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A summer thunder storm gave me the chance to finally catch a lightning bolt of film. It's harder than you might think at first, and the pouring rain and wind didn't help any. Taken in June, 2002 with a Minolta X700 camera and Kodak 400 film.

Taken in June, 2002 I shot about 12 photos of this passing thunderstorm at about 12:30 am. I left the shutter open for up to one minute at a time to capture these photos on Kodak max 400 film.

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An afternoon thunderstorm sent people scrambling for cover at the Montana Star Party in 1999 but left a beautiful rainbow as it passed. Held on the Ruby river in SW Montana, the dark skies, and friendly people make this star party one of the best.

This photo was taken from a hill top over looking Chattaroy Washington, a few miles north of Spokane, at about 11 pm. This was a 20 second exposure with a 28mm lens on Kodak Max 400 film.
September 3rd, 2002

This display appeared mostly green to the eye with faint reds and purple. But this 25 second shot caught many more subtle colors in the aurora. Taken with a Minolta X 700 camera and 28mm lens. Sept. 3rd, 2002.

For about 20 minutes this display became extremely active. Pulsing waves shot over head towards the south about a 1/2 second apart.. Faint spikes rose and joined above to form a brief coronal aurora and an Arc formed across the sky over head from east to west.

I watched a dome growing to the north just after the sun had fully set. About 20 minutes later, and a mile up the road, I shot this photo at about 8:45 pm. October 1st, 2002
Paul Wicklund - Mead, Washington

This photo was taken looking to the northeast over Mount Spokane in the distance. Pillars began appearing in the dome of color that spanned the north horizon from east to west. Camera was a Minolta X700 with a 28mm lens at f 2.8 on Kodak Maxx 400 film. 10-01-02
Paul Wicklund

Passing cloud bands were a threat at first, but ended up adding to the strangeness of this night.

October 1st, 2002

This was taken about 5 minutes after the previous photo. That's the time it takes for me to find and put in new batteries in the dark.

October 1st, 2002

This display constantly changed. It would almost fade away and them come back with a different look a minute or two later. This green "aurora cloud" appeared above the passing earthly clouds.
October 1st, 2002

And the show intensified again....

October 1st, 2002

And then it exploded. Aurora filled over half the sky.

October 1st, 2002

At the peak of the show there was a brief coronal display over head. I caught this one photo of it.

October 1st, 2002

This was taken looking almost due west from a wheat field on Peone Prairie, where I live, during the peak of the show.

October 1st, 2002

For 3 years in a row now, October has come in with fire burning in the night sky. Last October produced 3 good shows for me. What will this year bring? Who knows......but it's off to a fantastic start!

October 1st, 2002

Comet Ikeya-Zhang passing above the Andromeda galaxy on April 4th, 2002. Photo was taken with a Minolta X-700 camera and 200 mm zoom lens on 400 speed film . This was a 5 minute guided exposure taken north of Spokane Washington

A late December sunset over Mount Spokane and the surrounding foothills turns the mountains pink on one of our rare cloudless days during winter in the Pacific Northwest. The Idaho panhandle is just beyond

Within 30 minutes of the arrival of a glancing CME, the sky began to glow softly to the north. Shortly after that I could start to see very faint colors and began shooting. This shot was taken looking NE over Peone Prairie towards Mt. Spokane about 11:45 pdt. 4-22-02

This display was a fairly soft one but did have some shorts bursts of color visible to the eye. After developing the film, I discovered my camera shutter had failed to open properly during my last 12 shots and the huge red pillar the stretched overhead for a minute will only be a memory. 4-22-02

An intense auroral display in April 1999 produced this arc that rose from the eastern horizon and stretched overhead to merge with Venus setting in the west. The arc lasted for several minutes turning Venus into the comet of the century.
40 second exposure on Kodak 200

Cygnus setting under the dark skies of S.W. Arizona in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. This was a 30 second shot with a 50 mm lens on Fuji 1600 speed film in November 1999.

