G5 Aurora Storm! First in 20 years!

How can I describe the night of the G5 aurora, amazing doesn’t seem to cover it… The day before I was frantically messaging and on the hunt for models. I knew it was going to be a night I wouldn’t forget, and I NEEDED dog models. I am so thankful for the group we ended going with, we met up at a small community lake near Elk Island Alberta. Our little group sat in the tall grass chatting, laughing, staring in awe, and rotating our dog models. The experience was even more special because for some people this was the first time that they have seen the Aurora Borealis. My heart was so full by the end of the night, and I was so excited to share by beautiful images.

On a more personal note: Today, after days of scrolling through beautiful aurora photographs, I can't help but feel a bit defeated. Many things have contributed to this, the main thing is I am feeling like I have missed my chance to be THAT DOG NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHER, while I know I was not the first to photograph a dog under the night sky… I wanted to master this skill and eventually be able to share this genre of photography with other photographers and maybe host a workshop or two, share my years of knowledge.

I would like to preface that it is only in the last 6 months I have seen other photographers and accounts share images of Astro Dog photography. This feeling started a few months ago when We Rate Dogs (a very well trafficked account about cute dogs) shared multiple images of dogs under the auroras by multiple photographers. Not all these images were by professional photographers, but I felt like… ‘Well, it is out there now someone is going to be better at it and beat me to it’.

Back in September in 2023, I went to Shutterhound a dog photography conference in Las Vegas. There were so many speakers that are leading in the industry, and I couldn’t wait to learn from all of them. One thing that stuck with me is that many of these speakers got their fame by luck and fell into life-changing opportunities by becoming Viral.

It is very much a risk for artists to put their work out there; on one hand, you cannot get new opportunities without putting your work out there, but also someone could see your work and do it better and they would get the luck of those opportunities because the right person saw it at the right time. This conference told me to put yourself out there become viral, be loud, share your things everywhere! But only when it is ready…. and don’t share too soon… so did I miss my chance?

This G5 aurora brought dog photographers together from around the globe to go out and photograph at night. All at once, and they are sharing their images. While for the last two years, I have spent hours mastering the craft, scouting locations, learning about stars, light pollution, and other nuisances that will keep our dogs safe at night. I still hope to master this specific genre. Hopefully, I didn't miss my chance to THAT MASTER ASTRO DOG PHOTOGRAPHER and spread my knowledge to those who are willing to listen.

If you have made it this far, I appreciate your time and thankful you have read this far. I would like to stress I am still very proud of these images! These are not AI... these are images of dogs experiencing the Northern Lights with us. I will continue to learn and master the craft of Astro Dog Photography.

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