Colorado creek and the northern lights in the White Mountains north of Fairbanks. Canon 5D Mark II, 16-35mm f/2.8L (16mm), 30 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 100, Time: 12:39am, Fist quarter moon.
I spent a few days in the White Mountains National Recreation Area a few weeks ago, just north of Fairbanks. On the final clear night, while hanging out with friends in the warm cabin and enjoying good food after a long day of skiing, the aurora appeared in the sky about midnight. The displays were nothing special, but I geared up and went out to shoot for a while since I had no pictures of this particular cabin. It’s situated about 13 miles from the parking lot, on a pretty good trail system, although snowmachine traffic with the large paddle tracks can make the skiing less desirable. What is not particularly evident in this photo is that I’m waist deep in snow (I didn’t have my snowshoes). I wanted some of the spruce trees in the foreground, and based on the orientation of the aurora, I needed that angle. The shadows on the tree reveal a pretty strong moonlight, even with a first quarter moon status. The displays never cranked in the hour I was outside, but with a long ski behind me and another one coming in the morning, I gave way to sleep in a nice warm cabin. Due to my low angle, stuck in the snow, and the use of the 16mm focal length, I used a little vertical distortion correction in Ligthroom to correct the severely leaning trees.