We were only teased by what we might have seen before clouds and rain moved in, yet it was still a site to remember. The cloud bands added a strange beauty to this photo looking south. Aurora filled our sky from horizon to horizon
March 30th, 2001

Looking up our favorite Tamarack tree, I captured this beautiful pink color in a 25 second exposure

March 30th, 2001

Sunspots on July 21, 2001 Taken through a 17" telescope at 60 power using Badar solar filters. The camera was focused at the eyepiece of the telescope while mounted on a tripod and auto exposed.

The Sagittarius region of the Milky Way setting into the sky glow from Yakima Washington 50 miles away. This was a 10 minute guided shot taken on Fuji 800 film using a 28mm lens at F2.8.
Taken at the Table Mountain Star Party, 2001

The sky glowed green in a dome that covered 1/3 of the sky from about 10:30 pm until dawn. This photo was taken during an intense period of activity around 11:30 pm. November 23rd, 2001

The spikes and pillars changed into a wall of color only a couple minutes later. This was a 15 second shot on the new Fuji X-tra 800 speed film.

The clouds vs the aurora, again. As soon as the sky began to glow, a large band of clouds started moving in from the NE. I know they do this just to test my patience. Taken from my front yard on April 19, 2002

Before the sky was completely covered, I managed to get in a few decent shots. Clouds can add some interesting contrasts and perspective to photos, but I would prefer clear dark skies. But it's part of life in the Pacific Northwest. April 19th, 2002

Sunset over the foot hills of the Selkirk mountains on May 12th, 2002. Venus is at the center. Mars is just below it and Saturn can be see just above the hilltop. 10 sec exposure at F 4.5 at 150mm.

An hour and a half before I shot this first photo of the night, it was raining here. Sometimes you get lucky when you least expect it.
This was taken at 12:30 am near Green Bluff north of Spokane Washington. May 14th 2002

Very faint pillars were visible within the glow for short times. This was taken about 1:45 pdt

May 14th, 2002

And a minute later it would shrink back to the horizon again and it would look like sunrise was coming in the wrong direction.

May 14th 2002

Before the show ended, the was one last brightening of the dome. This was a type of display that produces more blues than most but the film was very sensitive to this as well. Compare these shots taken on Kodak Ultra 400 with the ones taken on Fuji Superia 400 and see how different they are. May 14th, 2002

The end of the night and the glow fades away to the north until next time. I'll be there.

May 14th 2002

These kind of displays are far more common in our area than many people think. This one never got more than 20 degrees above the horizon at its peaks, and most of it was dancing green light only 5 to 10 degrees high.
May 12th, 2002

For nearly two hours the north horizon looked like a strange sort of forest fire was burning in the night. These faint displays go unnoticed by most people and are lost in the glow of city lights. This was taken 35 miles north of Spokane on a moonless night. May 12th, 2002

At any time the glow may grow and change before your eyes. Usually this happen while you are trying to change lenses or load film.
May 12th, 2002

Every aurora I have seen is unique. There are definite patterns and trends that develop depending on what the sun has thrown our way. But no two nights are ever quit the same and I never cease to be amazed by them
May 12th, 2002

This appeared to be nothing but a soft glow on the north horizon and no color was visible. The human eye is not very good at seeing colors at very low intensities, but they are there. This was a 25 sec exposure on Kodak 400 with a 28mm lens at f 2.8 4-22-02

I have learned not to underestimate faint auroras. Often these horizon hugging auroras will show deep blues around the edges and faint spikes within. Some of my best photos have come from minor displays like this one. 4-22-02

At any second, pillars may rise from the glow or walls of red may appear. You never know. Some times they last for only a minute and other times the show goes on all night.
4-22-02

I live about 15 miles north of a city of 300,000 people. My skies to the north are dark enough for photographing auroras, but not for deep space shots. This is what I see when looking SW toward the city. The clouds are lit by thousands of unshielded lights and a lot of wasted electricity and the Milky Way is gone forever

Taken November 23, 2001 at about 11:15 pm during an intense 30 minute burst.

November 23, 2001 Taken with a Minolta X 700 camera and Fuji X-tra 800 speed film. 12 second exposure

This was taken about 1 am looking NE from near Green Bluff. A passing weather front decided to back up and cloud me out for a while. But the aurora persisted throughout the night.
November 24th, 2001

Looking ENE from near Green Bluff. at 1 am. The green dome filled 1/4 to 1/3 of the sky all night with faint reds showing through the clouds from time to time.

