I was returning home after a day trip into our nearby national park when I noticed a burst of light in the sky - the final moments of brightness as the sun sank into a cloud bank. So... I raced up a side road to get clear of buildings and power lines, leaped out with my camera and tripod, set up quickly and banged off a dozen exposures. And then it was gone. In seconds.
We're looking to the southwest, into the Val Marie Community Pasture, a co-operative local group of ranchers who share grazing lands near the village. No cows were present that day. But to the left of that cluster of trees four or five Mule Deer are visible, probably seeking shelter for the night. Small beneath the sky. I thought there was an austere beauty to the scene.
Photographed at the edge of Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2025 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: landscape winter pano panorama snow cold sky sunset snowy wild prairie community pasture Val Marie Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2025
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The Aurora borealis series continues. This was my first shot that night, from the parking lot at the trailhead. It's a six minute drive from my home - no traffic - to this spot, at the edge of an official Dark Sky Preserve. That fence at the lower right is the boundary of Grasslands National Park. I wasn't positive the predicted display would occur until I stepped out of my car and allowed my eyes to adjust to the dark... sometimes it fizzles out. But not on this night!
A couple more to come!
Photographed at the edge of Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Aurora borealis Northern Lights night sky display Wow! beautiful wild prairie looking north fence from the parking lot trailhead dark light Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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A lot of Aurora borealis photos from October 10th are turning up on Flickr, and I have finally gone through my folder and done some processing. For some time I've wanted to hike the buttes in Grasslands on an aurora night, and finally the cards fell for me. There was sufficient warning. I had enough physical energy. I didn't forget my flashlight.
Actually, there was so much light, I didn't need the flashlight to see the trail, only to check my camera settings and especially the focus rings on the two lenses I brought along. As I hiked around Eagle Butte, there was colour in every direction.
Here I set up the tripod to look back at Eagle Butte, to the north of my position. The green Aurora display at the lower right was just starting to build momentum. At the time I thought the red was also part of the Aurora, but thanks to several Flickr friends I now think it was a SAR arc, as it appeared rather amorphous and stable, and extended in a huge band across the sky. It was a scene of immense, breathtaking beauty.
More to come...
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Aurora borealis night sky Northern Lights October 10 display beauty Wow! SAR glow wild prairie Eagle Butte Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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Is this a SAR arc? It appears to be. They appear during strong geomagnetic storms, but they aren't Auroras. Here's a good explanation: spaceweatherarchive.com/2021/11/22/3308/
I shot this from near the same location as the first image posted in this set, facing in the opposite direction, approximately south. The moon, which looks full here, was only half-lit, and slowly setting. The clouds were moving toward and over me. The Aurora was directly behind me. And that SAR band, very faint, yet visible to the naked eye, and much more intense as seen by my camera's sensor. At the time I thought it was part of the Aurora display. But no. This is "heat energy leaking into the upper atmosphere from Earth's ring current system." Check out the article for a more detailed description.
Two more night shots to come, and then we'll return to Earth for a while...
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: night sky SAR arc moon clouds stars October 10 night of the Aurora Wow! geomagnetic storm wild prairie in the buttes Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024
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Yesterday I mentioned bringing two lenses on my night hike into the buttes to shoot the Northern Lights. The first was a Nikon 14-24mm; the other, a Rokinon 8mm fisheye.
With the latter, I'm always concerned about how much distortion will occur, and whether that is acceptable. This time, I was able to let go of limiting thoughts. The sky was surreal. An additional touch of other-worldliness might even be welcome!
Tapping into our creative wellspring is first and foremost a mental exercise - achieving the mindset whereby our doors of perception, as Huxley put it, are blown wide open. I think many of us here on Flickr know the feeling of excitement that happens when we get on a roll, when we have some extraordinary sight in the viewfinder. That happened to me on October 10th. The lights were extraordinary that night, a constantly shifting, dancing veil of form and colour.
Tilting the 8mm lens up created a crazy, curved horizon line, which for once I didn't worry about. If that was insanity, the more the better: bring it on! And the song going through my head? Some of you might remember the opening line: "Aurora borealis, the icy sky at night..." - Neil Young, 1979. The fit could not have been better.
Photographed on the Eagle Butte trail in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2024 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Tags: Aurora borealis Northern Lights night sky Wow! electromagnetic storm Rokinon 8mm fish eye wild prairie Eagle Butte North Butte Grasslands National Park Saskatchewan Canada copyrighted James R. Page 2024 Explored
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