On a recent trip to Alaska, I was fortunate enough to get to capture the Northern Lights – something those who live there commonly had seen only a couple of times.
After a quick read of this guide on how to photograph the aurora borealis, I was ready. Unfortunately the only tripod available was missing a key piece, so I had to improvise. Rocks and fence posts were the most stable things available and were pressed into service with good results. It was cold enough however that in less than an hour I had mild frostbite on my exposed fingers – even with a few breaks thrown in. It was worth it to capture an event most of the world never gets to see.
