Glow – Northern Lights Image

The Northern Lights (or aurora borealis for those that like science-y terms) are one of the most amazing sights on earth. Caused by electrons colliding with the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere. They are beautiful. In fact, it’s hard to express just how amazing it is to watch when the sky begins to dance.

I’ve had numerous requests for images of the northern lights over the years, and I never had any I was happy with. Juneau, Alaska is extremely difficult to get the kind of images I wanted. You need the perfect combination of solar activity, moonless night and a cloud free viewing experience. Not an everyday occurrence in the capital city.

Watching all the various forecasts for a number of weeks eventually paid off. The big plus, it happened to line up not in the middle of winter. I have to admit that I am a big fan of the snow, but photographing the aurora means standing outside for hours on end.

The big plus, the forecasts for the northern lights happened to line up not in the middle of winter.

I contacted a few people to see who was interested in hiking up to the top of a mountain. One of my favorite panoramic views in Juneau is from the summit of Mount McGinnis. It was a 5 hour trek with 60+ pounds of gear, but the view was second to none. I barely needed my sleeping quilt since the temperature all night was perfect. One person ended up doing the hike with me and we will never forget watching the sky dance with nothing, but the wind for a soundtrack.

A couple other options for northern lights images I captured on the mountaintop are below. The constant movement and change of the aurora gives so many opportunities for unique images.