Arctic Midnight & The Morning After

After only four hours of sleep I awoke to a dog nose punching me in the shoulder.  I rolled slightly and felt a wet tongue licking my ear.  “Good morning to you to, Jack”. He didn’t seem to mind I was awake until 4am photographing the Aurora Borealis.  Because while I was outside working through the night, he was sound asleep, keeping my place in bed warm. 

I stumbled out of bed, walked to the window and wondered, did I really see all that color last night?  I was still trying to grapple for memories from the evening past.  Floating in a cloud of green.  Recollecting the ways the sky shifted and changed, from one pattern to the next.  I peeked outside the window.  Half expecting to see singed and smoldering metallic shrapnel lying on the ground.  I understand the science of the Aurora- but it still amazes me.  As if fireworks are exploding overhead, yet it all dissipates before reaching my camera- the only thing left is light, spectacular light.

The Geo-Physical Institute called Saturday night, EXTREME, giving it a 5 of 9 on the forecast scale.  As Scott Brucker joked, if this was extreme, an 8 must be DEATH according to their scale.   I’m amazed how each experience can be truly unique.  The Aurora is never boring, and tonight was just another example of that.  It totally changed location from the previous evenings.  Mostly filling the south eastern sky, then shooting directly over head, and turning to haze before even nearing the north western corner of the sky.  The show began a little later then usual, around 11pm I started peeking outside.  Not until after midnight did I don all my gear and head out.  The performance lasted beyond 3:30am.  I came inside only because I had two completely dead camera batteries.   

 

Once again, the photographs speak for themselves.  I made one real difference which I feel improved everything drastically.  I found switches for the new school, old school, and maintenance garage exterior lights- and shut them all off.  Not only did my eyes adjust quicker, but lights appear a little more vivid, and the ground cover is not washed out with yucky florescent light.

Rather then share a series of photos, I have compiled all the time lapse from the weekend into a short two minute movie.  The music is composed and performed by Quinn Mason, a student/family friend from Dallas, Texas.  Enjoy!