03/29/2023
Here it is! After spending the weekend looking at over 1,000 photos that I took, here is my favorite photo of the solar storm called, “From The Heavens”.
I pulled out of my driveway planning on going to Sleeping Bear Dunes to capture the highly anticipated evening. As I stopped at the first red light, the direction to Sleeping Bear Dunes was straight ahead. I turned right. For some reason, I had Mission Point Lighthouse on Old Mission Peninsula on my mind. One of my bucket list shots was to capture the Aurora Borealis above the lighthouse. The only problem with that composition would be that it is looking directly south, where the northern lights would be behind me.
The 18-mile-long road on M-37 was littered with cars and people ready to see the night's magic. As I arrived and walked up to the lighthouse, my goal was simple. With every photo I was preparing to take, I wanted to capture the lighthouse in each one. There were almost a hundred people down by the water getting a better view, but I stuck to my plan and kept the lighthouse my subject.
After a few hours, it was time to walk down away from the bright lighthouse to the water for a better view. As I walked down the stairs and onto the beach, the sky gleamed and glittered with colors. It was all around us. The heavens seemed to open up and shoot lights in every direction. I found out that this rare phenomenon is called a “Corona Aurora”, also known as a “Crown”. Usually, this phenomenon happens at higher latitudes, but because it was happening directly above us, I aimed my camera south at the lighthouse. This was the photo I have dreamed about, but never thought it was possible…..until now!
The aurora moved and danced as I have never seen before. Who would have thought that I was able to look directly south and see the Aurora beaming all the way down to the horizon? My camera was continuously taking photos, so I took a few minutes to take it all in and thank God for this amazing creation He made us.
Towards the top of this photo, you can almost see the middle of the “Corona Aurora” with its pink and yellow colors. If I had a wider lens on my camera, you would be able to see the whole crown-shaped phenomenon.
Two days went by, and I got a message from the couple you see to the right in the photo. They said they saw my photos floating around on social media and recognized themselves in it. Earlier that day, they drove all the way from Cleveland, Ohio with hopes of experiencing the northern lights.
They sure did get lucky, as we all did!
Be sure to click on the photo for the full crop.
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