Breathtaking Aurora Borealis Timelapse Video For Visit Finland

I love to travel, and have been very blessed to have lived in and visited many extraordinary places.  A few years back we journeyed to Scandinavia where we spent some time in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. We never made it to Finland though, which technically is not considered Scandinavia but rather part of the Nordic countries along with Iceland.  But some day my dream is to make it to both Finland and Iceland, my cameras in tow.

One appealing thing about those northern hemisphere countries is they get to experience God's light show in the form of the northern lights, aka the Aurora Borealis, exquisite natural light phenomenon.

An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae) is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere (thermosphere).

But to see the northern lights in Finland you have to go there when it's pretty darn cold, autumn or winter, because the long summer days (and nights)  makes it almost impossible to see them.  Apparently they are best observed in Lapland during the winter.

But if you don't have the money to travel there, or prefer not to freeze your butts off, you can experience the beauty of those lights right from the comfort of your own computer.  Flatlight Films, a production company based in Finland, created a magnificent timelapse commercial of the Aurora Borealis this past winter for Visit Finland (the Finnish Tourism Board), with the goal of enticing people to go visit. They certainly hooked me.

They shot in several different areas of  the Finnish Lapland using several Canon DSLRs with remote pan/tilt heads and the timelapse technique.

Digital Photography School has a tutorial on how to make your own using your DSLR.

Enjoy the breathtaking  beauty!



Aurora Borealis in Finnish Lapland 2011 from Flatlight Films on Vimeo.

Photo Credit: Timelapse Films