Photographing the Perseid Meteor Shower with an Aurora Surprise!

[@mikeoitzman8275]

I photographed that evening, and while the perseids were particularly disappointing this year, the appearance of the aurora made it a memorable night!

[@StarScaperPhoto]

That was the big surprise, right? I think they produced a relative low number of large fireballs but besides that, the numbers definately didn't disappoint!

[@nightscapejournals]

Awesome video, Jeroen - so rich and engaging visually and a great story of the night. So glad you all (nearly all of you!) caught the aurora too. Absolutely fantastic video - loved it.

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Thanks Paul! I really loved making this one. Supernice to read it shows 😃

[@massimobollini4622]

Big success with meteors and aurora, great !

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Thank you! Definitely a night to remember! Although I wish my planned composition would have matched the aurora show a bit better. Ah well, I decided to roll with it and just enjoy. Sometimes you just got to enjoy :-).

[@josepmbernaus]

I am so jealous of you having so much fun!! But I am happy for you. Keep making these videos, we love them!

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Thanks so much! Having fun is so important. Lately I care about just enjoying the experience so much more than a good photo even!

[@Seegurkenwombat]

Beautiful vlog! So funny you got the excitement of everyone around when the aurora hit! Great spirit!

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Thanks ever again for watching Jan! And yes! That excitement was definitely buzzing around haha. Although I was a bit limited myself I enjoyed it soooo much! 😃👌.

[@motty_henoch]

Awesome night! I had about 80 meteors due north with a light show in the middle at 14mm and around 50 due south, with the milky way core at 24mm. On that side most meteors were actually flying in the same direction.

[@StarScaperPhoto]

That sounds awesome! Due South they indeed seem to go in the same direction, which makes sense because it is furthest from the radiant point.

[@frankverburg]

Such a shame I had to leave early that night.. damn work 😅 Although I had a great night under the stars.

[@StarScaperPhoto]

@@frankverburg great to hear that man. Definately enjoyed it a lot also. Thanks for driving me there! About high time we start thinking about a cool photo trip to some cool location, Frank from Norway.

[@nightscapejournals]

I feel like Jeroen owes you a night of aurora, Frank!!

[@StarScaperPhoto]

@@nightscapejournals @frankverburg from Norway has aurora all the time man 😁

[@matej.mlakar]

Woah :D this vlog was a complete new level... much more cinematic and some great b-roll. One can tell you put a lot of effort into it! And ofc the conditions and meteors - such a unique year this year.

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Thanks a bunch Matej! I really loved putting this one together 😃. It also helped we had looots of time which makes the experience so much more relaxt 👌

[@PatrickMayon]

Very interesting vlog. I'm suprised by all the colourful meteor you caught while filming ! I time-lapsed that night with a camera pointing at the North star to make a circumpolar. Seeing the aurora on the screen of my camera was a nice surprise.

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Inwas surprised as well! And indeed, the aurora was such a surprise. Couldn't believe how 2 brilliant celestial events came together! 😃

[@benjaminberthold]

Great Vlog again Jeroen....just always a pleasure to watch and see how excited you get when being out at night. Also great to see a vid of that night since I wasn´t able to go and shoot...:)

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Great you enjoyed the video again Benjamin. Thanks for watching as always! Too bad you weren't able to go out yourself though!

[@dw.in.michigan]

Good to see you up and about. Those are some great images!

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Thanks for watching and great to hear you liked the results! 😃

[@JauneMacReady]

What a great video! ❤ I've been chasing aurora from the bedroom window, with a bit of luck. I'll save to try for the Perseids next year.

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Nothing wrong with a room with a view 😎

[@jakobsahner]

I'm so jealous! I really wish I had clear skies as forecasted for the peak night... Maybe I get another chance for the perseids in 2026 :D Loved this video - enjoyed every moment!

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Don't be man! I think you squeezed out a lot of great stuff yourself during the 2 nights you were able to shoot! The 2nd night (mo-tue) we were in Eifel, looked to the thunderstorms down South of us and actually had to think of you there in Schwarzwald. Can't plan the weather, you win some you lose some I guess. Thanks for watching dude!

[@Priyanshu369up]

Wow ! 😲 such a wonderful vlog 🙌🌌❤️

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Thank you so much!!