This was taken at 6:30 pm on November 6th, 2001. This was a very powerful aurora and was seen south to California, Texas and Florida

This aurora came with no real "warning glow" at all. It just exploded into walls of color. This shot was taken about 6:35 pm. Unfortunately the clouds seen in the distance had friends and 30 minutes later the entire sky was closed in.
November 6th, 2001

The clouds moved over quickly once they began to break and the aurora wasted no time in filling the sky with color as the rain moved on. This was a 15 second shot on Kodak Royal Gold 400 with a 28mm lens at F 2.8
Oct 28th, 2001

The color spread from the NW to the East and seamed to be fallowing the rain. I was soaked after 2 hours of shooting from around my property but didn't even notice until it was over. It was
a great Saturday night!
Oct 28th, 2001

This aurora had the deepest reds I have ever seen. Walls of red rose at first in the west and then spread East and covered 1/3 of the sky. This was taken looking east from my yard. Oct. 28th, 2001	The colors were very intense and not subtle to the eye at all. For a short time, yellow patches and streaks appeared as bright to the eye as they usually do in photos. It was amazing. Oct. 28th, 2001
Around 3am, pillars of color rose from three directions and began to merge over head. This shot was taken looking almost straight up. 15 second exposure on Kodak Royal Gold 400	Near the end of the show the action shifted to the east. This was taken looking out over my sister house about 4 am. The back edge of a large storm is just moving off and in to Idaho. Oct 28th, 2001
Sunset in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge of SW Arizona in November 1999.	This mushroom cloud of aurora appeared over Mt. Spokane and the surrounding foothills during the night of Oct. 4th 2000.
A meteor streaks through the Cygnus region of the Milky Way in this 7 minute shot taken on July 25th, 2001 from First Thought mountain near the Canadian boarder in NE Washington.	Fantastic colors light up the sky over Peone Prairie near Spokane on Oct 4th 2000. The energy released by this geomagnetic storm in an hour could have could have supplied all of North America for about two days.
The North America Nebula lies in the center in this shot of the Cygnus region of the Milky Way. This 5 minute guided exposure was shot with a 28 mm 2.8 lens on Kodak 800 film from Sky Valley in Southern California. November 2001	North American nebula in the constellation of Cygnus shot with a 200 mm F 4.5 lens on Kodak 800 film. This was a ten minute guided exposure taken in southern Arizona.

