The Aurora Borealis

They are nature’s light show—the flickering curtains of dancing light called aurora borealis. The Northern Lights are among the night sky’s most awe-inspiring phenomena that are easily seen with the “naked eye.” These magical lights are just one feature of the surprising week of photography we’ve planned in Fairbanks, Alaska, this winter!

The diverse photography of this adventure “focuses” not only on Alaska’s colorful night sky, but exciting activities that take place during the tour—the action-packed Limited North American Championship Sled Dog Races and the World Ice Art Championships that engross Fairbanks in March.

The aurora borealis has both fascinated and terrified humans for millennia. For northern peoples living under the “aurora belt,” the Northern Lights have been incorporated into their stories and legends of creation, death and even celestial sports. While further south, the aurora is probably the progenitor of dragon mythology in China and Europe, and a supernatural omen, prophesying war, doom and destruction as the heavens “turned red with blood.”

Until recently, photography of aurora borealis was a difficult proposition. Exposure calculations of light intensity, and lengthy shutter speeds using film, were usually hit-or-miss—and a night of shooting could have been lost by a simple mistake. Now, in the digital age, we can easily take a few test shots to check exposure and set our ISO, aperture and shutter speed accordingly! And the results can be spectacular!

Prior to the nighttime aurora shoots, we spend part of our days photographing snowy winter landscapes or relaxing at the famous Chena Hot Springs Resort. Following our 3-night stay at the hot springs we return to Fairbanks where our visit coincides with the winter sled dog races and ice sculpture championships. During the day we allocate time along the dog team race course capturing action images of the teams, sleds and “mushers” as they run through photogenic aspen woodlands during 8-dog, 6-dog and 4-dog competitions.

In the evening we head out to photograph the intricate large-scale ice sculptures created during the World Ice Art Championships. After dark, the numerous carvings are lit with a variety of colored lights that radiate a photogenic internal glow. Come with us to Fairbanks in March! This exciting winter photo session will produce a wonderful variety of unusual images to please just about any outdoor photographer!