I took a photo titled "Colorful Winter Night," 10 miles south of Talkeetna, Alaska, on January 9th, 2013. It was a breathtaking night, with the stars dazzling like diamonds. The dark and magnificent starry sky, close to the new moon, was especially dark due to the lack of light pollution, one of the many awesome features that helped me choose to call Talkeetna home 23 years ago. The winter night was crisp and cold, with dry, cold air making the stars stand out like shining celestial crystals.

I knew it was an exceptional night for Astro landscape photography, so I drove to a nearby secluded area where I could hike down a trail to an alluring no-name lake. Arriving there, I spent my time in awe, photographing the Northern Lights dancing above the lake and observing the Milky Way movement. I waited for a couple of hours for the planet's rotation to perfectly align the Milky Way between the silhouette of the two bare Birch trees. The trees suddenly created a perfect frame for the Milky Way. The waiting was over, and the result was definitely worth it. As for the sub-zero temperature, for a Brazilian woman used to tropical weather, it was around 35 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-34º Celsius) on that Alaskan winter night.

For fun, I placed our next galaxy, Andromeda (Messier 31, also known as NGC 224), hanging from a small tree branch.

Life is amazing when you realize the presence of so much beauty and colors on a winter night. I am definitely passionate about the Alaskan winters and its incredible, mysterious, and unique dark nights. Since I started photographing the Northern Lights ( Aurora Borealis), my life motto has become: "When it's dark, I see the lights!"