How to Guide to Aurora Hunting & Safety - North American Art Products

Helping Everyone Enjoy the Northern Lights Responsibly

There are so many new people trying the hobby of Aurora Hunting. The purpose of this article is to educate you on how to start. From camera settings, forecasting, and safety, this is a practical guide on how to get started.

I have seen a lot of very dangerous behavior in the dark. I have spent 10 years doing dark sky photography. I have seen everything from parking on both sides of the road to create a bottleneck in traffic. People who park in other cars by park in a no-parking area. People are driving on walking trails. People are ignoring private property. People who bring dogs into crowded areas at night. People shining lights in people’s faces. Someone even threatened my friend and me. We just asked that they not shine a light in our eyes. I want to be very clear about this. If areas have too much dangerous behavior going on. If people continually ignore park rules and go on private property. If we don’t have some common guidelines, everyone follows. Then we will lose the privilege of using parks and dark sky areas. It is everyone’s responsibility to practice good behavior and to look out for everyone out in the night.

This is very simple: Treat others as you want to be treated. Treat our parks like your home; it is your responsibility to keep them clean and safe. If you are new to Aurora Hunting, here are some very simple behaviors. These will show respect to others and keep everyone safe. It starts by planning.

📸 Before You Leave Your Vehicle

Turn off headlights promptly to protect your night vision and avoid disrupting others nearby. Allow a few minutes for your eyes to adjust. Prepare at your car and double check your check list before walking away from you car.
Adjust your white balance, ISO (start around 1600), f-stop (lowest available, ideally 1.2–3.5), and shutter speed (15–30 seconds).
Put your camera on your tripod, and connect your wired trigger or intervalometer
Since you can not see to focus in the dark, and auto focus doesn’t work for dark sky photography. Put your camera in manual focus. Test your focus by using the infinity mark (∞) on the front of your lens. If your lens lacks a line, dot, or infinity symbol, rotate it completely in one direction. Then take a shot. Test your focus. Once you take a picture. You can verify your focus by using the LCD screen at the back of the camera. Zoom in on a star in the picture on the back of your camera to make sure it is sharp. If your stars look like a comma, reduce your shutter speed and notch up ISO in equal measure.
Make sure you use the histogram to verify your exposure. Your LCD screen can make it look properly exposed due to its digital nature. But, in truth, it can be underexposed. Nothing sucks worse than driving for hours, only to find you underexposed everything. Every digital camera has a way to show your histogram, typically beside your picture. Proper exposure should not be shoved tight to the left or shadow side of the histogram. That is a sign you are underexposed. Too far to the right or highlights it will be overexposed. In a good exposure, you want a hill. It can be closer to the shadow side of middle, just not right up to the edge.

I often overexpose by a stop or two. I make sure not to blow out highlights. This way in editing, I can pull it down exposure if I need to, to reduce the appearance of grain. What I can’t do is raise exposure without making the shadows grainy.
Cell Phones typically have Night modes, manual modes, or pro modes. In Pro modes, you can typically set your shutter speed and ISO. You won’t have a histogram. Unfortunately, that is about all the control you have. On very nights or locations, you still be underexposed. Never try to hold your phone. Buy a simple cell phone tripod that you can get at any box store.

🚶 Walking to Your Viewing Location

Keep all flashlights and headlamps pointed downward. Only use red headlamps when walking to a location. When you reach a point where you are near other photographers, you need to stop using red headlamps. Red is a color you can’t correct for in your photos. People will be angry if every photo they take has red lights in it.
Use a dim, non-red penlight aimed at the ground. If you have ever been on a beach with fifty people using red headlamps, you will understand. It ruins your photos. People using bright flashlights like wise, will ruin photos. Buy a small dollar store pen light that has a dimmer light with less spread. As you pass photographers, slightly aim the flashlight at the ground behind them to protect their images. As long as you have a dim light, they can compensate in editing. You also use a flashlight on your phone, aimed at the ground. Make sure your phone is fully charged throughout the night if you do use it.
Avoid walking in front of photographers, as even brief movement can ruin long exposure photos. Stick to paths behind them.

