Like every summer, I work at my gallery seven days a week, talking about the northern lights and my images with locals and tourists from all over the world. It was another workday and a lovely Monday. The sun was shining, and many summer tourists were still visiting Talkeetna. The auroras had not been seen for weeks, but suddenly, the aurora data began to spike. Oh my gosh! I knew it was the day! I could feel the energy in the atmosphere, or maybe I was just so excited that I thought I could. I closed the gallery at 6 pm and went home to get prepared. After dinner, my car was loaded and geared up. I said to my husband, “I am ready, I am out of here”. He replied, “But it’s not even dark yet”. I left with “I want to be there, set and ready before dark”.

There I was, after years of trying to capture “Field of Greens,” and everything aligned perfectly. The weather was flawless, the aurora data was amazing, there was enough moonlight to illuminate the foreground, and the most perfect green field was before me.
Soon after the sunset, I could already see the northern lights. They were still faint, and I was thrilled to see the sky unveiling as it turned dark. More and more stars began to appear, and the auroras danced across the skies, brighter than before. After a couple of hours of pure enjoyment, I was so pleased and knew I had finally captured “Field of Greens”! I shot it, I got it!

I left that location for other compositions I had scouted but not named yet. I drove for miles, photographing the skies and heavens.

I was home a little after 6 am, just in time to upload the night’s images to my hard drives and view “Field of Greens” on a larger monitor before opening the gallery. I went to work feeling delighted and grinning from ear to ear, savoring the moment of achieving and conquering a long-time challenge.

I still photograph the auroras every year and will keep following my dream images…