Northern Lights

Toward the end of August the days were really starting to shorten and the nights were getting pretty cool.  We were finally getting some Northern Light weather!

We had a couple good displays - and every time the colors would show up my Captain would yell at me because he knew I'd want to take pictures.

We were usually on the water which mean we were rolling a bit.  Plus, the lights themselves are moving!  The shutter speed had to be so slow and the aperture had to be so large - it was pretty hard not to take blurry photos.  I fully intend to bring a tripod back to work with me to set up on the dock or beach.  

I posted a lot of these on Instagram but figured I'd share them here too.

northern lights

This wasn't the first light show we got but it was definitely our first brighter show.  A streak of very vibrant green right over the camp.  It stayed pretty stationary so we could really take pictures.

The second time I got the big camera out there was a little bit more ambient light which was exciting but, what was really exciting was all the purple!

The colors were swirling around each other and undulating and, you can kind of tell in the photos.  

northern lights

One of my favorite things about the photos is that the stars show through.  I love looking back and noticing that in the green photo over camp pleiades is a little cluster - and stuck into all this purple is the big dipper.  

northern lights

Seeing the Northern Lights has been on my 'at sea wish list' for years.  I seriously can't wait to go back and see more once the Arctic gets a little more wintery.  

If you're curious about the Northern Lights here is a good explanation.  

ICE. VOLUME THREE.

I think this is my favorite photo of the ice-capades.  I think I probably have about 100 variations of this exact shot.  Not too many at all.

This series was labeled 'artistic browns'.  Pretty self explanatory.

ICE. VOLUME TWO.

arctic ice

In 'Ice.  Volume One.' I gave an generalized overview of what we were looking for when we transited through the ice.  In Volumes Two & Three my plan is to just show you some pictures I thought were pretty...mmmmkay?

If you're a sailor and you've never been in the ice you still know one main thing:  Watch Out For The Blue Ice.  It's traditionally more 'solid' and will pack more of a punch when you hit it.  

Volume Two is labeled on my desktop as 'Artisan Blues'.  I think you'll see why.