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A severe solar storm allowed people in the Pacific Northwest to catch a rare look at the Northern Lights on May 10-11.
Local photographer shares experience capturing Northern Lights from West Seattle
BEST LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHER: Benson-Jaja, better known as Somi 2024
Sometimes, the stories that define us take time to unfold.
Someari Benson-Jaja knows that all too well.
Benson-Jaja grew up with a camera in his hand, yet never thought he’d become a professional photographer.
Even with a nickname like Kodak. Even with his portfolio of family photos. Even with multiyear stints taking pictures, shooting videos and producing media shows while a student at then-Armstrong Atlantic State University (now Georgia Southern University).
Instead, Benson-Jaja, better known as Somi, majored in music education, became an elementary-school music teacher and kept photography as a hobby.
“I always had a camera in my hand and was always playing with a camera, but it was never with the intention of becoming a photographer,” Somi said.
All that changed at the urging of his former Armstrong classmates, who pushed Somi to make his childhood passion his adult profession.
“They would call and say, ‘Do you still have a camera, because I need some photos of this or that,’” Somi recounted. “So they were the ones that actually kind of pushed me into photography more than myself making a calculated movement into the area. Those people saw that talent in me before I saw it in myself.”
Now, everyone’s seeing it, including Somi. Not for the first time, he has been recognized for his artistic eye and the quality of the images he creates.
“Photography was my hobby then my side hustle,” he said. “And then it slowly became the main hustle.”
Today, Somi is the president and founder of Shot by Somi, which started life as a hashtag, blossomed into a brand and later became a business.
Ask Somi about his passion for pictures and he gets a far-away look. For him, photography makes the impermanent permanent, freezes not just the moment but the feelings that surrounded it. Eliminates barriers and builds bridges. Ultimately, a picture is never just a captured image. It’s so much more.
“I think sometimes images, without us knowing, strengthen us or strengthen our awareness in who we are and our self-worth,” he said. “You look back on those pictures of when you were a child and with your family, and they remind you of nostalgic good times. Or you might look back on your senior yearbook and the pictures with your friends, and it reminds you of the experiences that got you to where you are, and they become an imprint. I think that’s one of the most amazing things about photography.”
Somi’s own childhood started in Kentucky, where he lived until the third grade when he moved to Savannah at the behest of his minister father. He was reluctant to move, he said, because he’d heard about the hurricanes that sometimes struck the coastal city. He wanted no part of that.
Now, he’s embraced Savannah and everything that comes with it. Working hard to give back to a community that has given him so much, Somi serves as the president of Buy Local Savannah and is on the board of the United Way of the Coastal Empire and the Emmaus House. After making the difficult decision to leave teaching, he knew he’d pursue a life of public service to balance his entrepreneurial interests.
From his studio off Chatham Parkway, Somi shoots a broad range of subjects from people to products. Ultimately, though, it’s people — and the happiness they hold — that he enjoys capturing the most.
“A lot of times when you’re taking portraits or shooting an event, people are happy and, for the most part, they’re smiling,” Somi said. “There’s something appealing about seeing adults smile. We don’t see adults smile all the time. I think that happiness that comes from being able to take people at their best moments and capture them to where they can hold onto this one image that lasts a lot longer than the time it was taken is one of the most appealing things about photography.”
Limited Amount of Event Tickets Available for the Best of Savannah Awards: https://events.connectsavannah.com/event/best-of-savannah-2024/
Texas drone photographer’s shots of northern lights go viral
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Byron photographer captures striking image of major solar storm
BYRON — Late Friday night the advance waves of a monster solar storm crashed into the Earth’s atmosphere.
The event was categorized by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as an “extreme” G5 geomagnetic storm that followed days of heightened amounts of solar activitiy that saw numerous magnetic eruptions on the sun’s surface.
Exhibit of war photographs by Anja Niedringhaus pays tribute to her spirit, courage of journalists
Kathy Gannon shares an iconic photo by Anja Niedringhaus during a talk at Emerson College in Boston in 2022. (Photo: Beena Sarwar)
An exhibition of powerful images from Afghanistan and Pakistan by the late Pulitzer-winning photojournalist Anja Niedringhaus opened Thursday in Cambridge and is up through June 2.
I never met Niedringhaus, a German who worked in my country, Pakistan, but I have long known her close friend and colleague Kathy Gannon, a Canadian who has lived in Islamabad for decades. Gannon was severely injured in the attack that killed Niedringhaus.
