Northern Lights (Aurora borealis), Douglas, Douglas Island, Alaska – Image 2812

It is mid-winter and I am missing the northern lights. I have not shot a display of northern lights (Aurora borealis ) in several years. I have gone out several nights on northern lights watch, but the displays never transformed into strong enough displays. When I go on watch, I usually take my car out to a good dark location and wait. Often the watches go right through the night into the early morning. In the car, I have my camera (of course), a tripod, a headlamp, a kitchen timer, a pillow, sleeping pad and blanket…all essentials for a night spend in the car. As I get sleepy, I fold down the seats and set up my sleeping stuff. I tuck in and set my alarm to go off every 15 minutes. I cat nap my way though the night, getting up every 15 minutes to check out the night sky. Usually, I come home with no images and very tired. But when it works, it is glorious and worth all those crummy nights of sleep. The next two weeks of images are taken from my files. Thank you for visiting. Camera body: F5, Lens: Nikkor 20-35MM f/2.8 /Fuji film/ASA 100/ digital scan/exposure unrecorded© Mark Kelley