A starter pack for the aurora—more soon
Northern Lights in Wiseman
We’ve had more than a week of amazing nights in northern Alaska, but only one that delivered incredible views of the aurora borealis (Northern Lights).
I’m still reeling from the experience, which was in Coldfoot, about 250 miles north of Fairbanks. There really aren’t any words to describe the aurora—only photos. And even they don’t do it justice.
Interestingly, to the naked eye, the aurora looks mostly white. For the most part, it’s hard to see the depth and variety of colours. Only the camera picks up the nuances and, even then, not always.
I’m sharing two pics here and will post more as soon as I have had a chance to go through what I have. I’m still gobsmacked by the whole experience.
These pics are from a place called Wiseman, Alaska. They aren’t in focus (none of my pics are), but they give you an idea of what we saw.
Northern Lights out of focus
Where to next? 
What an experience! I saw them on a visit to Iceland a couple of years ago. Funny about that camera thing, I had exactly the same experience, my pictures were way better than what I saw with the naked eye!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Extraordinary how the camera sees what we cannot. I’m still so impressed.
LikeLiked by 2 people
am SO envious but looking forward to seeing more. Interesting what you say about the colours – I’ve never heard that before
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amazing what the camera can see that we cannot.
LikeLike
That’s a fantastic experience. Look forward to more. Here, I would by happy with any light. It is mainly lights off after 9pm. I did detect a Venetian blind moving in Barton.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, too funny, a mobile Venetian blind in Barton. Give me the address. 🙂
LikeLike
What an amazing experience! I’d be pretty chuffed to get shots as good as these. Looking forward to more. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am saving the best for last. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
AMAZING and what an extraordinary experience; blurry photos or not Peggy! Thanks for sharing and brightening my day!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Joanne. More pics on the way.
LikeLike
So who’s a lucky little vegemite then? It really must be almost beyond belief. Here’s a song for you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m a very lucky little vegemite. Thanks for the song. 🙂
LikeLike
Peggy your first photo looks like a figure on the left , the red and green with thin black lines on it even look a bit like tartan. What amazing images Must have looked even better to see with your own eyes. I look forward to more. Dorothy
dorothysstories.wordpress.com
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s spellbinding. I feel so lucky to have seen such a display.
LikeLike
You were lucky to see aurora borealis. I hope to have your luck this autumn when I will go to Norway to see this beautiful, amazing phenomenon. I understand that it can’t be seen all the time.
Your post made me to want to be there right now 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you get to see it too. Let me know.
LikeLiked by 1 person
For sure 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
The lights were viewable over Anglesey (or somewhere like that) last week. Quite amazing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Totally amazing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bellissime fotografie!
Deve essere stata una belissima esperienza
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much.
LikeLike
I’m so happy that you got to see them. Quite an experience, eh? They can be quite colorful to the naked eye, mostly green but some reddish pink, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was lucky to see some pink. Actually the camera saw more pink than I did.
LikeLike
such an amazing experience Peggy, thanks so much for sharing it with us!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wish everyone could have been there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
me too! Thanks for sharing, I will wait for more cool stuff Peggy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is exciting to see what your camera captures while you are trying to watch. I’ve heard this about the lights.
I’ve only experienced them in upper Peninsula Michigan. I bet they’re better farther north.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not sure that you need to be farther north, but it helps to have little or no competing light.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Can’t believe! These northern lights are breathtaking ❤
Love your shots!
What a wonderful experience 😛
Ciao
Sid
LikeLiked by 1 person
It really was a wonderful experience. Glad to share it here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amazing, very cool. I can only imagine this experience! Thanks Peggy for sharing. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was incredible and I had to share.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am glad you did, thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hard to photograph with justice, you did well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. It took a couple of nights to figure it out.
LikeLike
Must have been fascinating Peggy! thanks for sharing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It really was fascinating and so inspiring.
LikeLike
Looks so amazing . You are so lucky and thank you for sharing these pictures.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know I was lucky. Thanks for enjoying the pics.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was a pleasure 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wiseman is exactly where I started my backpack trek from, Peggy. Most folks won’t grasp how close to the edge of the world you were. 🙂 –Curt
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, Curt, is does seem like the edge of the world. Apparently only 1 per cent of visitors to Alaska make it that far north.
LikeLike
Thank you for sharing, Peggy! The Northern Lights are definitely on my list of things to experience. I love that you were “gobsmacked” by the sight!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you get there. The lights really are gobsmacking. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s hard to photograph the Northern Lights, but they are incredible to see. Glad you had that experience, Peggy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can hardly believe we actually saw them, and so vibrant.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amazing. I saw them once, very near to where you are now – just north of the Yukon River. Enjoy the wonder.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ve been very lucky too. I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the experience.
LikeLiked by 1 person
LeggyPeggy, glad that you have seen the Northern Lights, a memorable experience.
I tried to post prior to you leaving for Coldfoot and some advice on photographing the Northern Lights. However, this is for people who are planning on seeing this beautiful experience in their future travels. First, research on the Internet regarding photographing this event. Basically, you need a good solid tripod, ground vibration under the tripod and most importantly the wind. That is because you need to use the timer feature and a good camera helps a lot… The shutter needs to remain open for 3,5 and up to 30 seconds per image.
Sy S.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Sy, I also did a lot of reading before trying to take pics. I discovered that my camera needed 15 seconds to get a good shot. As you can imagine, there was a lot of trial and error. 🙂
LikeLike
How wonderful to be able to experience the Northern Lights in person. It’s always been one of those things that have fascinated me. Looking forward to seeing more pictures.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m going to try to post more pictures tonight. Wish me luck.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good luck!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, so you gotta see it 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
We sure did and it was wonderful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We stayed in a mountain cabin outside Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada. No indoor plumbing or electricity. I got up in the middle of the night and stumbled my way to the outhouse. All of a sudden I looked up and saw the Northern Lights! Wow! Hadn’t expected that! That took my breath away.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep, they do take your breath away.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Night photography is extremely difficult to capture, so I can only imagine how difficult it must have been trying to capture the Northern Lights. Great photos so far!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Ray. Luckily my photos got better. 🙂
LikeLike
What an amazing experience you had! It must be extremely difficult to express the excitement of the entire experience. I look forward to seeing some more pictures. I’m certain these don’t even come close to capturing what you saw there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ve got that right. It’s very hard to find the words to explain the excitement or the vision.
LikeLike
Two wonderful photos Peggy and great to see out in the wilderness. Surprisingly, in the winter I spent in Winnipeg many years ago, we saw the Northern Lights most nights in winter, but they weren’t as spectacular in the lights of the city. I’m envious!
Regards Tony
http://breadtagsagas.com/
LikeLiked by 2 people
We saw them from Fairbanks on a few nights but, as you said, not so impressive when competing with the city lights.
LikeLike
Wow. These are great photos. I’ve never seen the aurora, but hope to some day. Thanks for sharing them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure. I hope you get to see the aurora soon. It really is breathtaking.
LikeLike