An Afghan police commander had emptied the magazine of his AK-47 into the back seat of the Toyota Corolla where Gannon and Niedringhaus sat waiting outside a government compound in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Khost to cover the presidential election for The Associated Press.
Niedringhaus died instantly. She was 48. Seven bullets shattered Gannon’s arms and shoulders. One of her arms was shot practically off; a lung was punctured and collapsed.
Gannon is now the driving force behind the exhibition, which premiered at the Bronx Documentary Center in New York on April 4, marking 10 years to the day that Niedringhaus was shot and killed. There, I also met Niedringhaus’s older sister Elke Niedringhaus-Haasper, a journalist in Germany, who flew back for the reception at Harvard University, co-sponsored by the Nieman Foundation and the Shorenstein Center.
Courage
The opening reception at the Bronx was followed by the International Women’s Media Foundation Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award ceremony, now in its 10th year.
Gannon and Niedringhaus are International Women’s Media Foundation Courage in Journalism awardees – Niedringhaus in 2005 and Gannon in 2002. Gannon is also a Spring 2022 Shorenstein Center fellow.
The IWMF established the Courage in Photojournalism Award award after Niedringhaus’s death with a grant from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation to celebrate “courageous women photojournalists” and recognize the “importance of visual journalism that helps us better understand our complicated world.”
This year’s awardees were Samar Abu Elouf from Palestine, Anastasia Taylor-Lind, a 2016 Nieman fellow from the U.K. and Sweden, and Nariman El Mofty from Egypt and Canada. Anastasia was the only one of the three able to attend the ceremony.
Gannon and Niedringhaus had planned to do a text and photo book on Afghanistan that they wanted to publish by the end of 2014, around the time the United States was to hand over security to the Afghans. Niedringhaus had already begun choosing images. “And it is that book that we changed to be just Niedringhaus and her images with remembrances, which is accompanying the exhibition,” said Gannon, 70, who retired from the AP in 2022 after 35 years covering Afghanistan and Pakistan and became the driving force behind the exhibition and book, which is supported by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the AP.
She has undergone 18 surgeries since the attack, with an annual procedure in New York. The last one was some days after the Bronx exhibition launch.
In all the years I’ve known her, I’ve never once heard Gannon complain or mention her injuries or trauma. Even now, when I reach out to ask her about the exhibit, she is characteristically matter-of-fact and focuses more on Niedringhaus and her spirit – which she herself exemplifies.
“Your life is as important to me as it is to you,” she remembers the Afghan surgeon saying at the government hospital in Khost.
He cauterized the bleeding, put a tube in her punctured lung so she could breathe and “literally used duct tape and wood to put my arm together,” says Gannon.
Doctors at the French military hospital in Kabul where she was later medically evacuated said that had she reached them first, they would have amputated the arm.
The pain is pretty steady, she admits when I ask, but “you manage it. When you think about what could have happened, it was so close to the spine … I’m so grateful every day.”
She continued reporting tenaciously, going back to Afghanistan like a rider thrown from a horse who gets back up.
Gannon has been in the region since 1986, when the mujahideen, so-called “holy warriors” trained and conditioned in Pakistan, financed by the United States and Saudi Arabia, were fighting the Soviet Union. They later morphed into the Taliban (literally, “students” – of the seminaries they had been trained at in Pakistan).
When the Taliban took over Afghanistan, Gannon was one of the few Western reporters they permitted to work there, a testament to the fairness of her reporting and the trust she inspires.
Humanity
The exhibition and the photographs themselves are a testament to the creed followed by both women, to humanize people and present them to the world in all their complexities, beyond the stereotypes.
Gannon’s co-authors and co-curators for the book and the exhibition are Ann Marie “Ami” Beckmann, director of the Deutsche Borse Photography Foundation, also a close friend of Niedringhaus who edited her “At War” book, and Muhammad Muheisen, two-time Pulitzer-winning photographer who runs the Every Day Refugees foundation and photographs for National Geographic.
Niedringhaus traveled for her work “through some of the most difficult years of the protracted Afghan war, reaching deep into the soul of Afghans, her pictures often serving to remind us of our own humanity,” says the Bronx Documentary Center, founded and run by the journalist Michael Kamber.
When Gannon began reaching out to possible partners for the exhibition, Michael was the first to say yes. She realized quickly that he is someone “Anja would be one with.” With his commitment to the community he serves – largely Haitian immigrants – he exemplifies “her spirit of giving, caring … she was a crazy person for helping others.”
