Filming the Northern Lights
Christopher Georgia, camera operator
Photographing under the stars is something special to me. There is nothing more peaceful and yet seemingly unfathomable at the same time. I spent most of my life in northern New Hampshire where the stars shine bright. Whenever there is the chance to capture the aurora borealis I’ll head out at a moments notice and drive for up to 2.5 hours to photograph 'the lights'. Seeing them in person is something everyone needs to get out and experience at least once in a lifetime.
Growing up and living in New England has given me a chance to explore landscapes under starry skies. New England has a huge advantage over the rest of the eastern sea coast. Anywhere south of New Hampshire is affected by city lights from major urban areas. Yet we still have some of the darkest skies on our side of the country. Northern New Hampshire and most parts of Maine are perfect places to capture millions upon millions of stars and the aurora borealis, if you’re just lucky enough.
2015 brought us many star filled skies across New England. From Presque Isle, Baxter State Park, and Acadia National Park in Maine and the White Mountains in New Hampshire we had many opportunities to capture the night through time-lapse photography. There were also quite a few occasions where the aurora borealis put on quite a show. In particular, there was one storm during June that was something special. Seven cameras were set up to capture what ended up being one of the most powerful displays of the Northern Lights in over 10 years. The brilliant and pulsating magentas and greens were not only captured through time lapse but in real time with an added bonus of a bright meteor passing through the sky!
