Photographing the Ruth Glacier from the Sheldon Chalet is remarkable enough, but spending the night with the northern lights showcasing the mountains and touching the top of Denali makes it even more exceptional.

The aurora forecast for the night of September 27-28, 2020, was calling for a KP6. It was the perfect night to be helicoptered into the Don Sheldon Amphitheater and capture phenomenal photographs. Being at the Sheldon Chalet is an adventure of a lifetime at 6000ft elevation and only 10 miles from the top of Denali. What a breathtaking place!

Waiting for the northern lights to start dancing, I decided to set my camera to photograph this star trail. I placed Polaris, the North Star, centered on the top edge of my frame, showing how north we are with Polaris right above our heads. I captured the rotation of the planet for 40 minutes, creating this image. The moon was approaching full at 90% illumination, showcasing part of the glacier and the surrounding mountains, when the auroras started coming out to play, completing the glorious scene.

Be creative and practice other low-light photography techniques as you wait for the northern lights – star trails, light painting, and so much more. Composing interesting night images without the auroras can also be pretty interesting.