Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/02/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The best latitude for Northern Lights is about even with Fairbanks, Alaska. In late August and September there's enough dark at night to see the lights. At times they'll fill the sky and there I was with my widest lens only a 35 (Summicron-R, on topic). Only the higher-altitude lights can be photographed; these are the graceful sheets of pale light that wave slowly in the cosmic wind. The low-altitude stuff is something else entirely: wild spinning flashes of every imaginable (and more) vibrant color. The shutter speeds required to record an image are way too long to catch anything other than an indistinct blur. The low altitude lights are very rare; in my 6 summers in Denali National Park I saw them only once, for about a half-hour of utterly painful ecstasy. Their beauty is too painful to watch, too amazing to not watch. If you happen to see the low-altitude lights forget the camera, live in the moment for it is one that will change your perspective on life forever. Doug Herr Sacramento