Sharing the glories of the northern lights

This photo shows the northern lights high above Kuujjuaq. (PHOTO COURTESY OF GILLES BOUTIN)

The northern lights have long been a source of fascination and fear in the Arctic, inspiring tales about mystifying “flames” that swoop down to chop your head off or that they’re dancing maidens in the sky.

For more than a decade, amateur photographer and aurora borealis hunter Gilles Boutin relentlessly pursued the ever-changing northern lights, photographing them in Nunavik and Nunavut.

Boutin visited Iqaluit Feb. 9 to share his passion for the northern lights with Inuksuk High School students in an event sponsored by First Air, Air Inuit and Makivik Corp..

During the event, he gave a presentation of his work to students, showing videos of the images he has captured with his camera.

In 2010 Boutin published Les Aurores Boréales: Québec-Nunavik, a 200-page collection of some of the most stunning skyscapes that the north and south of Quebec have to offer.

You can now find two copies of this book, which Boutin donated to the Inuksuk library.

The northern lights are the result of solar flares that push solar winds towards Earth’s atmosphere, Boutin told students at Inuksuk.

And when gases emitted from the sun reacts with the atmosphere around Earth, they then produce brilliant colours.

The emerald green colour often seen in the skies above Iqaluit is produced by solar particles colliding with oxygen, while the blues and reds found more commonly in the South are the result of particles colliding with gases like nitrogen and helium, he explained.

Similar light spectacles occur also around the South Pole — these should really be named “polar lights,” Boutin said.

At Inuksuk Boutin shared some of the photographic techniques he uses for capturing the northern lights, suggesting that for the best results, photographers should use a higher end camera with manual controls.

Boutin usually mounts the camera on a tripod, using the widest possible aperture setting. He then times his exposures at between 20 and 50 seconds with an ISO setting of 800 to 1600.

Boutin’s presentation has given student Windy Tardif a new-found appreciation for a phenomenon she has taken for granted.

“I walk to work at night, so I see the lights quite often,” Tardif said.

“I will have far more appreciation for them now after hearing this presentation.”

Les Aurores Boréales: Québec-Nunavik contains many images of stunning skyscapes above northern Quebec. (COURTESY OF GILLES BOUTIN)”/>
Gilles Boutin’s book Les Aurores Boréales: Québec-Nunavik contains many images of stunning skyscapes above northern Quebec. (COURTESY OF GILLES BOUTIN)