Tom and I celebrate great images from workshop participants by selecting a Photo of the Month. For March we chose an image taken on our Iditarod and Northern Lights Workshop. The image was taken by Sherry Reese during a spectacular aurora photo shoot near Fairbanks. Sherry is a wildlife and travel photographer from Arcadia, Oklahoma.
Congratulations to March 2024 ‘s featured photographer – Sherry Reese
The Story…
When we got out of the van, the aurora was already going off. We ran to the edge of the field and I threw my backpack in the snow. We set everything up as quick as we could in the dark and we started taking pictures.
I had never seen the aurora before. I was amazed by all of it. I didn’t realize that it is not as colorful with the naked eye. It takes a longer exposure to bring out all of the colors. This style of shooting was completely new to me.
I listened to Tom and Cree and their setting recommendations to get in the ballpark. I used minor changes to ISO and shutter speed to tweak my settings as the aurora changed.
The aurora never looked the same. Second by second it changed. It went from a roman candle type formation to minimal to the whole sky blowing up. The trick is to take as many pictures as you can and just keep shooting. It changed so fast that you will get a new photo every few seconds.
You don’t really know what you are going to get till you get it out of the camera. When I was reviewing my images, I realized how important it is to keep infinity focus. Some of them were blurry because the camera would get bumped and the focus would shift. Next time I will use a Z lens because it makes infinity focus way easier. I was using manual focus to keep the stars sharp.
I got extra help from Cree to learn how to edit aurora. Enhancing to remove noise is the first step. Then I used a little bit of clarity to bring out the stars and increase definition in the aurora. I opened up shadows in the foreground and color corrected the snow to remove some of the green cast.
It was magical. I think most people say that about the aurora. People come from all over the world to see aurora in Fairbanks. It doesn’t always happen. But when you see it, it is just magical.
EXIF Data:
Camera: Nikon Z9
Lens: DSLR 20mm 1.8
Aperture: f1.8
Shutter: 2.5 seconds
ISO: 3200
Mode: Manual, on a tripod
About Photographing in Alaska in Winter
The snow is beautiful. It accentuates the terrain. It was not nearly as cold and dark as I expected. In March there is an even split between dark and day light ours. When we were lucky enough to get a snowy day, it made the photos even better.
The beauty of this trip is that it is such a mix of things to see, do and expect. The dogs, the iconic Iditaord, the snow, the aurora. There wasn’t just one thing, there were so many different things to shot.
This trip is going to be amazing even if the aurora never shows up.
Sherry’s Tips for Aurora Photography
Tip 1
Practice using your camera in the dark ahead of time. This will help you to make minor exposure changes quickly when in the field.
Tip 2
Have the right cold weather gear. For me, keeping my hands warm was the hardest. It was a challenge to change my settings with the overmitts on. I ended up using an electric handwarmer in my pocket. I used just my liner gloves when changing settings. When I switched to a cable release, it was easier to use my overmitts.
Tip 3
When the aurora is really strong you need to reduce exposure time and ISO to not blow out the green channel. I had blown out areas on some of my images. It really changes second by second with aurora photography.
Tip 4
Bring your heavy tripod. You will need a stable platform in deep snow with uneven ground.
On Sherry’s Horizon:
South Africa’s Skeleton Coast
Grand Canyon River Rafting
Kenya
Switzerland
Interested in joining us in Alaska? We have space on three Alaska trips:
Musk Ox and Arctic Birds in Nome 2024 Learn more
Northern Lights and Iditarod 2026 Learn more
Chilkat Eagles 2026 Learn more
Happy Spring!
Tom and Cree
Congrats!
Great Shots