As the sun set behind a distant cloud bank, the sky became a rainbow of color for a brief moment. Taken from Star Butte in the Palouse farm lands of Eastern Washington. September 15th, 2001	.A strong geomagnetic storm produced this beautiful auroral display on Oct 4th 2000. This photo was taken north of Spokane on Peone Prairie and was a 15 second shot on Kodak Max 400 film.
Clouds moved in rapidly as darkness set in. We couldn't see any stars through the clouds overhead or to the north but we could still see spikes shining through. This photo was taken looking SE at near Eloika Lake Wa. at about 10:30 pm. March 30th 2001.	The first of several bursts of coronal aurora seen that night. This was shot through clouds so thick no stars could be seen by the eye. March 30th 2001
This Tamarack tree has become a friend in the past year. It's been in many photos. This was a 15 second exposure on Kodak 400 with a 28mm lens. March 19th 2001	A short display of aurora on Oct 3rd 2000 preceded the big show on the 4th but produce this colorful 15 second shot taken from my yard on Kodak 400 film.
Crescent moon shot through a 10" F 4.5 reflector at 50 power with a 50 mm lens on a tripod. Taken in Southwest Arizona in January 2000.	This auto exposed moon shot was taken in Arizona with a 10" F 4.5 reflector at 100 power. A Minolta X 700 camera with a 50 mm lens on a tripod mount was positioned at the telescope eyepiece.
October 4th, 2000. Taken from Green Bluff, north of Spokane.	A 15 second shot over Peone Prairie on Oct. 4th 2000. Taken with a 50 mm 1.7 lens and a Minolta X 700 camera.
Aurora at the Table Mt. Star Party near Ellensburg Washington on July 28th, 2000. Fifteen second exposure on Fuji 800 film with a 50 mm 1.7 lens.	Jupiter, Saturn and the Pleiades cluster rising in the second night of aurora at the Table Mt. Star Party in 2000. Taken on Fuji 1600 film.
My 17 inch telescope "The Blue Moon" is silhouetted by the Northern Lights at the Table Mt. Star Party in the Cascade Mountains near Ellensberg Wa. Two nights with aurora were an added bonus to the 1400 people at TMSP in July 2000	A full moon rising under "alto cumulus." clouds in June of 2000. Taken from my house on Peone Prairie.
Taken near Fairfield Washington on April 4th 1999. 40 second exposure on Kodak 200 film. This was the first aurora photo I ever took. Paul Wicklund - Mead Wa	Sunset over the Santa Rosa Mountains near Palm Springs California. .
Coronal aurora on August 12th 2000. Eight second exposure on Fuji 1600 film using a Minolta X 700 camera and a 50 mm 1.7 lens.	Strange coronal aurora over my house on Aug 12th 2000 was caught in this 7 second exposure on Fuji 1600 film.
.Jupiter, Saturn, Taurus and the Pleiades star cluster shine through the edge of brilliant aurora over the Mt. Spokane foothills. Paul Wicklund - Mead Wa. Oct 4th 2001	A January full moon shines through a thick fog layer causing an unusual purple colored halo around it.. Auto exposed shot with a 200mm 4.5 lens.
The summer triangle stars, Vega, Deneb, and Altair lying in the Milky Way high overhead on a warm summer night. This was a 5 minute guided exposure on Fuji 800 film with a 28mm lens at F 2.8. Taken from First Thought Mt. in NE Washington on July 25th, 2001 Paul Wicklund	Atlantis and the space station Freedom fly past the Pleiades cluster late on the final night of the star party at TMSP 2001. They were separated by a few degrees after the recent undocking, but show as a bright streak in this 7 second exposure
The gold must lie under my sisters house. Taken in mid July, 2001	The rainbow faded into a burst of flaming sky in the SW as the sun set. July, 2001

The sky glowed all night but little could be seen because of the nearly full moon until this 30 minute burst over powered the moon light. For a few minutes the NW sky became a wall of red.

Oct 1st, 2001

It had rained all day and night and it seemed there was no chance of seeing the sky. At 2 am the clouds began to break and the light show began. This first shot of the night was a 25 second shot taken on Fuji 200 slide film.
10-28-01

The enemy of Aurora chasers everywhere, clouds, glowed orange when light from the aurora lit the sky behind them on April 11, 2001.

An aurora on April 11, 2001, combined with passing clouds to create an unusual scene in the sky before fading. A 20 second exposures taken on Kodak Max 400.

It had been a long time since I had a chance to shoot aurora, but at last the fire in the sky finally returned! Taken from my yard on Oct 1st, 2001 at about 2:15 am.	The same view a minute later. Bands of color seamed to slowly climb from the horizon and crawl upward. Oct 1st, 2001
The spikes and curtains in the NW change into wild colors and patterns that filled the sky in 3 directions as the aurora intensified. This was a 15 second shot on Fuji 800 film with a 28 mm lens. Oct 1st, 2001	At the height of this short geomagnetic storm, pulsing waves shot overhead and the spikes rose from 3 directions and started to merge into coronal aurora.. I shot this looking North while I watched the waves above. This little show had it all.

This was the view to the east about 2:15 am. The bright star is the planet Jupiter. This was a 15 second shot on Fuji 800 film. the camera is a Minolta X700 with a 28 mm lens set to F 2.8
Oct 1st, 2001

Dancing lights over a house near Green Bluff in Eastern Washington. This was a 10 second exposure on Fuji 800 film.

Orion rising over the Kofa Mountains in SW Arizona. A first quarter moon was setting in the west and light up the mountain sides in this 30 second exposure.

Most of the auroral displays we see at 47 degrees latitude are like this photo showing the green glow on the northern horizon. On March 19th, 2001, the sky glowed all night with short bursts in intensity.

