FREE SHIPPING FOR LIMITED TIME
If you want to photograph dramatic aurora borealis (northern lights) you have to go far north. Or so I thought.
I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada which is about 140 miles north of the border with the US state of Montana. Some might consider it northerly, but at a latitude of 51 degrees, it is still a very long way from the Arctic Circle (66 degrees). I have specifically travelled the long distances to parts of northern Canada on many occasions to photograph auroras, but on this particular evening, I was headed to the south of Calgary without the thought of auroras on my mind.
I was going to photograph sunset at one of my favorite old abandoned farm houses. The house has a great deal of charm and faces east so it is a great location to capture dramatic colorful skies to the west.
After the sun had set, I headed over to an old barn a few miles away to photograph it in the fading light. Even though it was still twilight, with a hint of blue remaining in the sky, I could see a strange vertical cloud faintly appearing high in the northern sky. I knew from my experiences in northern Canada that it had all the earmarks of aurora. But it seemed impossible. I was about an hour’s drive south of Calgary, and even north of the city, away from the light pollution, auroras usually only appear as a green glow on the horizon - and never the overhead dancing lights, like I had experienced in northern Canada. But there it was. As the night sky grew darker, a fantastic aurora lightshow became visible.
Aurora borealis can be very fleeting, there one minute and gone the next. I dare not risk changing locations, for fear of finding that the best show happened while I was stuck behind the wheel. But after seeing that this night’s geomagnetic storm was one for the record books and exhausting all the compositions I could think of at the old barn, I made the decision to race back to that favorite old farmhouse.
Once there, I grabbed the special equipment I needed to create a VAST photo and set it up in front. The lightshow did not disappoint; it was as active as any I have ever experienced. I used a flashlight to illuminate the old farmhouse and let the aurora take care of illuminating the sky with green and purple.
At about 2am, I could shoot no longer. I was exhausted but exhilarated. It had been an unexpectedly long evening, with a magnificent aurora lightshow in the most unexpected of locations, resulting in the creation of an exceptional, once in a lifetime photograph.
Date & Time | May 8, 2016: 2:37am |
Location | Alberta, Canada |
Coordinates | 50.241660, -113.148750 |
Focal Length | 24mm |
Aperture | f1.8 |
Shutter | 2.5 sec |
ISO | 1600 |
Num of Exposures | 5 |
VAST photos are the highest resolution photos ever made.
Learn more
Its resolution is 810% greater than a typical photo. Click on the boxes below to zoom in.
Our ready-to-hang canvas prints are created using a specialty printer that carefully lays pigment inks down onto archival-quality fine art canvas material. The canvas is then stretched around a 1.5-inch-deep wood support structure to provide depth and elegance. Our canvas material has a delightfully matte finish that looks spectacular in any lighting conditions while retaining maximum vibrancy and contrast. Click here to learn more.
A VAST Print™ represents the pinnacle of the photographic medium. Each print is a true photograph created specifically for you using light-sensitive paper exposed in a darkroom with the industry's highest precision exposure technique. Your print is then sealed with a shine-enhancing protective glossy coating*, adhered to a sturdy aluminum composite backing, and finished in one of two ready-to-hang formats:
*Note: a non-glossy, satin matte coating is alternatively available on request.
Due to their record-setting resolutions, VAST photos are the most versatile images ever created, with the quality necessary to look great at any size and in any project. Purchasing one of our standard royalty-free licenses provides you with the digital file at your choice of resolution and a permit to use it for most types of projects. Click here to learn more.
For a premium license that gives exclusivity, glass-related use in North America, or use in merchandise for sale, contact us.
Total Pixels | 191,018,108 px |
Width | 18,041 px |
Height | 10,588 px |
Aspect Ratio | 1.7 : 1 |
Date & Time | May 8, 2016: 2:37am |
Location | Alberta, Canada |
Coordinates | 50.241660, -113.148750 |
Focal Length | 24mm |
Aperture | f1.8 |
Shutter | 2.5 sec |
ISO | 1600 |
Num of Exposures | 5 |
Here are some rough guidelines for this specific photo: