Back in September of 2023, I was above the Arctic Circle in Alaska hunting for Auroras. That means that you scout of locations during the day, begin setting up for the shoot at about 10pm and can finish as late as 3am depending on cloud cover, aurora intensity and how tired you are. This image was taken from a bridge on the Dalton Highway along the Dietrich River. For me, one of the many cool things about photography is that you never really know what you are going to get from an image until you get back to your computer and open it up.
The amusing surprise for me was seeing the blue pickup truck parked along the riverside after midnight when this image was created. Perhaps it was a hunter or fisherman sleeping in their truck? Maybe, but we will never know for sure.
One needs to bring along an extra dose of patience and management of expectations when hunting auroras because sometimes they are beautiful multicolor bands and crowns, other times simply a faint green haze or worst of all the sky is completely overcast. But on the night of September 22, 2023 at 12:43am I was rewarded with a truly memorable image. To subscribe, send a request to [email protected].