A few years ago, I met an awesome new buddy up in Truckee when I was living out there. We connected over the summer and I was bummed to find out that he was moving to Alaska as I was returning home back down the mountain. I remember saying I’d love to see you when I’m out there, and we headed to our respective destinations. Truckee was a layover for me; Alaska was permanent for him.

In the time that had passed, I’d taken on a new job at work that required a lot more of my energy. I’m leading a team again, traveling to multiple countries and continents, and well, time was flying by. I remember reaching out to my buddy and asking about the northern lights, but I’d blink, and a few more weeks would go by.

I reached out sheepishly (as I knew winter was getting away from me) and my buddy said in no uncertain terms: “You are running out of night. If you don’t get up here soon you’ll miss it.” Whaaaaaaat? It was still plenty dark down here! Doing the math, he was right – I was running out of night. This was the year to catch them. The solar flare cycle runs every 11 years for about 18 months. April and September were the last great months of this cycle.

To see the aurora, you need four things:

• Darkness
• Solar magic (kp) 
• A clear night
• A little luck

I booked a plane ticket that very night. Like New Zealand, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity: I was flying to Anchorage!

Now that tickets were booked, it was time to start stalking the weather. I knew I’d have the dark part, but solar chemistry and weather were more complex to see if I’d hit the jackpot. I started looking at the University of Alaska Aurora Forecast. It had a 27-day forecast that looked promising. 

Once I was 10 days out, the weather wasn’t looking so promising. The weather forecast looked overcast, especially at night. Randy mentioned that clouds can give the aurora a spread that doesn’t happen on clear nights. The clouds might come and go to catch glimpses of the northern lights.

The night I arrived, the forecast was clear and reasonable. The flight landed at about 2 AM, and the airport was packed. I’d never seen an airport that full of people at that hour of the morning. My buddy laughed. Anchorage is always packed, as people need to be out in the far reaches of the state for work assignments. Their travel schedules dictate being in Anchorage that early. 

Wow.

We got to the house about 3 a.m., and my buddy suggested we look out the window to see if we could see anything, even with the light pollution of Anchorage.

What do you know, we saw light! It wasn’t quite Wynona Judd’s “I saw the light out of his window tonight” as my camera saw light. I’d quickly learned that cameras see the northern lights far better than humans, so content that I’d seen something even if it was through my Canon. Now it was time to head off to bed.

My buddy suggested we book an Airbnb up in Talkeetna as it’s 90 minutes north of Anchorage and doesn’t have near the light pollution the larger city does. We headed from Wasila along the Parks Highway (Highway 3 for those in the lower 48). Alaskans, much like Kiwis, don’t use highway numbers. It’s the Parks Highway.

Something about this mileage sign made me want to stop. I’ve looked at maps of Alaska for years. Much like Idaho, Alaska was that far-off place with an unapologetic nature to a young geographer in the southeast. As I moved west and bit the motorcycle bug, riding to Alaska was the next fascination. Now, I am next to this sign pointing the way to places far beyond my current reach. Fairbanks is just 271 miles away. Wow. We weren’t even going there, and curiosity spilled over.

Even Alaska has its rivalries. There are Anchorage people and Fairbanks people. Anchorage is mountainous, mild (by Alaskan standards), and full of bigger city life. Fairbanks is flat, hella cold (like the place where F and C meet), and, in these Anchorageites’ opinion, boring. Lol—adventures for a future trip.

Talkeetna was a tiny little Alaskan town filled with vacationers and locals alike. Although winter was light and spring was quickly coming, the town was pretty desolate. Once May rolls around, it will be an entirely different scene. For now, I’m content with the quietness of shoulder season. It was a welcome sight to be amongst locals.

We headed out to the river about 8 p.m. It didn’t feel like the rhythm of the dark vs. the time of night was out of sync for me. But it’s still early in the year, and the change in Alaska gets dramatic. Ice was beginning to thaw, and the river was starting to emerge from its long winter’s nap. Damn those cracks and holes are significant in the ice. Watch your step and don’t fall in!

After hanging out in the Airbnb for a bit with my buddy and his partner, my buddy suggested we look outside. It was still early (10 p.m.) and warm (33F) so I wasn’t expecting to see much. Boy was I wrong. The clouds were nowhere to be found, and the lights were out. I quickly grabbed my phone to capture something in case they disappeared. Score! 

I grabbed the camera, tripod, and a few accessories, and we all hopped into the truck and headed out of town to see the northern lights. Our KP of 5 was pretty good on the solar magic scale. The aurora was out and dancing the night away.

Camera-wise, I’d purchased a 15-35 f/2.8 lens for this trip, and the northern lights were soaking up every bit of that wide angle. I can see the value in going down to f/2 or f/1.x to capture more light, netting a faster shutter speed. I made the tradeoff I did as I wanted a zoom wide angle to use more flexibly vs. a prime lens. Some of the longer shots have streaks from the earth moving relative to the stars. Yes, cameras pick up on that.

For a v1 of photographing the auroras, I’m stoked. This stuff is incredible!

We then shifted back to the river near the cabin. The lights shifted from a horizontal pattern to a vertical one. We also lost some of the intensity of the light but gained some breadth. It was fascinating to see the lights move. I didn’t expect to see them shift as much as they did. This is the stuff that makes science cool.

My friends were getting cold and headed back to the truck, and I wanted to take the moment to capture a few more pictures before calling it a night. The lens flare of the truck’s lights complemented the northern lights.

Finally, two more before heading in – one of the northern lights over the river and an overexposed night shot making it look like the day. Those pics are super fun to take.

And to my buddy and his partner: THANK YOU for making this dream of mine happen. So stoked to be spending time with y’all up in Alaska!