Pictures of the Month (01.2007)

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"Northern Lights Show" - Brad Reed
One of my ultimate dreams in photography has been to capture the Northern Lights with my camera. On Dec. 14, 2006, my dream was realized. Around 8:30 pm I trekked to the top of a large dune inside the Ludington State Park. Five minutes later, the entire evening sky over Lake Michigan erupted into a bright red and green palate of color. As I was exposing this photograph, two large meteors blazed through the sky. The rush of emotions I felt that night were overwhelming.

"Northern Lights Over Ludington" - Todd Reed
Only a few times in more than 35 years of photographing the natural beauty of Michigan have I felt so humbled, so awe-struck, by a scene before me. Witnessing the Northern Lights above Lake Michigan the evening of Dec. 14, 2006, was truly a religious experience. Green lights danced through the northern sky above me, and waves broke over the Ludington South Breakwater ahead of me as I tried to hike my way to the end of the breakwater. I was able to safely get no further than the bend in the pier. It was so windy I dared not extend the legs of my sturdy tripod. So I knelt down, mounted my camera and began shooting. I was as pumped as a hunter with a 10-point buck standing in front of him. But the best was yet to come. About 20 minutes later, at 8:35 p.m., neon-red Northern Lights appeared and began rocketing up and down in the western sky. For less than two minutes the sky was glorious and up to four times brighter than before and afterward. My camera recorded the peak of the color and brightness during this 30-second time exposure. The exposure also recorded a meteor (upper right) streaking through the sky.