I've never before seen or captured the Aurora Borealis. News reports about a solar storm were numerous and I had no prior plans to head to Cape Cod on this night, but I simply couldn't resist. The larger issue was the 35-50mph winds while driving that remained while shooting. At one point both me and the camera were knocked over, thankfully it was while shooting in a field and not in the front parking lot. This is the second image I captured after arriving and had tried to shield the camera from the wind with my truck. I ended up having to put two 10lb sandbags on the tripod to cut down on the wind vibration. These were some of the harshest and roughest conditions I've ever faced while working on this series as both the wind and the clouds prevented me from capturing many stars. However, being able to see at least the fringe of the Aurora made it worthwhile.
March 17, 2015 7:52pm, 28° 35-50mph winds Nikon D4, 17-35mm at 17, ISO 1600 f2.8 25secs
16x24 framed, matted and signed limited print $400 16x24 matted and signed limited print $250 11x14 framed, matted and signed limited print $250 11x14 matted and signed limited print $125 Contact David Zapatka directly at [email protected] to order this or any other print in the gallery.