Feature Photo #7
The Story Behind the Photo
Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) over Little Cove,
Bruce Peninsula National Park
November 7, 2004The call from my friend came shortly after dark and the message was short: "get your butt outside and look up!". At this time of year, I know what such a call means - a great display of northern lights. So I walked down to the shore and above me were dancing greens, painting the sky pastel. It was a modest display, and I knew it would likely get better as the night progressed, so I kept checking the sky every 20 minutes.
Two other friends called in the next couple hours with the same information: impressive northern lights out tonight. By about 10:30pm I could resist no longer, so I drove to a pre-selected spot in Bruce Peninsula National Park that would give me a clear and panoramic view of the northern sky. And awesome it was. I stood slack-jawed, watching one of the brightest aurora displays I've ever seen, as the greens banded across the entire northern sky lighting it up as if daylight. Deep red stands streaked amidst the green curtains, leaving me further impressed.
I find it hard to photograph during incredible moments like this, but I pulled myself together and started making long (20-30 second) exposures. Shooting with an ultra-wide angle lens I tried many different compositions, some with Georgian Bay shoreline as the foreground and others (like above) with the tree line. After the intensity of the aurora dwindled towards midnight, I raced back home to download the images to my laptop. This image put an immediate smile on my face because of how it captured the crowning effect overhead with the rich red colors. Each time I look at it, I feel the same awe as if I was still out on that shoreline. And it makes me long for the next show of northern lights!
Technicals:
Canon EOS 1D mark II, 17-40mm/f4L lens at 17mm; ISO 400; 25s @ f/5.6
mirror lock up and cable release
Past Feature Photos/Stories