My Best Night of Photographing the Northern Lights

Aurora over Seward, Alaska

I’m alone on a forgotten beach. A bitter North wind gropes with frozen filaments. The ocean nearby, invisible, is a pool of ink like a portal to nowhere. Sea swells plunge into the sand with a gush and growl. A gibbous moon paints the mountain skirts in icy blue light.

But my gaze is fixed skyward. The night air is crystal clear, alive with electricity. Dancing auroras erupt across the tapestry of stars and galaxies. The most spectacular display I’ve ever seen.

All the elements collide—violent coronal storm, cloudless black skies, fierce magnetic forces—to bring this moment. This is a night when myth is born, a perfect confluence that may have no sequel. Manic with my camera, I rush from composition to composition. Each image on my screen makes me want to cry. The best photos of my life.

Yet, suddenly, I stop. This moment deserves something better. I topple to my back in the sand, unfeeling of the cold and the wind, and stare up as the sky delivers its most unearthly show. 

I am humbled. I am nothing. Spears of green and red build and wobble. Plasma vortices writhe and dance. A corona circle, like the eye of a fierce cosmic god, forms above me, gazing down from the heavens. On this deserted beach, this show is only for me. Never before, I realize, have I truly experienced the northern lights. I may never again.

Tonight is legend.

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How to Chase the Northern Lights (Video)

What is a good KP value to see the aurora? What is the interplanetary magnetic field and how does it affect the northern lights? What is the IMF BZ and what does it mean for the aurora? What is the DSCOVR satellite and how can I use its data? Why do I keep going out on nights with a high KP forecast and not seeing any northern lights? 

In this video, I attempt to give some answers to these questions and more. Also included is information about the Halloween 2003 KP-9 solar storm and the strongest known solar storm of all time, the Carrington Event, as well as some pretty cool photos of the aurora.

The northern lights can be a tricky and sometimes frustrating trophy to chase. Many times, in my early Alaska years, I waited around freezing my fingers off staring at a dark, desolate sky with nothing to show for it. After too many of these bitter disappointments, I was determined to learn as much as I could about the science behind the northern lights, so that I would never go out on fruitless late night chases again. Today I’m going to talk about a few of the basic numbers that can help you go out on efficient Solar storm chases. Don’t waste your time staring at empty skies, know exactly when and where the northern lights are going to dance.

Watch my video guide to understanding the numbers of the aurora borealis here:
 

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Visit THE ARCHIVE: A list of most of my articles and posts sorted by category

Copyright notice: This website and all its contents are the intellectual property of Brian Wright Photography. None of the content can be used or reproduced without expressed written approval.
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The Lights that Dance

Experiencing the Aurora Borealis is one of the most magical things about living Alaska. Living in coastal southern Alaska, these lights often feel tantalizingly close yet elusive. Too often overcast skies block views during strong geomagnetic storms. In late winter 2023, however, several incredible aurora nights coincided with clears skies and the opportunity to witness and capture the dancing aurora was incredible. Anyone who has never seen this lights, and wants to, I can't encourage you enough to make it happen. It is something you will never forget.

Photographing the northern lights is not easy. I have seen many photographs on Instagram and online with blurry foregrounds or skies filled with distracting noise. The trick I found is to point your camera at the farthest away light source you can find, like the moon or a distant street light, and get the camera in focus. Once you have done that don't touch the focus ring or change your zoom! And don't be afraid to boost your ISO. It's better to have a little noise in the sky than have a terrible under-exposed image. You can always use one of the great denoise AI programs, like Topaz or the 2023 Lightroom/Camera Raw AI denoise update, to get rid of that distraction and create a clean, well-exposed image. While no photograph could ever capture the majesty and movement of the lights that dance, northern lights photographs are guaranteed to make people's jaws drop.

NORTHERN LIGHTS IMAGE GALLERY

(For best results, click for larger images)

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Visit THE ARCHIVE: A list of most of my articles and posts sorted by category

Copyright notice: This website and all its contents are the intellectual property of Brian Wright Photography. None of the content can be used or reproduced without expressed written approval.
For information about how to contact us, visit this link