Kola Peninsula is a peninsula located in Murmansk State in the far north of Russia. Its north is the Barents Sea, its southeast is the White Sea, and it is close to Finland. Being in the Arctic Circle, there are polar days in summer and polar nights in winter. The unique geographical features are accompanied by dreamlike aurora, which makes it particularly suitable for landscape photography. This has also become my starting point in Fuji painting camera GFX100 II After that, the first place to create clocking. Now please follow me to explore the dream aurora of the Balun Sea.
Fuji medium frame no reflection camera GFX100 II
Here is a brief introduction to the aurora. In brief, the aurora is generated because the solar activity produces the solar wind (high-energy charged particle flow), which enters the earth's magnetic pole and ionizes atmospheric molecules to produce aurora. Since the aurora is generated above the magnetic poles, it is natural that the aurora is within the north and south polar circles, and the higher the latitude, the better. Therefore, I chose Kola Peninsula in the Arctic Circle.
Aurora dancing in the sky
Focus: 20mm, shutter speed: 13s, aperture: f/4, sensitivity: ISO 4000
This creative trip is mainly in the Kola Peninsula in the north of Russia, from the Barents Sea coast in the north to the Sibini Mountains in the middle and the Lapland Reserve linked to Finland. During the few days on the Barents coast, I was really lucky. On December 18, the highest aurora intensity reached kp6（ Kp is the unit of aurora intensity, divided into 0-9 levels. 0 means there is no aurora, and 9 is a very rare super burst ）。 Even close to dawn, the aurora can still be seen dancing in the sky with the naked eye.
Focus: 20mm, shutter speed: 30s, aperture: f/4, sensitivity: ISO 5000
Compared with the full frame camera I used before, Fuji GFX100 II The sensor area of 43.8mm × 32.9mm, 1.7 times of full frame sensor. It can not only bring higher pixels, but also has absolute advantages in high sensitivity imaging and tolerance performance. The above photo is an aurora photo taken in the Barents Sea Bay, using ISO 5000 sensitivity and long exposure for 30 seconds. Next, I will zoom in the rock part of the picture 100% to see how the picture quality is.
Enlarge the above photo 100%
In the case of long exposure, high sensitivity, 100% magnification, and full buffs, we can still see the rich and delicate texture details of rocks, as well as the pure image of low noise points. This is unimaginable on the full frame model. No wonder there has been a famous saying in the photographic circle that "the bottom is bigger than the bottom". This is a real experience.
Focus: 20mm, shutter speed: 10s, aperture: f/4, sensitivity: ISO 3200
After shooting on the shore of the Barents Sea, I found that the naked eye aurora began to hover over the houses on the shore on the way back. All friends who have taken photos of the aurora know that the aurora appears in a short time and dissipates faster. When I found this aurora, it would be too late to go to the ideal location for shooting, and there was no time to change the lens with a longer focus. I used the 35mm end of the GF20-35mm F4 wide-angle lens to shoot directly. However, due to the long distance, the proportion of houses in the picture is very small. Thanks to the super high imaging capacity of 102 million pixels of GFX100 II, I cut 60% in a large scale, and finally I can still get high-quality photos of 40 million pixels.
The proportion of houses in the original picture is very small, and the composition is not ideal
Focal length: 35mm, shutter speed: 15s, aperture: f/4, sensitivity: ISO 6400
Satisfactory results are obtained after the second composition after later trimming
Except shooting aurora In addition, I also focused on the unique round boulder beach on the shore of the Barents Sea and the violent wind and waves in the Arctic Ocean. The exposure time is the same, but it brings two different feelings: quiet and dynamic.
Focal length: 29.5mm, shutter speed: 3s, aperture: f/16, sensitivity: ISO 200
Focal length: 29.9mm, shutter speed: 2s, aperture: f/16, sensitivity: ISO 100
The Sibini Mountain in the middle of Kola Peninsula is covered with tundra and scattered lakes in summer, while in winter it is covered with deep snow. Without the assistance of snow transportation, it is basically impossible to move. Although it is a medium frame camera Fuji GFX100 The II is light and not heavy, and it is easy to carry and shoot in harsh outdoor environment.
Focal length: 35mm, shutter speed: 15s, aperture: f/16, sensitivity: ISO 250
The rocks on the top of the mountain are covered with thick snow, and the sculptural effect is similar to that of sculpture under the carving of the wind. People can't help admiring the uncanny workmanship of nature.
Focus: 20mm, shutter speed: 2s, aperture: f/22, sensitivity: ISO 100
In the past, 14bit raw images often appeared faults on the pure color of light and shade and the transition between cold and warm. It was always cloudy when shooting in the Sibini Mountain, and only a weak light came through between the clouds. In this case, it was necessary to improve the brightness and darken the local clouds. The 16bit raw image of Fuji GFX100 II made the post-processing of deepening and thinning more reassuring and bold.
Stubborn life in the snow fields of Mount Sibini
Focus: 20mm, shutter speed: 1/5s, aperture: f/22, sensitivity: ISO 400
Fuji GFX100 II is a medium frame camera with anti shake function, which really subverts my previous understanding of medium frame cameras. The above photo of the West Penny Mountains was taken by me in my hand. Although I used a slower shutter speed, I still got a clear picture with excellent anti shake performance.
Since Murmansk State, where Kola Peninsula is located, is in the Arctic Circle, the weather has been very cold since December, and the temperature at night has dropped below - 20 ° C. Fortunately, Fuji GFX100 II has excellent protection performance. It is not only dustproof, waterproof, but also cold proof. It can work normally in extremely cold weather. At the same time, the high-capacity lithium battery and the Type-C charging feature also ensure the battery's endurance performance when GFX100 II performs high-intensity creation.
The third stop of this trip to Kola Peninsula is Lapland Reserve, which is only 100 kilometers away from Finland. Mountains and forests completely covered with snow, tall and straight pines and cypresses, and ice free rivers in winter can be found in this area.
Lapland "Snow Monster" under the Aurora
Focus: 20mm, shutter speed: 13s, aperture: f/4, sensitivity: ISO 400
Focal length: 29.5mm, shutter speed: 2.5s, aperture: f/16, sensitivity: ISO 100
Focus: 20mm, shutter speed: 1s, aperture: f/11, sensitivity: ISO 1000
