Many people are surprised when you tell them that the northern lights are visible in Michigan. This past year, Michigan has actually seen a handful of spectacular displays, some visible all the way down to the Ohio border and beyond.

This particular photo was captured just above the 45th Parallel in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The farm inside the fence is privately owned and should not be accessed, but I found the fence to be an excellent addition to the composition.

While the northern lights are very difficult to predict, whenever one of the many apps I use tells me the KP prediction is 5 or higher, I immediately jump in my car and drive north. This time, I got an unusually early start and arrived at this location around sunset, which allowed me to take my time and fine-tune the composition. After that, it was just a matter of waiting with fingers crossed.

First, the green appeared on the horizon, and I thought that might be all I was getting, but then the pillars exploded and literally took my breath away. The green hues and pillars were easily visible to the naked eye, while the pink and purple hues were more subtle.

The camera definitely captures more light than the naked eye, especially with a 13-second exposure. When I saw the results on the back of my camera, my hands shook with excitement, another good reason to use a remote shutter release! While chasing northern lights can result in little sleep and often does not pan out as hoped, moments like this make it all worth it.