What a way to end a photographic year … the Northern Lights on New Year’s Eve! While snow flurries and clouds made for challenging conditions at best, I decided when God gives you apples, make applesauce! Thus, I tried some light painting with my small flashlight and was able to capture “snowflake trails” against the Aurora. I was out at Boulder Lake which is about 25 miles north of Duluth, Minnesota. At one point some timber wolves started howling while I was on location! Pretty cool. Life of the Northwoods photographer!

• View My Northern Lights Album on Flickr

Snorora Borealis!

At 2:00 a.m. my Northern Lights app alarm went off. A quick check of the numbers revealed the conditions were looking insanely good. This fact plus clear skies and no moon meant a trip north of Duluth twenty five miles to the frozen ice of Boulder Lake was demanded. By 2:40 am I was on the ice, and stayed there till 5 am. The Aurora filled the sky, even sometimes to my south. The peak of the Zodiac even had flashing lights for almost an hour. Here are a few photos from last night … a true start for a St. Patrick’s celebration!

Matt joined me on the ice around 3:30 am. Got a nice photo of him changing camera settings during a “quiet period” of lights!

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Northern Lights at Boulder Lake … 25 miles north of Duluth