Finding Night Lights
My journey to find the northern lights and to meet one of my inspirations.
The Journey
The studded, front tires of the 2007 Peugeot 3008 spun as I tried to both pull over and pass a car coming down the slippery slope to our Airbnb. During February at 69°N, it had already been dark for a couple of hours at this point but we were still on time to meet our guide for the night at 5pm. Our Aurora field workshop had been postponed a day to increase our chances of success. We were in Norway for a week and had a total of three clear nights, one of which was the night of our arrival during which I was already exhausted from traveling through the night and morning. Tonight was the most important. Tonight was the night of our photo workshop with Adrien Mauduit of Night Lights Films. Though we vaguely saw an auroral presence to the north our first night, but tonight was to be something truly special.
Adrien met me on the road outside of our Airbnb and briefed me on the location we were going and why. The location had a great chance of clear skies there for several hours while the entire area to the north and west of it were going to be extremely cloudy. It was two hours away! This did not surprise or bother us. We thought we would have to drive quite a bit to see the aurora and were accustomed to driving two hours back home in Virginia to get to a Bortle 2 sky. If you’re an astrophotographer or serious star gazer, you know truly dark skies require effort to get under these days!
After the long drive we had arrived at Bro Mellan Swe-Fin, a bridge crossing a river which was the border between Sweden and Finland. A popular tourist spot with a decent parking area. We got out, geared up, and began our walk out into the great open space with a super wide view of the night sky. We were on a frozen river! Now, I wager this is not a rare thing in the Arctic Circle, but you must remember I am from 37°N Southwest Virginia; rivers haven’t been freezing over here regularly for quite some time and I certainly don’t remember experiencing this. It was a really novel experience to set up all of my camera gear on top of snow and ice on a river!
The Wait
We waited for a couple of hours and chatted about various topics. We spoke about other inspirational photographers whom Adrien had met and I certainly knew of and loved their work. We lamented events in the U.S. at the time of writing, and, of course, the topic I’m passionate about: Light pollution!
Jen, Adrien, and I awaiting the Aurora’s performance! (blurry as I had my star glow filter on, whoops!). Modded EOS R + Sigma 28mm F1.4 ART 2.0s F2 ISO 3200
On one hand, the crowds that accumulated posed a threat to timelapse and photo work with the stray flashlight of a casual night sky enjoyer. On the other hand, it was refreshing to see so many people getting out to enjoy something in the sky at night. So many people speaking so many languages were huddled around fires with hot cocoa and blankets awaiting the natural light show later in the night. It instills hope in humanity when you see sites such as this, in times such as these. It always helps to see the very people who just might be receptive to what I have to say. Those that might, like me, learn about light pollution, and care.
Other Aurora tour groups filled with people of all ages and backgrounds wait around warm fires 🔥😊
Night Lights
Adrien was kind and obviously has much experience chasing the Aurora. I don’t know how many people on this Earth rival his level of passion and study of the subject, but I would wager it is around a hundred individuals worldwide. He set up fast, erecting a couple of cameras with lens warmers and intervalometers in mere minutes while I rummaged through my bag pausing to look around as if the Aurora would suddenly appear out of nowhere. What I didn’t know was…how much data and science goes into the Aurora chase. Still, there is a degree of majesty and mystery to the Aurora, as she still seems to ultimately do her own thing. You may be in the right place and the right time, but you never know exactly what she has in store for you.
Ribbons of the Aurora arriving from the west signal the beginning of the night’s show. Canon 6Da + Sigma 14mm F/1.8 ART 1.6s ISO 6400 F/2.8
Canon 6Da + Sigma 14mm F1.8 ART - ISO 6400 2.0 sec F2.8-F3.2. Ursa Major image shot with Canon EOS R mod + Sigma 28mm + Kase Astroblast filter
We experienced around a 1/10 on Adrien’s scale of Aurora explosions. That surprised me, as the small explosion we saw was quite impressive and will be a memorable experience for me and my partner forever! Moreover, the night out felt like far more than a 1/10. I had followed Night Lights Films on YouTube and Instagram and frequented the media gallery on his website to get a base feel for my images when editing. I loved his work and I consider him one of the OGs and experts for night sky timelapse. It was also the first time I had actually met a photographer that was seriously passionate about the night sky in a way similar to mine. Had we not seen the Aurora at all, I still would’ve had a great experience to remember and had a fantastic time under the night sky with another who values it.
Canon 6Da + Sigma 14mm F1.8 ART - 2.0sec ISO 6400 F3.2
I was very surprised to see how little the moon impacted the magic. I do think seeing an aurora under a darker sky would grant a new experience, where the ground and surroundings suddenly light up from it without having already been brightened by the moon. I won’t complain, what we saw was the best Aurora I’ve ever seen, and I was so happy Jen got to finally see the Aurora in the north after our failed attempts in Fairbanks the February prior.
Knowing we saw only around a 1/10 makes me really want to go chase the Aurora again sometime. Not yet. It may be several years. There’s improper lighting all over the world which needs correction, humans waiting to be inspired and educated about the dark night sky and light pollution, and Milky Way images to capture! Still, I will return to chase the Aurora someday, and I know if it’s with Adrien again it will be special.