There seams to be no end to the patterns auroras can form including the "tornados" we occasionally see. I caught this one in a 15 second exposure on Kodak Max 400 film.

This short but colorful bust of aurora occurred in the late night hours of Oct. 3rd 2000. This 15 second exposure was taken with a 50 mm lens on Kodak Max 400 film.

What your eye sees as mostly a faint greenish glow, the camera sees in living color. Photographing faint horizon hugging auroras can produce some surprisingly good photos.

The night of April 6th 2000 brought record setting cold temperatures to the Inland Northwest in spite of the burning skies overhead. The night produced most intense reds I have ever seen were caught in this 20 second shot on Kodak Royal Gold 400 film.

A window through the trees and clouds showed the intense aurora activity on November 24th, 2001, over eastern Washington. The clouds glowed with an orange tint from the light show above them.

This is how comet Ikeya-Zhang looks to the unaided eye under very dark skies. It nearly fills the view in a pair of binoculars and has a very bright nucleus and nice tail. Taken at about 9pm local time on April 4th, 2002

Ah, the sites this tree has seen. March 19, 2001

I could only see the faintest trace of color and thought I might be imagining it when I took this photo. The camera sees all. Taken from a hill top near Colbert Washington at 1 am pdt. May 14th, 2002

This was the view to the west looking down over Chattaroy and the Little Spokane River about 1:10 am May 14th, 2002. The photo was taken with a Minolta X-700 and a 28mm lens at F2.8 with a 30 second exposure.

One of the most important things to remember when photographing aurora's is giving them a proper welcome. This photo was taken shortly after the sky began to glow on September 3rd. I hadn't seen one for weeks, so I was a bit excited.

A coronal mass ejection from the sun on March 16th, 2001 impacted the Earth's upper atmosphere on the 19th. The last night of winter gave us this as a goodbye.

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This burst of color was caught at about 11pm on March 19th 2001, using a 28mm lens at f 2.8 and a Minolta X700 camera. The film was Kodak 400 with a 20 second exposure.

The Sagittarius region of the Milky Way setting into the hills of the farm lands of Eastern Washington. Taken from Star Butte near Fairfield Washington.

August 20th, 2001

Large forest fires burning in central Washington filled the Kettle Crest mountains with smoke 150 miles away. The sun can barely be seen through the smoky haze in this shot taken from the top of First Thought Mountain near the Canadian boarder.
August 19th, 2001

Sun pillar over the bay at Crescent City, California on November 25th, 2002. This was a wide angle shot was taken with a 28 mm lens. The pillar moved slowly past the rock to the right as sunset progressed, and created a mock sun above.

The evening began with an arc forming from west to east directly overhead which looked like a wide glowing contrail. I quickly set up and began shooting. Unfortunately, the lens was set at f 22 and I didn't notice until the arc was fading. And so it goes.... 6-17-03

This display produced very little activity but had a large glowing dome. These types of displays seem to produce the best dark blues around the edges. I also used Kodak Ultra 400 film which seems to be very blue sensitive. I like the results. 5-14-02

This soft aurora was seen during the Table Mountain Star Party in the early morning hours of July 12th, 2002. The photo was a 25 second exposure on Fuji 800 film

The aurora oval surrounding the earth will sometimes be pushed far enough south to see dark sky to the north beyond the glow, even "down here" at 47 degrees latitude. This photo looking towards Mt. Spokane, shows some dark sky to the north beyond the auroral ring.

Aurora from the Table Mountain Star Party in 2003. This was the first moments of the show. The blues were barley visible to the eye but show up well on film. This photo was taken on Kodak Max 400 film and a 25 second exposure.

Rainbows often end in my sisters house next door. I don't know why. Taken in June, 2003

Aurora from the Table Mountain Star Party at 11:45 pm local time, on July 26th. Taken with Fuji 800 film and a 28mm lens at f 2.8. Exposure was 20 seconds.

Early May showers brought a pair of rainbows to the Pine forest behind my house. 2003

I took this photo of the aurora on July 25th, 2004, looking over Peone Prairie about a mile from my house. The camera was a Minolta X700, 28mm lens and Fuji 800 speed film.

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