Plate No. 04. First aurora visible from Depoe Bay, Oregon — a rare clear-sky night on the central coast.
Vol 1.1 · Plate 04
First Aurora
I almost packed up before I saw it.
$75.00
Standard 16 x 24 · Archival photo paper · Signed
Aurora on the Oregon Coast is rare — more to do with weather than latitude. The night I finally saw the lights, I was almost back in the truck. A neighbor on the bluff said: hold up your phone. That's when the sky lit up.
Most photographers will tell you they've never been underwhelmed by aurora. I was. I looked up and saw nothing. I'd packed away half my gear. Then someone said the phone trick, and through the camera I finally saw what my eyes wouldn't — bands of green and red moving across the Pacific sky over Depoe Bay.
"After a million raw frames you stop being surprised. This one surprised me."
I turned the camera back on. Tweaked the settings. Started over. After a million raw frames in my archive you stop being surprised by what light can do. This one surprised me. Still does, when I look at the print.
The night I almost missed.
The Frame
Location
Depoe Bay, Oregon
Coordinates
44°49′N · 124°04′W
Conditions
Rare aurora visibility, clear sky
Status
First public release
