Northern Lights
Small patch of auroras next to a sky that is being lit up by the city lights of Anchorage
Corona of the northern lights storm from March 30th.
Alaska Lights
The Glenn Highway is the road to the Auroras. A great night of Aurora hunting.
Full Sky Aurora - Shot on the night of November 3rd-4th. Near Tolsona , Alaska.
The sky was filled with greens, reds, pinks and purples. The lights were so bright. It was so bright that a person could easily read a book without a light. Shortly after this photo was taken a pack of wolves or coyotes started howling nearby! That's when it dawned on me. I'm standing out in the middle of nowhere , in the open, with wild predators nearby. That's when I decided to change locations.
Almost the end of a great night of auroras. I ran into photographer friend, that up until this moment, I had only talked to through social media. That's Tim Doner i the bottom right hand of the image.
Soomeone burning a little steel wool underr the northern lights
Guest of Alaska Phototreks taking portraits with a back drop of green auroras.
A nice aurora last night near Anchorage, Alaska. I took this photo while standing in the middle of the road. Right as I hit the shutter a vehicle's headlight peaked over the hill behind me. At first I was mad that the headlights ruined my shot. Then I looked at the image and realized that the headlights perfectly lit the road ahead of me.
Alaska Lights
Today is the day that I replace my trusty chariot. This vehicle has been on every Aurora journey with me. From the multiple trips down the Denali Highway to Quick trips down the Seward Highway, This truck has been there from the beginning of my photography journey. While it will still be around, We probably won't be going on anymore Aurora trips together.
This was the big surprise of the night. Where I was at in Tolsona was the perfect spot. The sky suddenly erupted in very fast moving auroras directly overhead. Then suddenly a huge streak of pink and purple racesd across the sky. I was able to get this shot as well as a directly overhead shot of the corona. As soon as the purple raced across the sky it became VERY bright. Almost as if someone turned on a very big lamp with a pink bulb. Everything around me had a pinkish glow to it. Its taken me a a couple of days to figure out how to proccess this image so that it didn't look so oversaturated, unrealistic. I had to desaturate this image down A LOT. I also had to reduce the exposure and highlights down quite a bit as well.
Auroras as I came out of the woods
Auroras as I came out of the woods, during the great show we had on 11/3-4. This was shot along the Glenn Highway in Tolsona, AK.
Great night at Glen Alps, AK. At one point over half the sky was auroras. The city lights of Anchorage are shining on the left. Taken 1/25/2021
I thought I'd do something a little different on this image. Instead of spending a ton of time processing the image, I wanted to do something more natural. I literally spent more time fighting the urge to make more adjustment than adjusting. I only made 3 adjustments on this image, nothing else. I darkened the exposure. I raised the shadows up on the mountains and gravel bar. I leveled the picture. That's it. Nothing else. What do you think Should I have done more?
You don't have to wait long for the sunrise this time of the year. I was out shooting the auroras for a couple of hours before the light from the sun started to illuminate the horizon. This was shot on the morning of 4/28/2022, near Glacier View, Alaska.
The beginning of what would be a pretty impressive night of northern lights. On the left of the image a meteor shoots across the sky
The start of the giant storm this past November. Great time.
I was sitting on the side of a small frozen lake in Tolsona, Alaska. The auroras were filling the sky from horizon to horizon. The spruce trees behind me made the perfect foreground element to compliment the auroras.
Normally the human eye can not see the red auroras. Last night was the exception. The red was easily visible to the naked eye. Later in the evening the band formed into a red glob that just hung in the sky, just below the milky way . This was shot on the night of 11/3-4.
Full moon shining through the corona of the aurora.
Using the glass like water, I can make one aurora show into two aurora shows. I prefer shooting the northern lights when there is a little cloud cover. It feel that they add another layer of depth. Shot along the Knik River, Butte, Alaska. 08/29/2022
Just another sky full of auroras
Alaska Lights
End of the night in Tolsona, Alaska. Standing in the spruce forest I just barely missed the big corona as it passed overhead.
One of the more interesting formations of the nights of 11/3. I was sitting on the side of a small lake in Tolsona, AK. The lights were starting to become more active after dying down a for a bit. Then suddenly the formation in this image appeared. The first thing I thought was, "That looks just like a broken stained glass window".
I ended up in Tolsona, AK last night.. It was an amazing first time shooting there. The auroras threw everything it had at us last night. I think I saw every type of aurora formation. I also got to see colors that Ihave never seen before. Red being one of those colors.
While the auroras showed up tonight, they weren't as stunning as last nights auroras. The guest I had on the tour still were very happy to see the lights. The city lights of Palmer are lighting the clouds to the left. While the auroras lights the sky on the right.
This time of the year is great for Aurora photography. In this image I captured the Sunset and Sunrise basically at the same time. The Sunset a 9:54pm last night. Today's sunrise was at 5:59am. The light from the the setting sun was visible until 1am, which is when the light from the rising sun started to increase. Added bonus an interesting foreground and the Auroras.
Alaska Lights
Almost full moon shot of the landscape and auroras. Taken near Eureka Roadhouse, AK
Pink, Purple, and Green Corona
This is the overhead shot I managed to capture as the pink, purple, and green corona passed overhead. I only wished that I had more time to shoot this unique color combo before it disappeared. On this image I had to once again had to adjust the Exposure, highlights, and Saturation way down. I also had to do my normal adjustments of Lens correction, white balance, sharpness. Desides those adjustments nothing else was done to this image.
