About a year ago a photographer friend suggested that I quit doing 'traditional' photography and switch to A.I. He mentioned how much less expensive it would be, and in any event he found AI images to be better (and more profitable) than the real thing.
Then this spring I had an experience that reminded me why I would never be happy as a 'computer photographer'. On the way back from a photo trip down the Colorado River I stopped to see friends in the small town of Bluff, Utah. I had one free night, and was hoping to head out into the desert to capture the night sky behind one of my favorite rock formations. I contacted my photographer friend in Bluff, but he declined as he had just returned from a vacation.
When evening rolled around I was torn. It had clouded up in the late afternoon and the sky looked anything but promising. I was unsure about going out into the desert by myself. I could certainly find Chimney Rock before sunset, but the thought of making my way back to the truck, off-trail and in the dark, was a little unnerving. Then I reminded myself of one of my favorite sayings: "90% of photography is just being there." So I loaded up my 4x4 and headed out into the desert.
It turned out to be an amazing night. Nothing special at first....skies were still cloudy and dull as the sun set. It began to slowly clear. And then the magic started. Quite by accident, this turned out to be the night the 'northern lights' came south. The first sign was when the sky began to turn pink, at least in a few spots. At first I really thought I was having trouble with my eyes! But then I recalled reading that a solar storm might allow the aurora do be visible at little farther south than usual that night.
I had originally intended to photograph the Milky Way rising behind a tall but remote hoodoo I like to call Devil's Chimney. So when I spotted glimpses of pink I got excited and imagined I might get a little color in my star shots. So I set up my lights and waited for the Milky Way. But it soon became apparent that this was going to be a very unusual night. As it got later, the sky lit up in shades of pink, purple and orange. So I switched gears and changed directions (literally and figuratively) from a star shoot to a potentially once-in-a-lifetime Northern Light shoot!
There were times when the aurora was very faint, but other times when it was so bright that it essentially hid the stars. My favorite images were from the 'in-between' moments, when stars were still distinct through the shifting colors. (And in remote Southeast Utah, the aurora was very visible to the naked eye.)
It was a magical night. In retrospect I probably was not in the perfect location. If I had known ahead of time, I might have at least chosen another rock formation. But I did get a handful of memorable images. And unique, because I was the only person out there.
When the sky settled down about 2 AM, I finally relaxed and realized how lucky I had been. I gathered up my gear and carefully began to find my way back. Eventually I found my truck parked at the top of a hill (I had left a tiny light on the dash) and made it back to town at about 3 in the morning. Tired but glad that I had not taken that advice to shift to 'computer' photography.
I've seen a lot of spectacular 'northern lights' imags from that night. Many are either 100% AI or have used software to place a 'store bought' aurora on an existing image. My camera and lens images can't compete with these. But I have very real memories of being in the quiet Utah desert by myself that night. And those memories cannot be faked.