[@Kevin.kistermann]

The intro was a little bit funny, like the starscaper squad and his lost brother (sorry Jeroen). Great night, clear skies, meteors and aurora 🎉

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Hahaha. Glad you thought it was funny! Definately my intention. I wanted to make specifically these 2 frames for 2 months now. Pursuaded the guys to take 10 minutes extra time for this little piece of humor haha.

[@Kevin.kistermann]

@StarScaperPhoto but on the other side hopefully you get well soon

[@StarScaperPhoto]

@Kevin.kistermann bit by bit 👌. Glad I could still enjoy the night sky in the meantime with some help of all the awesome guys!

[@FrankPietersen]

weer een super video Jeroen, Ik was op dat moment zelf in Zweden en daar was het nog beter te zien ondanks dat het daar wellicht iets minder donker was🙂

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Dankjewel! En wat gaaf joh! Nog kunnen vastleggen?

[@jenslankamp6433]

Nice Jeroen!

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Thanks Jens!

[@MartinFransson]

Great video! Ha ha, I said to myself "just wait" when I heard you say that it wasn´t that powerful 😅 I´m working on my own video but it´s hard to put together since I was just running around like a headless chicken not believing my eyes! Didn´t have time for b-roll. But that was on the night of 12-13 of August, which I suspect is your part two 🙂

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Thank you Martin! That will indeed be the part 2. I am looking forward to your account of that night. Sounds like proper chaos, as we had also 😅

[@callmewhite]

Amazing video, as always - what camera do you use for your night filming? The quality is pretty amazing

[@StarScaperPhoto]

@@callmewhite thanks! Sony A7S, since this video alongside a ZV-E1.

[@callmewhite]

Just the original A7s? Not the mk2 or mk3? Thanks!

[@StarScaperPhoto]

@@callmewhite since this video I film mistly with zv-e1. Before that indeed onky the A7S (mk1).

[@gr-astro]

Great Vlog Jeroen! I laughed seeing Martijn running like crazy to get the Aurora!! Lots of excitement that night. I managed a couple of hours before weather busted me but managed to see some meteors and light pillars too. I tried filming the night sky on my Canon6d with a prime lens at f/1.4 but failed miserably! Are you able to offer me any advice on what equipment (and technique) that is good for night video shots??

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Haha, that moment was hilarious indeed! I bet if I could run now I would be exactly the same 😄. Nice to hear you captured some meteors! For filming the night sky, in my experience only the Sony S series or now the ZV-E1 can do it well. I use an S1 and since this vlog also a ZV-E1 with 20mm lenses wide open at f1.8 and an ISO of 100.000. In post I run Neat Noise Reduction over each clip to clean up some of the noise.

[@gr-astro]

@@StarScaperPhoto Thanks for the advice. I'll look into this and see if I can Vlog a bit in the future. :)👍

[@StarScaperPhoto]

You should! I need more astrovloggers to watch! 😃. You can pick up 2nd hand S1's for pretty cheap these days. Besides that, just try and give it a go with what you have. I have vlogged 1,5 years or so with my Fuji X-T2 which was far from ideal, but got the story across.

[@OnnolaRoi]

Wat gaaf Jeroen! (heb je nog steeds mijn oude Samyang 24 lens in gebruik?)

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Dankjewel Onno! Ondanks dat de lens fantastisch was ben ik een tijd geleden overgestapt naar een 14-24 voor wat meer flexibiliteit. Inmiddels gebruik ik een Nikon Z6 met daarop een 20mm prime. Je blijft bezig hè 😉

[@larsmartinteigen6884]

Great vlogg :) Was this the night to monday? Or night to tuesday?

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Thanks! This was the night from sunday to monday. The night after video is in the making!

[@larsmartinteigen6884]

@@StarScaperPhoto Thanks I was out the same night hear in Norway. I think the northen light where even better the next night, but it was cloudy her then! :(

[@StarScaperPhoto]

@@larsmartinteigen6884 ahhh, always those fluffy basterds!

[@BommeltjeNL]

You missed around 20 meteors on your count and maybe more :) I shot the Perseïds and they increased by the hour. I even saw a big one while it was already getting light. Waar hebben jullie gestaan dat jullie overal de horizon konden zien en uiteraard dat het zo donker was?

[@StarScaperPhoto]

Oh yeah, definitely I missed some. But we had to rest a little bit for a bigger trip the next day. To be continued!