Aurora Australis 2

The aurora continued on through most of the night. The show was even better after midnight. I was fascinated by the clarity of the light. The stars shone brightly through it. Occasionally I took a photo, varying the exposure times in hopes of getting one right. Once when the camera was set to a long exposure I saw a shooting star and wondered if the aperture was open at that moment. Toward dawn I went to bed exhausted, but exhilarated by my experience.

Several days later I took the first film to town to be processed. It took a week, and I was in an agony of anticipation. The second film was still in the camera waiting to be used up. When I saw the photos I was thrilled. The red and green light in the south showed up really well. But I had used much longer exposure times on the other film. They would probably be burned out.

I did not rush to finish the film. I needed to budget for the processing costs. When at last I picked up the second lot of photos I was blown away. They were terrific! I’d even captured Sirius and the shooting star.