I glanced out the van window and noticed a faint green coloured mist in the sky.
So I took a walk with my camera and came back 3 hours later with these photos…
In this post I’ll share with you my first experience with the Northern Lights. And I’ll show you a good place to watch them in the Lofoten Islands – as well as where to park your van, of course.
Also see these posts: How to photograph the Aurora and How to find the Aurora
We were camping on a beach in the Lofoten Islands, Norway
The beach is Haukland Beach on the north side of the islands: Google map link
8:30pm: there was a faint green glow in the sky, from behind the mountain
8:32pm: I ran down to the beach with my camera
9:30pm: Now I’m certain this is the Aurora Borealis
10:30pm: I stood on the beach and experienced this totally new kind of night sky
11pm: The green glow reflected on water as it got stronger and stronger
Before reducing to a focused beam in a matter of minutes
12am: And then it reappeared behind me, showering over the mountain peaks
12:30am: You might have heard me going ‘woahhhhh’
Here’s a short time lapse
This is 12 shots each having a 10 second exposure – total of 2 minutes
Back at the van the clouds were coming over quickly, defusing the alien-green light over the landscape
The van-neighbours must have slept through the whole thing
This is probably one of the coolest things I’ve seen/experienced.
After this night we spent the next week chasing the Northern Lights around the Lofoten Islands.
I might do a couple more posts about the Aurora – how to find it and how to photograph it – if you’re interested?
Also see this post: Norway by campervan: how to get to the Lofoten Islands with a van
More Aurora posts:
Lofoten by Campervan: Watching the Northern Lights on Haukland Beach
chris walden