She was with Niedringhaus on those trips “reaching deep into the soul of Afghans” – and Pakistanis – documenting in words what Niedringhaus did in pictures, offering glimpses into lives rarely witnessed by outsiders.
They are the only Western journalists to embed with Pakistan’s army, as well as the Afghan army, experiences they shared in a detailed interview with IWMF in 2012.
Another uniquely daring embed was with truckers from Landikotal in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa transporting fuel from Karachi to Kandahar.
“We did a lot of stories like that which no one had ever done before or since,” Gannon told me. “We were trying to make the invisible visible.”
She shared some of these stories and photos with my journalism students and at a larger discussion with two more classes at Emerson College in the fall of 2022. I had roped her in, as she was in the Boston area as a Shorenstein fellow.
“The exhibition serves to remind us of the extraordinary sacrifices journalists make to keep us all informed. This is a particularly powerful lesson at a time when journalists are dying, suffering life-changing injuries, being targeted, or being imprisoned at an alarming rate,” Kamber said.
- “Anja Niedringhaus,” the war photography exhibit, is up through June 2 at the Center for Government and International Studies in the Knafel Concourse, 1737 Cambridge St., Mid-Cambridge near Harvard Square.
Beena Sarwar is founder and chief editor of Sapan News, where Kathy Gannon serves on the informal advisory council. This article has not been sponsored or commissioned by anyone. An earlier version of this piece was published by Sapan News. This is a Sapan News syndicated feature available for use with due credit to sapannews.com.
The history-making legacy of Asian American photographer Corky Lee
May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. For our “Hidden Histories” series, we learn about Corky Lee, a photographer who chronicled the daily lives, struggles and contributions of Asian Americans, a community that is often marginalized, unsung and unseen.
Burning Man, home of ‘radical self expression,’ removes pro-Palestinian sculpture from its website
The debates and protests sparked by Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip have worked their way into seemingly every corner in the world — even the free-spirited desert festival in Nevada known as Burning Man.
N.S. photographer awed by rare northern lights display
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Weather’s role in wildfires in Atlantic Canada | SaltWire #weather #climatechange #wildfireseason
George Wade was shaking at the wheel, his heart racing.
He was heading for Grand Pré about an hour before midnight, when he took a quick glance up through the sun roof of his car.
“The entire sky above me was just lit up with these green and purple shifting pillars of light,” said Wade. “I was just in complete awe.”
Wade was among some lucky Nova Scotians treated to dazzling northern lights displays in the province Friday night.
The spectacle was caused by a powerful solar storm that lit up the skies unusually far south in the Northern Hemisphere.
The celestial light displays are a result of energy particles from the sun colliding with the upper parts of the earth’s atmosphere. In this case, we’re seeing the most powerful solar storm in more than two decades, according to the The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was expected to continue through Saturday night with the possibility of more northern lights displays in Nova Scotia.
Wade is just glad for having been part of it, and finally seeing the spectacle for the first time in his life. A dream of his.
“It’s such an overwhelming natural event, something so rare and fleeting where we are,” said Wade. “To be a witness to nature’s incredible, baffling beauty it really makes you grateful.”
Wade would take hundreds of photos of the spectacle that night. He set off from his home in Kentville for Grand Pré at 11 p.m., and took his last photo at about 3 a.m.
An experienced astrophotographer, he’s well accustomed to shooting the night sky. He chose to set up at Grand Pré because of its natural beauty but also because it offered him the best vantage point: secluded and facing north.
It turned out to be a fine choice. One of his shots shows the deportation cross — a symbol commemorating the forced deportation of Acadians from Grand Pré in 1755 — against a neon green and purple backdrop. Another captures a softly lit Memorial Church against a warm glowing sky. Wade then made the 40-minute drive to Huntington Point where he shot the colourful, historic fairy cottages basking in a celestial glow.
It was challenge to capture the dancing, shifting light, he said.
“They looked like shifting pillars of light and they’re constantly moving so you have to be ready to move quickly,” he said.
He’s since had a chance to look at his photos and he says they rank at the top of his all-time collection.
“It was an other-worldly kind of feeling being out there,” he said. “I was desperate to photograph the northern lights for years. So it was just an incredible experience.”
He has one little regret about the experience.
“I probably didn’t sit back and appreciate it as much as I should have.”
