The Night Lights in Talkeetna, Alaska

I love it when only a 0.6-second shutter speed is needed to properly expose the Northern Lights. That setting indicates a super-bright show.

Not immediately apparent in a still photo is that the Northern Lights are often a fast action subject, and the dancing and pulsing light show is awesome. In a long exposure, that movement results in a blurry result. Wide aperture lenses (and, of course, a bright show) are optimal for capturing the aurora structure.

This night's display was extremely bright, permitting a relatively short 0.6-second exposure at f/1.4 and ISO 3200, and it was moving fast. Shooting straight up into the aurora is one of my favorite compositions, but the fast movement made guessing the ideal future composition challenging. It was exciting to anticipate and view the results.

We are at or near a solar maximum. Do you have the right Northern Lights lenses in your kit?

This night was the third over-4-hour road trip all-nighter in 4 days. I don't remember the tiredness, but as usual, the images were worth the effort.

A larger version of this image is available here.