Northern Lights
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.
Beautiful Aurora show near Cantwell, Alaska. Taken on 1/6/2021
Half-moon rising over the Denali Highway mountain range. The auroras were going strong all night. This shot was taken at 2:30 am, the morning of 1/6/2021
Aurora at Twenty-Mile river, AK
Finally got a chance to get out and capture a shot of the northern lights. Unfortunately the clouds didn't want to cooperate.
Amazing spectacular sky over Sutton, AK
Captured the Auroras last night at Eklutna Tailrace. The conditions at Tailrace weren't idea because of the wood stove smoke that was hanging around. I was still able to get a few shots once the wind picked up and blew the smoke away briefly.
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.
The moon was bright, but the Auroras were brighter. Glen Alps, Alaska. morning on 1/25/2021
Lady Aurora cast her glow across the landscape of Alaska. Broad Pass, AK. 1/6/2021
Ghoslty glow of the northen lights sits at the end of the road. Denali Highway. 1/6/2021
Memorable night on September 11, 2018. I was waiting on the banks of Twenty mile river for the Northern lights to appear. When suddenly STEVE appeared over the mountains. It slowly snaked its way across the sky until it reached the horizon.
This is a 2 picture panoramic version of my last post. I am posting this one to show the scale of what I was lucky enough to see in person. The soft white glow on the left of the horizon is the city of Palmer. To the right of it is Butte mountain. I believe that the mountains along the right side of the horizon is Matanuska Peak. What looks like a field of white snow below the horizon is a frozen Knik river.
The milky way and the auroras crossing paths along Eklutna Tailrace. I was lucky enough to arrive at this spot just as the milky way lined up with the city lights of Palmer.
This shot was taken there years ago at 20 Mile River, just south of Girdwood, Alaska. I was fortunate to be at the right place at the right time.
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.
I got to see something that I have never seen before. The northern lights over Flat Top mountain. They usually aren't this far south The light from the full moon is the light source for the landscape.
Usually I wait for the vehicle to pass so that the light from the headlight doesn't mess up my shot. I wanted to try something different. I timed the passing vehicle so that I would capture the light as it painted the spruce trees. It took me a couple of tries. Oh yeah. The northern lights were pretty amazing too. Broad Pass, AK. 1/6/2021
The aurora display had a mix of green, red, and pink. A pretty incredible show. This was shot at Broad Passwhich is near Cantwell , Alaska. 1/6/2021
No wind and large bodies of water make great reflections at the swimming hole on Knik river.
The view of Knik River from Old Glenn Highway
This shot was the end to my night on 2/27-2/28. It was around 2:20am and the Northern lights were not showing any signs of going away. As I was getting ready to get in my truck I took this one last shot to capture the signage and northern lights. The light haze to the left of the image is a combination of Plamer/Wasilla/ Anchorage, Eagle river lights polluting the night sky.
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.
A surprise northern lights show hovering over Anchorage , Alaska.
Alaskan winters can be so beautiful. Especially on nights like this. The only sound is my breathing . Broad Pass, AK. 1/6/2021
Great northern lights last night while in Borad Pass, Alaska. 1/06/2020
Our aurora show was brief, but what we had was brillant. Then the clouds moved in.
This image was shot from the banks of Granite Creek, AK. It is a beautiful location that is just past Sutton, AK
One of my daughter's favorite lines from her favorite movie Frozen. "The sky's awake, so I'm awake". I think that line applies to the sky near Sutton on Thursday night.
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
Stunning views from the Denali highway near Cantwell, Alaska. 1/6/2021
This solar storm happened 2 years ago on a warm September night. It's been 2 years since we've had a storm this big in Anchorage
The clouds slowly crept across the sky. We were fortunate to see some of the spectacular show before the clouds completely covered the sky.
The entrance road to Eklutna Tailrace had a beautiful backdrop of northern lights and milky way.
This image was shot from the banks of Granite Creek, AK. It is a beautiful location that is just past Sutton, AK