Image of the Moment - Night Photography
Growing up in rural Alberta (big sky country), I discovered at a young age
that there is nothing more incredible or beautiful than the sky on a cold
winter’s night. The stars shine more brilliantly in the middle of winter
than any other time of the year. I remember my parents pointing out the
milky way, the north star, the dippers and my personal favorite, the
northern lights. If I stood still long enough, I could hear their dancing
across the sky. I wanted to be an astronaut growing up so that I could
fly up among the stars and touch the northern lights. Roberta Bondar was
my childhood hero - she was Canada’s first female astronaut to fly into
space aboard the shuttle.
Because of my interest in the night sky, I’ve always been fascinated by
night photography. Images of star trails, and the northern lights take my
breath away. One of my dream trips is to travel north towards the arctic
circle to photograph the northern lights.
The image below was photographed in Old Deerfield, MA. We were out
looking at Christmas lights one night with the kids. There was a
beautiful full moon out, a strong wind and light sketchy clouds. I had my
camera with me to capture some of the lights, but as always, I became more
fascinated with what was above me. I got lost in the night sky with my
camera. This exposure was 30 seconds - long enough for the stars to
appear as elongated dots and the wind to blow the clouds across the full
moon.
Breath taking isn’t it? Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me!