🤝 Respectful Behavior in the Field

Give others space. If you’re there to view auroras, stay behind the photographers. Ask permission to watch their camera with them. It’s a great way to learn. Most photographers love to have someone to talk to and share experiences with.
Announce flashlight use, call out to those around you before turning on a flashlight. This alerts them that you will be turning on the flashlight. Then wait 20 to 30 seconds for everyone to get their picture taken and shutters closed.
Memorize your camera’s layout by touch to avoid needing a flashlight to adjust settings on your camera. A good way to practice is by finding buttons while you watch your favorite TV show. This ensures you are learning to feel your camera like a blind man. When you master this, you should never need a flashlight to see the camera at night. Once you hit your buttons, your screens will light up. Allowing you to make adjustments on the LCD screen menu. You can also check them on the top panel by the shutter release button.
Treat everyone with courtesy. Respect fellow viewers’ efforts. Do what you can so as not to disturb them. Never shine lights in people’s eyes; it can blind them, which is dangerous. If someone asks you a question, be generous about helping them. Most of all, look out for one another.

🚗 Roadside Safety Precautions

Do not shoot from the roadside or active highway shoulders. Tragically, fatalities have occurred when photographers stepped into traffic unseen.
Always park on the side you are walking to. This way, you avoid crossing the road in the dark. You also reduce the risk of being hit by a passing car.
Never park on both sides of the road. Parking on both sides of the road only leaves a narrow passage through the area. It leaves shadows between cars. Should someone step out in front of a passing car. With cars on both sides of the road, the car has no room to swerve. It can’t avoid hitting someone in the dark.
Wear a reflective vest or gear, especially near traffic. These are inexpensive and available at most dollar stores or general merchandise outlets.
Drivers: Slow down when passing through popular viewing areas, and be on alert for pedestrians along rural roads.

🌲 Land Use & Legal Considerations

Respect private property. Always secure permission in advance if using non-public land. Good idea to have permission in writing.
Seek out designated public areas like state, county, and federal parks for aurora viewing.
Follow all park rules. If an area is not a parking area, don’t park there. If an area is closed at night, don’t use that area. If private property borders either side of a public area, note where public property ends. Most of all, be respectful of animals in parks. This means, unless you have a service dog, leave your dog at home. If you have a service dog, make sure it has on reflective vest.
If you are in a more wild area with wild animals, it is wise to understand animal behavior. Know how to behave toward that animal to keep you both safe. If you meet a moose, slowly back away. Do this in a non-threatening manner. Put as many trees between you and it as you can. That will reduce the risk of it using it horns or stomping on you. If you know you are in a cougar area, use a flashlight to scan the trees above you. Do this before walking under them. Cougars will drop out of trees when hunting. They go directly for the throat for a kill. Unless something is wrong with the cat, they generally don’t like to fight. Make yourself look large and threatening to a cougar. Be loud, wave your arms, and camera to add to your size. Last resort: hit the cougar on the nose hard. Bears in the Great Lakes are generally timid. They can become aggressive if you stumble on them while eating. They are also protective if you get between them and some cubs. If you are going into an unfamiliar area, it is not a bad idea to have bear spray. Ladies, that bear spray also works on a human attacker. It is your responsibility to be prepared.

🚫 Substance Awareness & preparedness

Do not consume alcohol or impairing substances while aurora hunting. Full awareness is essential for both your safety and that of others.
If you’re injured—or injure someone else—it affects many lives beyond your own. Let’s keep it responsible.
It is always good idea to have first aid kit in your car. Be prepared for any emergency.
In winter, this kit should include shovels and emergency blankets. It should also contain a fat, long-burning candle in a glass or jar of some kind. or a small generator and an electric heater. Matches. Just in case you become stranded somewhere, those candles can burn for hours. If you crack the window, they can keep you warmer than you realize. Always carry extra water with you.
Many places in northern areas do not have cell phone coverage. Further north you go north, the less coverage. Make sure someone knows where you are going. Stick to that plan. Inform them to alert for help if they don’t hear from you in a certain amount of time. This way if you break down or get stuck you know someone will come looking.

🌟 Community & Education

Avoid turning aurora hunting into a chaotic free-for-all.
Be a helpful presence: if you meet newcomers, direct them to educational resources and share respectful field practices.
Build a culture of support and shared wonder. Many photographers are happy to teach—just approach respectfully and with curiosity.

👥 Final Thought

Majority of aurora hunters are women. There is always safety in numbers. Use social media groups to make friends that you can travel with or meet up with. If you are in separate cars, don’t leave your wingman behind. Always leave locations together, to prevent someone from getting stranded with a dead battery or stuck, unable to find help. Some groups you can link to are https://www.facebook.com/groups/827471430698956 , https://www.facebook.com/groups/Unitedstatesdarkskies & https://www.facebook.com/groups/176764332892448