Aurora Borealis - Northern Lights
Aurora Borealis at Green Lake, Whistler, B.C.
This is my first time photographing the Northern Lights. September and October 2017 seemed to have several strong geomagnetic storms hit Earth and consequently the Aurora made one of its rare appearances this far south. The electronic sensor of the Canon 5D MkIV was able to capture the spectacle, decidedly better than the naked eye.
A Sigma 24mm f1.4 lens was used.
Aurora Borealis at Banff, Alberta
Travelling from Vancouver to Banff on the Rocky Mountaineer in late September, we were very lucky to have arrived in Banff at exactly the right time. This was taken through the glass window of our hotel room (The Rimrock) from 3:00AM until dawn.
Aurora Borealis at Jasper Park, Alberta
We were much further north at Jasper, AB the following night. With reports of further storms, I ventured out at midnight and was rewarded with a really spectacular show, with the Aurora covering the whole of the northern sky. I was not aware of it at the time, but those pinkish lilac spikes are part of a phenomenon the Alberta Aurora Chasers have named "Steve", which is a ribbon of a very hot and fast moving gas, hurrying across the sky at a speed of about six kilometres per second in a westerly direction.
Aurora Borealis at Jasper Park, Alberta
This is an almost overhead shot with M45 or The Pleiades, a very well known open cluster of stars, quite evident in the middle of the frame.
"Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble!"