When it comes to chasing the northern lights, it’s hard to beat Fairbanks, Alaska. The far-north destination sees dazzling aurora displays from late August through April. It sits within the auroral oval of northern lights activity, and it has some of the best aurora-viewing weather (clear, dark skies) given its relatively dry climate. Fairbanks resident and aurora-borealis photographer Amy Johnson knows the destination’s northern-lights allure better than most.
We sat down to talk with Johnson about how she turned aurora photography into a niche career — and how you can get your northern lights photos to that level too.
Getting Started in Aurora Photography
Johnson’s relationship with the auroras mirrors many of the top northern lights hunters around the globe. She dabbled in aurora chasing through her friend and well-known northern lights photographer Patrick Endres. From there, her fate was sealed.
“I got addicted to aurora hunting,” Johnson says, noting that first trip was all it took. Endres became her northern lights photography mentor. “I just absolutely loved it because it’s always different. You never know what you’re going to capture or what you’re going to see.”
She’s seen a lot. As her technique improved, Johnson did what any aurora photographer dreams of. She turned her dream work into a major part of her career, starting with a local gallery that helped her work gain steam.
Although, Johnson had to learn aurora photography the hard way. Unlike today’s mirrorless and DSLR cameras which have bright and helpful LCD screens, she dabbled into aurora photography without the instant feed. She started on a film camera.
“I remember sending in my film and waiting for my results. When they finally came back, they were absolutely horrible,” she says, laughing. “Digital’s kind of changed everything. You can get that immediate feedback, which is great.”
How to Edit Aurora Photos
When it comes to editing style, Johnson likes to keep it as natural as possible. She uses Lightroom for simple enhancements, but strives to let Lady Aurora speak for herself.
“Sometimes I’ll adjust exposure a bit depending on if it needs it,” she says. “I do some noise reduction, but not too much or you lose details. You have to be really careful there. I often bring my highlights down a little bit and sometimes increase my whites. For shadows, it depends on if I want more of the foreground to pop. Every image is different.”
Johnson also makes little adjustments to the vibrance, but stays away from adjusting saturation to ensure her photos never look fake or over-edited.
Planning your Aurora Hunt
The first thing you need to chase auroras is, well, active auroras! Even in far-north latitudes like Fairbanks, they don’t dance every night. That’s why Johnson uses platforms like SpaceWeather.com to keep an eye on the aurora forecast. She also uses sites like Solar Ham to see what’s coming in terms of auroras. Although, these platforms all require a bit of aurora intel and savvy.
If you’re just getting your aurora hunting off the ground, try Fairbanks’ easy-to-use live aurora tracker if you’re in the area, or download a beginner-friendly app like My Aurora Forecast.
Johnson doesn’t wait for specific conditions to go out and hunt auroras. She usually plans her trips in advance and gives herself several days to improve her luck. In fact, Explore Fairbanks says that if you stay a minimum of three nights (and are actively searching for the lights) your odds of seeing them improve to over 90 percent.
She also keeps an eye on moon cycles. The newer the moon, the darker the skies—and therefore, the brighter those aurora swirls will be.
“I look at moon cycles ahead of time,” she says. “I plan my trips around the days preceding and following the quarter moons.”
Brainstorm your Photo Composition Ahead of Time
Johnson also recommends scouting the location before your hunt, during the daytime hours.
“My goal is to hopefully capture a nice composition with the aurora,” she says. “I do my scouting in the daytime. it doesn’t always work because you never know what’s going to happen with the aurora, and it’s not always where you want it to be, but scouting in the day is really important. I do some test shots ahead of time.”
If you’re looking to add a pop of pizzazz, Amy has another tip: add a subject to your shot for interest. This will not only make your photo more compelling. It could help you sell it to magazines and brands since it lets the viewer connect more deeply.
“I love having a silhouetted person for scale. People see it and think, ‘oh that could be me!’” she says. “Those are some of my favorite aurora shots, and often it’s myself in the photo. Also, I like to see the definition in the aurora, with longer exposures it will look more blurry but I like photos where you can see the striations or coronal bursts.”
Johnson keeps her kit simple: reliable cameras, wide lenses, a sturdy tripod, and extra batteries. She uses the Canon 5DIV, Canon EOS R5, the Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8, and the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8. When it comes to tripods, she recommends not using the center column since slight shake could disrupt a longer exposure. She also insulates her tripod legs to keep her hands safe given how cold the metal can get.
Johnson’s Recommended Aurora Photography Settings
What settings should you use to photograph the aurora? It depends on the situation. There’s no one set guide since every aurora show is different. Although, here are some things that Amy keeps in mind:
“I’m usually always fully open. My ISO varies between 1600 to 3200, and shutter speed varies based on how bright the aurora is and how much moonlight I have,” she says. “I make sure that I’m looking at my histogram. It’s easy to underexpose the aurora and it’s easy to overexpose. I’m looking for some data in the midtones and highlights.”
While Johnson chases auroras solo, she doesn’t recommend this for Fairbanks visitors. Alaska is a truly wild, remote destination. Winters can get a bit extreme. Thankfully, Fairbanks has a host of local aurora-hunting guides who help travelers — including photographers — find the lights on any given trip. Options include aurora photography tours, mushing tours (for dog-sledding beneath the lights), and snowmobile tours.
Chasing auroras may be fun — and, for Johnson, a fulfilling career — but to her it’s just as much about enjoying nature as it is pressing that shutter (via remote shutter release to avoid shake). She relishes the chance to be outside and awestruck my mother nature.