Don’t Have a Camera? Here’s the Best Way to Photograph the Northern Lights with Your iPhone.
This weekend, Northern California is experiencing a rare opportunity to witness the Northern Lights, and you don’t need professional camera equipment to capture this spectacular phenomenon.
Triggered by heightened solar activity, this extraordinary display became visible Friday night far south of its usual geographic range, with photographs surfacing as far as Yosemite National Park in California. Residents who missed the initial display might still have the chance to witness the phenomenon, as the NOAA predicts that storming of varying intensity will persist through at least Sunday.
While the best photographers came out with some of the best NorCal photography we’ve seen in years, you can still capture this incredible event without expensive equipment. In fact, with a few tweaks to your smartphone settings, you can photograph the aurora borealis right from your phone.
1. Use Night Mode
Modern smartphones, particularly newer iPhone models from the 11 series onwards, come equipped with a Night Mode feature. This mode is specifically designed to enhance your camera’s low-light capabilities, allowing it to capture more detail and color in dark environments than the naked eye can see. Make sure Night Mode is activated in your camera settings before you start shooting.
2. Adjust Exposure Time
To capture the best possible images of the Northern Lights, you should adjust the exposure time on your smartphone. On an iPhone, you can do this by opening the camera app, tapping the arrow at the top of the screen to access hidden settings, and then selecting the Night Mode icon. Here, you’ll be able to increase the exposure time, ideally to the maximum setting. For the best results, an exposure time of about 30 seconds is recommended, but note that this usually requires the phone to be completely still, so a tripod might be necessary.
3. Stabilize Your Phone with a Tripod
Since long exposure shots require your camera to be stable, using a tripod can greatly improve the quality of your photos. This is particularly important when trying to capture something as subtle and dynamic as the Northern Lights. Invest in a sturdy tripod that can handle your smartphone and withstand outdoor nighttime conditions.
4. Location and Timing
Being further north improves your chances of seeing and capturing the aurora, but clear skies are crucial regardless of your location. Check the weather forecast and aim for a spot away from city lights with minimal cloud cover. The darker the environment, the better your chances of capturing the lights.
Even if you can’t see the aurora with the naked eye, your smartphone’s camera might still pick it up due to its sensitivity to different light spectrums. Take multiple shots to increase your chances of capturing a clear image of the Northern Lights. Remember, patience is key when photographing this elusive natural wonder!
‘One off my bucket list’: Farmingdale photographer captures northern lights from his deck
The forecast early Saturday called for cloudy skies, but photographer John Entwistle looked on an app and saw an opening coming in the cloud cover.
So at 3 a.m. the Farmingdale resident got out of bed and set up for the light show of a lifetime.
“Insane,” Entwistle said. “I wanted to see them for years but you have to go up north. To have it in my own backyard is just incredible.”
The northern lights, or more emphatically aurora borealis, should also be seen early Sunday in New Jersey, according to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.
Solar storms that shower the Earth with energy, light and high-speed particles — plasma or coronal mass ejections — haven’t been this strong in some 20 years. While that could mean disruptions of the power grid, the Global Positioning System and other communications equipment, they can also bring curtains, rays, spirals and showers of light. During this storm, the dazzling flickers were seen as far south as the Bahamas.
According to the space weather prediction center, this storm has reached G5 status, the most extreme storm from solar flares, an unusual event and the first time it has occurred since October 2003, according to the NOAA.
Entwistle had been waiting for this moment for years. For him, the historic space weather event was just something to marvel at.
More: The northern lights danced across the US last night. It could happen again Saturday.
“Every time there’s one of these coronal mass ejections, the media picks up on it … They’ve said it many times before, that you might be able to see them in New Jersey and I never have, so you take it with a grain of salt,” Entwistle said. “Now, it’s definitely one off my bucket list.”
Entwistle said the joy of photography comes from capturing something like this and then passing his pictures around.
He has gone viral before, amassing some 250,000 likes with a photograph of a supernumerary rainbow taken from his deck on Sept. 18, 2018.
“It looks fake, but it’s real and very rare,” he said.
On April 8, he made an 11-hour trip up to Maine to capture the total solar eclipse, the brilliance of which was related to the intense solar activity this season.
“So I thought I was having a good year getting that eclipse. And now I get this to add,” he said. “It’s been an extraordinary year.”
Ken Serrano covers breaking news, crime and investigations. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or at kserrano@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Northern lights beam in this shot taken by Farmingdale photographer
