Sky Watchers (Auroras and Perseids and Milky Way, Oh My!)

Just got in from watching and shooting the Milky Way, Northern Lights and Perseid meteor shower from the top of Mt. Maude. What an amazing night! The northern lights were very low along the horizon, but they were dancing and putting on a decent show. Yet again, I am amazed by the wonders of the night sky! This photo shows my friends Jake and April enjoying the amazing sky.

Minnesota Milky Way

I went out with a few local youth last night to look for the northern lights. While the aurora was visible, it was very, very faint. The Milky Way, however, lit up the sky! This image was made at about 12:30 a.m. Exposure time was 30 seconds, aperture f4.0, ISO 6400. It was also the coolest night (temperature-wise) that we've had in a while. It actually dipped slightly into the 40's last night. This was good for high ISO photography, as the temperature cools the camera's sensor doesn't build up as much heat and therefore generates less noise in the final image. Enjoy!

Fantasy Land

These images of the Aurora Borealis were made last night at 10:45 p.m. over the Pigeon River in Northeast Minnesota. Many rumors were circulating that the aurora was going to show up again last night, so I figured it was worth it to head out again to watch the sky. I met up with my friend Nate and we headed over to the river at 10:00 p.m. Only moments after we arrived at the river we started seeing vertical shafts of light appearing in the sky. Like the previous night, the lights lasted for a little over an hour before diminishing entirely for the rest of the night. For those that might not know, the Pigeon River IS the border between the U.S. and Canada in Northeast Minnesota, and the man-made lights that you see near the center of this image are the lights on the Highway 61 bridge over the river. Last night was the first time I've made night images from this location. It was a terrific spot, so rest assured that you'll be seeing more night-time images from this location in the future!

Northern Lights Moonrise over Wauswaugoning Bay

Well, the aurora made a pretty good showing last night! It sounds like most everyone had cloudy skies but lucky for me the clouds didn't move in up here until after the aurora faded. The lights put on a pretty good show from about 11:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. Here are my favorite images from last night!

Earth's Silent Spin

Check out my latest night-time photographic creation at the Spirit Tree. There were lights coming from four different sources in this image... the stars, the moon (which was rising off to the right), the city lights of Thunder Bay, Ontario and that obnoxious bright white light in the center of the photo, which is coming from a couple of spotlights at the U.S. Customs border inspection station. I have been noticing that bright light in several of my recent night images. I kind of like the effect it has on this image, but most of the time I wish it wasn’t there.

Land of the Lily

Taken along the Pigeon River in Northeast Minnesota. I love lilies, but taking a nice photograph of them is a challenge. This was shot from my kayak without looking through the camera's viewfinder. I held the camera as close to the surface of the water as possible and pressed the shutter button… “shooting blind”, so to speak. It took several tries to get a level horizon!

Happy 100th Anniversary Split Rock!

To celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Split Rock Lighthouse, the light was lit and fireworks were launched over the lighthouse on the evening of July 31st, 2010. Several hundred people were in attendance, including a LOT of photographers! It was a special evening, and a rare treat indeed to see fireworks launched over the light.