Aurora Over West Quoddy Head Lighthouse
The Northern Lights glow on the coast of Maine
The aurora glows over West Quoddy Head Lighthouse during a recent night. This was the night after the intense displays that everyone captured everywhere else, but the clouds were over my neck of the woods. I was able to get this shot the next night during a break in the clouds that lasted maybe 20 minutes or so. Still not the bonkers display everyone else saw, but at least I got something!
The aurora wasn’t really visible to the naked eye, I could see a bit of a pale glow in the sky but it wasn’t going nuts enough for full color naked eye visibility. But the camera had no trouble capturing the beautiful reds and greens.
This is a blend of two exposures taken in the same spot within minutes of each other in order to get both sharp stars and detail in the lighthouse.
Nikon Z7 with Sigma 14mm f/1.8 lens.
Sky: f/1.8, ISO 3200, 5 seconds. I kept the shutter speed a bit short to not completely blur the faint aurora pillars.
Lighthouse: f/2.8, ISO 800, 4 minutes. I used a much longer shutter speed and smaller aperture to capture the tower a bit sharper and with more detail.
Come photograph this lighthouse under the Milky Way on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops!
2026 Maine Milky Way Workshops
Join me under the stars on my 2026 Maine Milky Way workshops! These are all held in Lubec, Maine, 2 hours east of Acadia National Park.
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Fabulous!! Glad you had that window of opportunity. BTW, West Quoddy looks wonderful with the new paint (it's about time).
Your work is astounding, each photo opening my senses to a vision of pure beauty, a gentle touch of colour which then projects deepening shades that have yet to find a name to describe the true beauty of each of them as they twist and turn, blending together to bring my thoughts to a place that I hope resembles paradise....