A call back to 2008
While we drove away from the Nova Hotel and the last of the downtown city lights, we all watched the aurora from the windows of the car. We were leaving town early tonight and still the aurora was ahead of us, but it was to be expected under these kinds of conditions.
I told my guests that we will see the aurora the entire drive out, and it will be beautiful, but we will keep driving to get into a better position for later in the night. She will stay with us, so don’t worry about her disappearing as we drive.
“We trust you.”
There was nothing to worry about this night.
As soon as we arrived in the countryside, we bounced out of the car and immediately reached for our tripods and cameras. We were the happiest bunch over the next several hours. It was one of the nights that produced audible gasps and repeating heavy, heavy beauty sighs from me.
Through my early aurora chases with Kjetil in Tromsø, over the weeks of cosy stays at his place with his family, long daytime drives to the countryside and late nights aurora chasing, he was always so gracious and humble.
We were stopped at a gas station one night on one of our chases, and while other guests were finishing up getting snacks inside, he was showing me some of the wallpapers he made for his phone background from some of his photos. They were breathtaking, I was in complete awe. They were gorgeous, gorgeous photos - deep twilight skies from shoulder season aurora chases, stunning purples and red coronas, and he shared with them me, to my little old black Nokia 7500 Prism, for my background. The images are ingrained in my mind forever. I loved them, and I hung onto what they meant and where they came from - this friendship, generosity and wonder.
So this night when we started seeing these incredible, sunlit auroras at the beginning of the night, and later, the repeating coronas filled with the most beautiful reds overhead, I was taken instantly back to those 2008 chases with Kjetil that I’ll never forgot or let go of.
