For many years, an item really high on my bucket list has been to see and photograph the northern lights. I've watched them three times from trans-Atlantic flights, but never from the ground before. With my job changing to be fully remote last December, it was finally time to chase the aurora! A friend and I flew to Fairbanks, where we stayed in a cabin on Lake Harding for a week, working remote and watching for auroras at night. We were not disappointed -- despite a forecast of only one clear night the entire time, we saw auroras five out of seven nights and had two really good nights of photography. Our first night there, the show was absolutely spectacular, capturing every color of aurora that exists. It was an unforgettable experience, especially the temperatures which were were as low as 15 below zero with a wind chill of at least 40 below at times. Absolutely brutal, and totally worth it! During daylight hours, we found a lot of other beauty around including on the frozen lake, and incredible views of the Alaska range, as well as mountains all along the flight up and back.
