"Explosions in the Sky" Photo Prints

Northern Lights Artwork and Photography

You could say I’ve waited my whole life to see the Northern Lights.

They were the last thing on my travel bucket list, and the last thing I needed for my dark sky photography book.

I’d been actively trying to catch them for over a year and a half. I live in Chicago, and my book is all about dark sky phenomenon in National Parks. So I needed a strong solar storm, clear skies, a clear schedule, and a very patient partner.

It’s really hard to line all of those up. So I changed tactics.

I booked a one-way flight to Alaska, and vowed not to return until I saw them.

I planned on going by myself, but a couple weeks before the trip I met up with a new photographer friend in Yosemite. He was on a multi-month road trip and didn’t know what he was doing after Firefall. So, of course I invited him up to Alaska, and he was stoked to join.

Just before our flights left, we did a gut check. The entire state of Alaska was going to be covered with clouds all week. The moon was waxing, threatening to blot out the lights. Was this going to be another bust?

On the excellent guidance from some Alaska natives and aurora chasers, we got convinced to ignore the forecasts. We arrived, gathered our gear, stocked up on bear spray, and headed for Denali under the best sight ever – clear skies.

We found an amazing view point that looked over Troublesome Creek leading to the tallest mountain in North America, which is pretty hard to see in its own right. The light faded and the temperature dropped.

We took our test shots, and waited. We saw what looked like air glow just over the horizon. We decided to head up the hill for a better viewpoint.

By the time we got up there, the Aurora was out.

A band of light stretched across the sky, a ethereal rainbow ending at Denali. It couldn’t have been more perfect. The lights weren’t moving, but they glowed a faint green and strong enough that we could see them with the naked eye. Even though we knew it was a fairly calm show, we were both ecstatic. I couldn’t believe I was finally seeing them.

We were happy to snap away shot after shot, getting time lapses and different compositions through the trees and closer to the mountain. After three hours or so with nothing really changing, I asked my friend if he was ready to try another viewpoint to get another angle. I started fiddling with my camera, and wasn’t looking at the sky when my friend walked back to his spot.

The sky started going crazy.

“Nope! We’re not leaving. No way. Oh my god! Come look at this.”

I hurried over from behind the tees to get a clear view. There were ribbons of light undulating in the sky. I could see them moving in real time, shimmering over the peak of Denali. If you watch videos of people witnessing a strong aurora show, you know how hard it is for them to not express their awe and wonder out loud. That’s exactly what we were doing.

We must have said, “I can’t believe this,” dozens of times while we snapped away. As the show faded, the aurora thinned and spread across the whole sky, filling everything to the north with ephemeral green gas.

Finally, at 3 or 4 a.m. we landed in our car to sleep in subzero temperatures, still buzzing from what we saw.

We saw the lights 3 more times this trip, every time there were clear skies. We were even treated to a stronger show with different colors on top of Murphy Dome in Fairbanks.

But I’ll never forget that first night in Alaska when I saw the Northern Lights fill the sky for the first time. It was worth every bit of my 43 years of waiting.