“Every time, the magic happens”: he hunts the Northern Lights in Brittany and shares his secrets with us

The Northern Lights at the top of Mont Saint-Michel de Brasparts, that must have been extraordinary?

It was more like panic. There were around thirty people there last night. I was running everywhere with my two cameras in hand: one for photos, the other for time lapse. In these moments, we want to be everywhere at the same time. We hesitate to leave a place, for fear that it will explode again in the sky while we are on our way.

It’s quite a crazy spectacle to witness, something not to be missed. I always manage to be there. And, every time, the magic happens.

I imagine it takes a lot of equipment to successfully capture the colors in the sky?

No ! With the naked eye, I could see red hues, luminous pillars rising into the sky. Because it was a very intense geomagnetic storm, the second of its kind in twenty years. I made some beautiful images but I was also able to enjoy them.

I even managed to take photos with my cell phone! You just need a tripod so you don’t move.

Observing an aurora over a landscape that you know is a special emotion.

Why did you choose this location for your shots?

I choose a place where there are as few clouds as possible because I find it less photogenic. And I want a place that speaks to people. I avoid posting myself on a lake that three-quarters of them don’t know. Mont Saint-Michel de Brasparts speaks to the Bretons.

What advice would you give for being in the right place at the right time?

Download an application that allows you to receive solar flare alerts (SpaceWeatherLive, for example); join a group of experts on social networks, like Aurores Boréales in France, which popularizes science; practice focusing at home; choose a location away from any light pollution, and aim for the North.

You had already taken superb photos at Mont-Saint-Michel five months ago. Are you starting to get used to it?

I have already photographed the Northern Lights in Iceland. But observing an aurora on a landscape that we know is a special emotion. It’s so rare to see them in our latitudes. There is an emotional side. Maybe I’ll get tired of it once I’ve visited all the places in Brittany. But it should take me a lifetime.