Shooting the earth's natural wonders on the Canon EOS R6

Several times a year, Timo Oksanen makes the 12-hour drive from his hometown in Finland to Lapland, the country's northernmost region. He's on the hunt for auroras, the luminous atmospheric phenomena that create light displays in the sky. "I'm addicted to the beauty of it," says Timo, who jokingly describes himself as the aurora whisperer. "I love the hunt for the nights when the aurora is really dancing, and to come up with something new as a photographer."

The long drives have been worth it, and the Finnish photographer has built a gallery of breathtaking aurora photos and time-lapse sequences, shot on his Canon EOS R6, which have proved hugely popular on social media.

Dave: If you want to know if your camera equipment is as weatherproof as claimed, take it to Iceland. The weather is so mercurial – and it's not just that the kit gets wet, it gets wet for two hours at a time!¹ My gear got rained and rained on, plus the sides of the mountain were very sandy. Ultimately, I've always got confidence in high-end pro Canon gear such as the Canon EOS R6, which is just as well because I can't go back and reproduce these moments – this was essentially my one chance to see such a young and energetic volcano.

Timo: In October 2020, I was out in -30°C1 for up to seven hours a night. I had two cameras continuously on the go making time-lapses, capturing 10,000 shots every night for a week. I put hand warmers on the lenses to prevent them misting up in the freezing conditions, and placed the cameras 100 metres apart so I could walk between them in order to stay warm. Even though the cameras looked a bit frosty after many hours in such extreme cold, I've been able to operate all the menus and buttons without any issues. I've kept a couple of older compatible batteries from my previous camera, the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, but as I have two higher capacity LP-E6NH batteries for the EOS R6, I haven't needed to use them, even on the coldest nights. To maximise battery life, I turn on Airplane mode, turn off the viewfinder and keep the screen at its dimmest brightness setting. On normal nights, I'm usually fine without changing the battery.

Timo: I usually use the Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM lens for auroras. Further north, the auroras fill more of the sky, so I often use the wide 15mm setting. Further south, nearer home, I am more likely to use the narrower 35mm to capture the auroras on the horizon. With the Canon EOS R6, you can push the sensitivity even to ISO10000, which means that the f/2.8 aperture in the RF 15-35mm lens is wide enough in low light. It's helpful because, ideally, I wouldn't change lenses when I'm out.

Dave: It was obvious to me that wide-angle landscapes were never going to be the hero image, and I'd need a telephoto lens. Being able to stay longer and move around safely on the hillside was more important than getting up close. I took the Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM, which is lighter and smaller than other super-telephoto lenses, freeing up bag space for supplies – especially helpful for the long hike up a windy hillside.

Dave: My shutter speeds are often as high as 1/640 to freeze the action. Here, with such frequent eruptions, I wasn't rushed and there was freedom to experiment with slower shutter speeds to blur movement or even intentional camera movement. Generally, I left the lens at its maximum f/7.1 telephoto aperture whatever focal length I used, in order to keep the same manual exposure values and avoid fiddling with exposure changes.

Dave: Typically shooting at f/7.1 and at least 1/640 sec to freeze the action, I needed to set the camera to around ISO3200. This is the nice thing about shooting with the latest gear – you can be really aggressive with the ISO. Given the dynamic range of the volcano at night – there is a lot of black in there – noise will be obvious, so it was really important that the camera shoots clean images at high ISOs. Shadows look super clean in images at ISO4000.

Timo: Low light capability is the biggest plus for the EOS R6 – it seems to perform better at high ISOs than other higher megapixel cameras, making it preferable for night photography. When using a very fast prime lens at f/1.4, I'm able to shoot real-time video of the auroras at 25fps (1/25 sec). Even at ISO51200 the quality is tolerable after some noise reduction in post-production.

Timo: For time-lapses, I use an intervalometer and take individual RAW images, processing them afterwards to make sure there is a consistent brightness throughout the sequence, ensuring the brightest highlights in the aurora aren't clipped. I try to minimise shutter speed to one second with minimal interval time, so the final time-lapse isn't too hectic and movement is smoother. Time-lapse sequences consist of around 150-300 photos and create a final video of about 15 seconds. I like to create multiple angles and put them together in a series.

I save live 4K videos for the brightest, most active part of the aurora, as the ISO needs to be as much as 51200 due to the 1/25 sec shutter speed. Having experimented with and without the Canon Log profile, I prefer the look of graded C-Log especially now C-Log 3 is available for the Canon EOS R6 [via a firmware update]. Panning over a sequence also allows you to include more of the scenery, and to observe the full arc of the aurora in the sky.

Timo: The EOS R6 feels familiar in your hands, which is important considering we work in darkness. A tangible change is image preview and the viewfinder experience. Even at nighttime you are seeing what you will see in your picture and the brightest thing in the shot will be the green of the aurora.

Dave: Handily, the EOS R6 takes the same batteries as my Canon EOS 5D Mark III (now succeeded by the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV), plus the controls are the same and in what I consider an intuitive place, but on a smaller body.

Dave: You make these situations for yourself. Go out there, be brave and commit. If you try it, stick it out, then at least if you don't capture anything worthwhile, when you are back on the plane with dripping clothes in your carry-on, you can say you gave it the best possible go.

Timo: Just go out and experiment! It takes some time to find your own style, your choice of camera, lens settings and colour preferences. Shoot and then repeat and find what makes you satisfied.

¹ Camera functionality cannot be guaranteed in conditions outside of the recommended operating environment.