Northern Lights

It is a strange feeling hiking a half-mile out on a pier half-asleep in the middle of the night in almost complete darkness, especially when the sky appears to be otherworldly as you go. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. So into the night I hike out onto the Ludington South Breakwater until reaching the spot I had previsualized. As I had hoped, the waves are not too big for me to safely get near the South Breakwater Light. It is cold and windy but I am not cold anymore. All I can think about is getting this shot before Aurora's magic show diminishes. I quickly set the tripod up for an insurance shot, not certain yet of focus and exposure. Thirty seconds later, at 2:41 a.m. Tuesday, April 24, 2012, I analyze the results of my insurance/test shot. It looks sharp and the horizon line is straight, which can be tough to determine in the dark. I make two more identically composed shots over the next 10 minutes. My exposure is better on both of them but the Northern Lights are not dancing near as intensely. Thank God I quickly made that insurance shot; the other shots, although better technically, do not look nearly as out of this world. Thanks also to our Silver Lake photography friend Louise Olson for alerting us by Facebook that she was seeing the lights. What a spectacular start to our shooting day on this 17th Tuesday of "Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed: A Michigan Tribute." F4.5 at 30 seconds, ISO 800, 14-24mm lens at 18mm

For my second composition of the morning, I ran down to the edge of Lake Michigan and set my tripod up in the cold water. I made sure to have the tallest parts of the old jetties high enough in my viewfinder to break the horizon line of the photograph. I knew this would help tie my foreground elements to my background, which in turn would make my photograph look and feel more three-dimensional. I used my remote shutter release and my iPhone for a stopwatch. Based on the exposure I used to make "Northern Lights Dream" earlier, I calculated that I needed about 18 minutes for my shutter speed. With that long of a shutter speed, I knew the stars would spin in a circle around the North Star. I could see with my eye this fat white beam of light that appeared to be coming from the ground and aiming directly at the North Star. You can see it pretty clearly in the photograph. I have no idea what was causing that beam of light, but it sure makes my composition a whole lot cooler. My dad could even see it five miles south of me as he was photographing from near the end of the Ludington South Breakwater. I made this image at 2:45 a.m. F5.6 at 18 minutes 5 seconds, ISO 200, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

Waiting until after midnight so Rachel and I could shoot our next photos of the day for our 366 Project was a great decision. We were blessed to not only be able to shoot photos that had the Comet NEOWISE and the Milky Way in them with Little Sable Point Lighthouse, but also the Northern Lights! It was an extraordinary night along the Lake Michigan shoreline near the Silver Lake Sand Dunes.

I stayed up late tonight trying to photograph the Northern Lights out at the Ludington State Park. Unfortunately, the Northern Lights did not appear, but the lights of Wisconsin were visible, along with thousands of stars.

I have to admit that every time I witness the Northern Lights I get a little bit nervous that I am going to have a close encounter with aliens. The lights are beautiful and mesmerizing, but a little spooky sometimes. F2.8 at 166 seconds, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 18mm

This is the second major Northern Lights show on a Tuesday this year. Thanks to a 9:00 p.m. text message from Don Klemm informing me of the light show, I drove to the Ludington State Park and made this image over the Beach House. F2.8 at 151 seconds, ISO 400, 18-50mm lens at 20mm

One of the most surreal Northern Lights shows I have ever seen dances across the sky on the Ludington waterfront. Thanks, Brad, for waking me up. I had turned in early after a long day of shooting. Now I am back outdoors with my camera living the dream. F2.8 at 30 seconds, ISO 800, 24-70mm lens at 24mm

One of the beauties of living in Ludington is that we are close enough to the North Pole to occasionally be bathed in the colorful northern exposure of the Northern Lights. Ludington is aglow tonight with city lights and Northern Lights. F3.5 at 25 seconds, ISO 800, 24-70mm lens at 24mm