Witnessing the Aurora Borealis is a magical experience, no matter where you are. In Yellowknife, Northwest Territories – Canada, the Aurora Borealis (aka “northern lights” in the northern hemisphere) appear at night time (this is pretty obvious), and generally between the months of late August to March. I won’t attempt to get into the scientific explanation of this natural phenomena, just know that it’s something that you have got to experience in your lifetime.
Having lived here for nearly all of my life, you’d think that I have witnessed countless Aurora Borealis shows. **WRONG** I am not a night person, nor do I like the cold (yet our winters here are long, dark and very cold!). So this means that I most often miss out on the Aurora activity. Then the next day, I hear people talking about the previous night’s spectacular show and I see countless photos and video clips posted on various Facebook pages.
However, stepping outside of your comfort zone is worth it once in awhile…that’s when the magic can happen. And this is exactly what I did last week. I came home one night around 9:00pm. As I opened my front door I noticed the Aurora dancing and waving in the sky above my house. A little voice inside told me that I should go out and “shoot” the Aurora; I do this maybe once a year, not even. It wasn’t too late, and the temperature was still decent (around +6 degrees Celsius, i.e. not cold). You wouldn’t get me out at the winter temperatures of -30 to -40 degrees Celsius! So, I decided to listen to that voice; I set the appropriate settings on my camera, grabbed my tripod and took off.
As I drove away, I noticed the spectacular Aurora show above my house and thought that would make a great shot. I made a u-turn, parked in front of the house and set up my tripod. That was the beginning of my shoot…in my own front yard!
I then drove about 10 minutes on the highway, parked and walked in pitch darkness (with the help of my iPhone flashlight) to set up the tripod. This wasn’t the best place to park, as traffic was going by somewhat regularly, and I needed a good 30 second exposure timeframe without headlight interference. However, I chose to stay there, light interference and all, and I was happy with the resulting shots (although there are a couple of improvements I could have made).
This photo below shows my parked car, and a light trail from a passing vehicle.
The Aurora Borealis were very active, they were dancing and intertwining with one another. The spirits in the sky were alive, swirling around in unpredictable patterns! It was a spectacular show and I was very satisfied for having gone outside of my comfort zone!
Recent photos (September 2014):
- Camera: Canon 5D Mark III (full frame DSLR)
- Lens: Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM (wide angle)
- Bulb mode (this allows you to keep the shutter open until you press the release button on the remote)
- Lens set to infinity on focusing ring
- ISO 400-500 (I realized afterwards that I would have been better off increasing the ISO to 800-1600, or even higher, this would have given me a shorter exposure and more detail in the sky)
- Exposure: 33-39 seconds (although I often get great shots at 15 seconds)
- Tripod: MeFoto Globetrotter Carbon Fiber Tripod
- Shutter release/remote (so you don’t have any camera shake that you would get from pressing the shutter button on your camera)
Older photos (2011, 2012):
- Camera: Canon Rebel T2i
- Lens: Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD IF
- ISO 400-1600
- Exposure: 13-30 seconds (bulb setting)
- Manual mode
- Remote and tripod
For an incredibly AMAZING video of very active Aurora in Yellowknife, visit “Aurora Substorm – Real Time Motion” by Kwon O Chul. I must admit that I myself have never seen such a spectacular show, but this gives you an idea of how magical Aurora viewing can be!
For more information on Aurora tours in Yellowknife, please visit:
Have you ever witnessed the Aurora Borealis? Is this on your bucket list? What are you waiting for? Come visit Yellowknife, Northwest Territories during late August-March for a chance to experience this incredible show!
Now go out and do something today that involves stepping outside of your comfort zone! Or please share a story of when you did do this (particularly if it is a travel story), and what that did for you.
I would love to hear from you. Feel free to leave a comment below.
(Update: I am happy to report my aurora photography has greatly improved since this blog post was originally published in 2014.)
Wonderful post and fantastic images, Tawna. Congratulations and thanks for sharing. You followed the #1 rule of photography: being there.
Efrain (somewhere in Cusco, Peru)
Gorgeous. I like how the lights seem to surround your home.
Amazing pictures
Thank you Rod!
Beautiful shots Tawna…you should be very proud!!
I didn’t know you were an Aurora hound!!
You should post 1 or 2 of these to that new Group Page, called something like ‘Aurora Lovers’…
Thanks Arthur. I wouldn’t consider myself an Aurora hound, as I’ve only gone shooting 3 times (2011, 2012 and last week), due to me not being a night owl or liker of the cold (most photos posted here are from last week but a couple others are from 2011 and 2012). I didn’t know about Aurora Lovers; I’ll have to check it out sometime!
