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WC #529 Northern Lights
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WC #529 Northern Lights

by Grant Collier

Gallery: Weekly ChallengePosted April 9, 20121,306 views19 comments
This is a shot I took recently during my trip to Alaska. Although this scene fit in one 14mm shot, I stitched two 14mm shots together so that I'd have more room to fix the distortion from the lens. I then cropped the sides. 15 seconds ISO 6400 f2.8

Comments

19 comments
Comment posted by Peter Coskun on April 9, 2012 at 6:29 PM
This is something I gotta see in my life. Excellent colors you captured here.
Registered on October 31, 2011, 170 Posts, 1240 Comments
Comment posted by Morris McClung on April 9, 2012 at 6:31 PM
Saweet, Grant! Outstanding shot, which is just one of many from your trip there. :toast:
Registered on May 7, 2007, 670 Posts, 19650 Comments
Comment posted by Carolyn Derstine on April 9, 2012 at 8:21 PM
Wow this is stunning, Grant! And fits the theme very well too. :smile: Love the comp and the beautiful lights sweeping across the sky. I saw these once as a child; unusually, they appeared in Pennsylvania at that time. Would love to see them again!
Registered on February 16, 2011, 610 Posts, 3684 Comments
Comment posted by Albert Darmo on April 9, 2012 at 10:29 PM
Hi Grant :wavey: Now i'm not so anxious to post my shot :mad: :eek: :biggrin: Fabulous color and form :cool: :smile:
Albert Darmo
Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments
Comment posted by jack jaeger jr on April 10, 2012 at 9:46 PM
Great shot Grant! I would love to see this. Do you know if there is a best place to see this and a best time of year?
Registered on April 2, 2012, 26 Posts, 355 Comments
Comment posted by Tonia Graves on April 10, 2012 at 11:19 PM
This is beautiful! Love the colors and the 'shape' of the aurora. Very nice work!
Registered on October 29, 2011, 92 Posts, 1035 Comments
Comment posted by Grant Collier on April 11, 2012 at 3:26 PM
Hi Jack,

Anywhere that is a little above the Arctic Circle will be a good spot to see them. The best times of the year are generally March and September, as activity tends to be strongest around the equinoxes. Also, it doesn't get dark enough in the summer to see them and it's incredibly cold in the winter.
Registered on July 29, 2005, 73 Posts, 430 Comments
Comment posted by Robert Dayton on April 11, 2012 at 3:37 PM
Lovely, Grant! This certainly complies with the weekly challenge. For which it
would be eligible, this would be a great image in any gallery. The sky is very color-
ful and dynamic.
Registered on November 11, 2008, 281 Posts, 3958 Comments
Comment posted by Miro Susta on April 12, 2012 at 4:59 AM
Is it real? Excellent image. :toast:
Registered on August 18, 2006, 719 Posts, 3736 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on April 13, 2012 at 9:55 PM
Great capture! The sky is terrific and it's nice to see something in the foreground.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
Comment posted by Larry Fischer on April 14, 2012 at 9:16 AM
Grant, I suppose you visit spaceweather.com ??
They have aurora alerts and sometimes Colorado and Kansas are beneficiaries on the stronger CME's.. [coronal mass ejections].
You might be able to get some Colorado shots. I got some late last year in Kansans. They are on my flickr site and taken from my backyard. Lots of reds in the event.
flickr.com/photos/syzygyphoto
the fisch
Registered on July 28, 2008, 155 Posts, 874 Comments
Comment posted by Gary Minish on April 15, 2012 at 8:53 PM
This is an excellent aurora photo, Grant! I particularly like the inclusion of the landscape and the fact that it has plenty of detail and depth despite the contrast in brightness with the lights. Taking two photos and stitching was a good choice and it was very well executed. One big advantage other than minimizing distortion is that it will print much bigger and contain more detail.
Registered on February 4, 2006, 625 Posts, 3583 Comments
Comment posted by Brigitte Lorenz on April 18, 2012 at 1:41 PM
fantastic...the world is full of wonders... would like to see them...

Brigitte
Registered on January 10, 2009, 187 Posts, 1507 Comments
Comment posted by Doug Koepsel on April 18, 2012 at 2:54 PM
Grant, congrats on the weekly pic. The blue and green theme brought out many nice images last week. :toast:
Registered on April 1, 2010, 196 Posts, 1592 Comments
Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on April 18, 2012 at 3:10 PM
Just beautiful - congrats on the WP!
Sandy
Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments
Comment posted by Rick Diffley on April 18, 2012 at 5:33 PM
I usually only see images like this on the nightly news. Very good capture. Thanks for sharing it and for the WP!
Registered on April 8, 2012, 52 Posts, 279 Comments
Comment posted by Catherine Reilly on April 19, 2012 at 2:54 AM
:eek: Incredible!! The sweep of the Aurora across the sky is magnificent! Congratulations on a great image pick for the theme, and of course, for the Weekly Pick!
Registered on August 16, 2006, 603 Posts, 9192 Comments
Comment posted by Grant Collier on April 23, 2012 at 12:48 PM
Thanks for all the comments and the WP! I appreciate it.
Registered on July 29, 2005, 73 Posts, 430 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on April 23, 2012 at 1:29 PM
Wonderful image Grant, congrats!
Very nicely done :toast: :toast:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments