On Friday afternoon, May 10, 2024, Jan and I were getting coffee in a very small somewhat crowded coffee shop in downtown Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. We overheard people talking about the Northern Lights showing up that night. And thus began one of the most exciting nights of photography in my life. If you have read my three previous blog posts you have seen some of the spectacular color displays we were able to capture. In these images I have included some foreground information to put the color displays in perspective. The picture above was taken to the northeast of the Trumpeter property where they house the pygmy goats and alpacas. Looking to the northwest you can see the moon low on the horizon. The building shown here has an additional suite that is separate from the main B&B house.. This image is looking due east showin the stable for the animals. Another view to the east showing the building with the separate suite mentioned above. Looking north into the ent
I had fully intended to finish off these blogs regarding the aurora with some images with visible landscape in the foreground to put the light show in perspective. Then I found these three overlooked images and just had to share them. These three were taken with the camera pointed toward the zenith. The one above was a 10 second exposure. Thirty seconds later this image was taken with a 15 second exposure. Notice how the image is smoother and less detailed due to the constant motion of the light. The faster image actually shows more of the structure of the aurora. The longer exposures smooth out the light in much the same way as a long exposure of moving clouds smooths out the cloud structure. Again, taken about 30 seconds later, this image was also a 15 second exposure. With the first two the camera was aimed at exactly the same spot for both images. The camera shifted slightly for this image such that more of the lower portion is showing here. Note the tiny star in the lo