The Northern Lights

Tonight I took a drive just north of town and turned west into the county until I felt alone. On the drive out I dimmed all the lights in my car and stretched over the steering wheel and gazed out the windsheild hoping to catch a glimpse of the lights.

I wasn't really sure what I was looking for or even how long they would last. Once I got off the highway the sky started to open and I kept thinking I was seeing something. Driving through the hills of the west it felt like I was driving through a light fog as the lights started whipping above the roof of my car. I might have missed them tonight if I wasn't actually looking for them.

When I found my stopping point I looked up and if felt like the sky was moving from side to side like the wind was blowing the stars like a field of wild grass. They were like nothing I have seen before and I felt quite comfortable standing in the wind and cold in the middle of a field just starring at the sky. To the eye the colors weren't that brilliant, but I could see them change ever so slightly.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring a cable release for the pictures, so I was forced to hold the shutter open with my hand. If you look at the photos below you will see the camera shake, and the wind wasn't helping either. The only correction to these photos was curves in Photoshop to bring up the contrast of the colors. Hopefully I can get back out and be more prepared next time.