Beautiful photos Tawna, I love your article, and thanks for sharing how you took these. I felt like I was there.
Wow, Tawna! Such beautiful pictures! And a variety of them. You’re lucky to live in such an area. Maybe Raul and I will get there in time. Keep up the good work!
Thank you Kathleen for visiting my blog. Yes, I am very fortunate to be living here, the Northwest Territories is a very special place, I must admit. And I’ve never found another place in the world that could compare to Yellowknife (as a home base). I hope you and Raul do make it up this way! You should take advantage of the fact that you know someone here:)….. HINT, HINT.
Wow Tawna,they are beautiful and so green &
Vibrant! I’ve never seen them so bright.We have them
In Grande Prairie,AB where they are a light green
But also some lighter hues of pink as well. Very cool!
Hi Diane! Yes, the Aurora here are usually bright green, sometimes a bit of purple (which you see in one of my photos)….That night that I shot most of those pictures, wow, they were super active, dancing away!!! It was very memorable!
Gorgeous shots! Your house looks cozy wrapped up in their green light. Much better than my first attempt to shoot them in Grade 4…with my little Kodak Disc camera!! There’s truly nothing like the Northern Lights. They’re simply mesmerizing and yet haunting. Growing up in Labrador, they’d dance for us most winter nights. The legend is if you swear at them, they’ll shoot ice at you, but if you whistle, they’ll dance. I chuckled when I heard people whistling in the video you linked to. They certainly love to dance!
Ahhhh, Labrador…. That and Newfoundland are on my Canadian bucket list! I’ll get there, I know I will! I used to whistle at the Aurora, and I really did believe that caused them to move! (But that was quite some time ago)! Not sure if you know of the local legend here in the NWT, but there is one…but I don’t think it’s appropriate to write in my blog… It loves being with your loved one underneath the Aurora:)
Tawna I am so glad you stepped out of your comfort zone and provided some mystical images for us. What a treat since I can’t see them from Arizona. There is something to be said for seeing them through my “friend’s eyes”. It’s even more real.
Thank you Dede. I appreciate you taking the time to visit my site; and hopefully one day you might be adventurous and come visit me here ! I hope to come to Arizona some day.
Wonderful photos and story. We have witnessed the Aurora even way down here in MN but it’s in the distant sky. We have to travel to a low or no light areas to try to photograph them. It doesn’t happen often so would love to see them so close up. On my bucket list.
Thank you Karen! It’s very uncommon to be able to capture the aurora right in my own front yard, due to the traffic and street lights… but I was lucky that night! And then I went off to the highway to pitch black. I think Yellowknife is a perfect place to come visit, especially late summer, early fall, when the weather is still decent, and there is a very likely chance you’ll see the Aurora (since it is starting to get dark in the evening by late August).Hope you get the chance some day!
I so love the Northern Lights and you’ve done a great job of capturing them! Your story was so interesting! I particularly like how you’ve captured them dancing around your home! It really makes me miss the North and you….thanks for sharing!
Very beautiful Tawna. You should have stayed in Saskatchewan a few days longer and could have seen a beautiful show. Sitting around a campfire in a tee shirt in plus 15 degree weather. Maybe next trip.
Thanks Darin! It would have been pretty cool to see an Aurora show somewhere other than where I’m used to (NWT), for comparison; here we generally see greens and a bit of purple at times. Yes, maybe next time! Thanks for stopping by:)
A voice from the past…well, may be not. At this point of your life (Sept, 2014), how long have you been doing photography? Don’t tell me you just started. Your pictures are incredible.
Not quite a voice from the past:) I had been photographing since around 2008 (in terms of when I began selling my work). Once you know how to do aurora photography, it doesn’t take much work to get good shots! (you have to have the right equipment and composition skills though). And I’ve only gone out aurora shooting about 5 times in my life, even though the aurora are above my house for much of 7 months each year! Thank you Abbas for stopping by and for your very kind words:)
This is very beutiful picture.. I feel like in the e picture to see that a good moment.. ❤️❤️, I always love every pictures from magic of Tawna photograph
Thank you Krisna! I wish you could experience the Aurora borealis in person! You would be so thrilled and you would like you’re in heaven!! I am glad you can find enjoyment through my photographs:). it’s the next best thing I suppose!!