The Northern Lights came out to play in Northumberland last night and I got to tick something off my bucket list. I have always wondered just how magical it would be to see the Northern Lights / Aurora Borealis, especially here in the north of England.
I was sat doing my local pub quiz when a fellow photographer and friend posted on Facebook that the Aurora was going to be visible tonight, the cynic in me thought yeah, probably a chance of a dim green glow that we usually get. Of course I could not the believe my eyes when I looked at the app on my phone which indicated there was a 90% chance of seeing them over Scotland and a good 50% chance to see them over Northern England. So thermal base layer straight on, camera kit in the car and off I went to pick up my friend who was just as keen and off we headed Northwards.
Our first stop was in a lay by on the A68 heading North towards Edinburgh, this was the scene of probably the most dramatic lights that we could see with our own eyes. It looked as though dawn was coming up but it was due North and the glow then grew, we could clearly see 3 distinct green spikes which danced around the sky. The camera has picked up so much more and I am so pleased with the following 2 images.
Following this we headed towards Kielder water and driving along I came across a great tree and knew I wanted to try some shots including that.
Here are the results and also a short time lapse video showing how the sky was moving last night
And then just when we thought it was over, we got to see some very brief but spectacular flashes over Kielder. We waited and waited hoping the sky would give us a real dance but in the end this photographer was ready for bed.
One of the most special nights of my life and I am so glad I jumped in the car and headed out. What a special planet we live on and I love that I can capture it in such a beautiful way.
Let me know what you think and if you think its worthy, please share this blog post about.
Below is the last dance above Kielder Water
Absolute stunning Alan. Would love to have seen that. Keep up the good work and take care.
Barry