Mariana Kruger  

Northern Lights with a Thousand Stars by Mariana Kruger

October 2026 - Northern Lights with a Thousand Stars

About the Image(s)

I took this Northern Lights photo in Tromso, Norway. Must admit it is the coldest I have ever been in my life. It took a lot of planning, research and speaking to other more experienced photographers before even arriving in Tromso.

Northern Lights have been on my bucket list for a while. I considered both Northern Europe and Canada, but quickly realised that Tromso was the warmest place within the Arctic circle. We typically do not have snow in the Highveld in South Africa, so had to purchase special gear for the trip. I immediately got the warmest thermals, ski jackets and pants and most importantly the right shoes.

My husband just to sneakers and the first morning in Tromso while orientating ourselves he slipped and fell 3 times in the first 30 min. We waited for a local ski shop to open to get him some spikes.

Nikon D4, F2.8, 24 mm, ISO 1250, 8s
Time of the year 28th of January
Tripod is a must

10 comments posted

Susan Ribeiro   Susan Ribeiro
Hi Mariana - This is just a stunning image. Your planning and research paid off.
I'm curious to know if you did any post processing, and how this image might compare to your original. It's so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.   Posted: 10/04/2026 03:32:37
Mariana Kruger   Mariana Kruger
Good day Susan, Thank so much. I have attached the original photo so you could have a look.

I have cropped to pano to strengthen the leading lines, cleaned up the village lights, and the beach. Then it is just selecting the different areas and working on them individually, the mountains, the landscape, the sea, the sky and the clouds, looking at highlights, shadows, vibrancy, etc.   Posted: 10/04/2026 12:57:53
Comment Image
Susan Ribeiro   Susan Ribeiro
Thank you for sharing your original, Mariana. As a beginner, and learning post-processing, I think it's helpful for someone like me to be able to compare the two images to see where artistic decisions were made. I appreciate you sharing what you did to enhance your photo. Thanks so much :)   Posted: 10/04/2026 23:02:08
Mariana Kruger   Mariana Kruger
My pleasure Susan, we all learn from each other, it is one of he big benefits with these groups.   Posted: 10/05/2026 12:01:39
Donna Sturla   Donna Sturla
Good, I like it. Beautiful.   Posted: 10/10/2026 03:06:22
Donna Sturla   Donna Sturla
Wow, this is beautiful. I'm glad you showed us your original and that you removed the lights from the other side of the water. I think you could even crop a tad off the time to make the panoramic effect even stronger. But everything about this image makes me want to go there !! Lovely.   Posted: 10/06/2026 01:07:59
Mariana Kruger   Mariana Kruger
Thanks Donna! Agree cutting off at the top and increasing the pano makes it even stronger   Posted: 10/08/2026 10:47:21
Bob Legg   Bob Legg
Mariana, this is a beautiful photo of the Northern lights. Tromso seems to always show up in the winning locations. Your editing answer was right on by selecting the different landscape features. No sure if Lightroom had those editing features at the time you edited this, but they do know. My experience with catching the N Lights was in Alaska in Sept (2018). Just remember to not discard your images on first review as the Raw images will be very disappointing. I have no suggestions as this is a beautiful image. Even worth being cold in my book.   Posted: 10/07/2026 01:41:50
Mariana Kruger   Mariana Kruger
Thanks Bob, I would love to do Alaska, but not sure I will survive the cold. I am a child of Africa and love the warmer weather. I was hoping to photgraph the Southern Lights in Tasmania 2 years ago unfortunately we had no lights and cloud cover.   Posted: 10/08/2026 10:55:07
Bob Legg   Bob Legg
Mariana, I took my northern light in September. There are specific photo tour companies that run out of Fairbanks AK. Going Sept you have benefits of come fall color, bears eating blueberries and warmer temps. I think dressing for 40's and 30's is reasonable. But then again if you caught more like this one, then you can check off the Northern Lights.   Posted: 10/08/2026 20:07:02

 

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