Pillows for a peaceful night

Aurora over frozen lake and mountains. Lofoton Islands, Norway

Rebecca, Andy and I spent 7 days in Norway in 2017, 5 of which was a photography trip and the remaining 2 was spent backcountry ski touring. We had hoped to see and photograph the northern lights during our 5 day photography portion but alas, Mother Nature had different plans. Either the lights didn’t come out, or they did but so did the clouds and blocked our view.

The night before our skiing was to begin they finally came out in fury. We were just wrapping up dinner when we noticed them, so we quickly finished, paid and hopped in the car. We had scouted a spot along a bridge earlier in the day so we went there first and photographed the lights for a while. The bridge and road made a nice leading line into the photo.

But I also wanted a photo without man-made objects, so I carefully picked my way down to the water. This part of the fjord was susceptible to tides and the tide was lower (but coming in), so I was able to get to the waters edge, where I Noticed the water had frozen into this beautiful ice-chunks. I used the ice as foreground elements while the mountain peaks towered above and the aurora danced in the night sky.

Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8:
15mm, f/11, 4 sec, ISO 400

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Aaron M Written by:

Aaron Meyers is a landscape and wedding photographer living in Silicon Valley, CA. His love of the outdoors makes for frequent forays into the Californian wilds, where he delights in the stunning vistas of Yosemite National Park, Lake Tahoe, Big Sur, and the Pacific Coast.