can see greys, may be some green, sort of… Not sure!”

Cameras can soak up light by using long exposure, which is a bit like staring at this thing in the sky without blinking for 10-15 seconds. Eyes can’t save up light.

And camera sensors are in colour and love red. Your camera goes: “OMG red! Give me more!” Not all the light receptors in your eyes are even in colour and it’s the ones that can’t see colour (the rods) that are much more effective in really low light. So the beautiful purply red auroras you see in the photos? Yep, your camera saw them. Your eyes were seeing shades of grey, and may be a hint of green.

And of course Smartphones and SLR cameras unleash veritable AI witchcraft. They do things like boost colours, brighten faint light, reduce noise, enhance reds, purples, blues. It’s really wizardry!

So next time you think you are cheating by using your phone camera to capture the rich colours when your eyes only see shades of grey, just remember all this. Those cameras reveal the magic and details that are truly present but below our vision’s threshold, except on those very rare nights when the Aurora is super bright. Let your phone camera capture those magnificent Southern Lights guilt free and savour those shots!