photographing the aurora

Modern Traveler : Photographing the Aurora

After a aurora vacation is over, photos are the best way to relive your travel experiences. Gondwana founder, Jared Sternberg, has photographed his worldwide travels for years and knows the importance of capturing special moments. In Modern Traveler’s feature of our Northern Lights Ecotour, they focus on the natural and cultural wonders that will provide jaw-dropping pictures.

Photographing the Aurora

photographing the aurora

Northern Lights Photography

As the northern lights are a complicated subject to photograph, “learning to photograph the Aurora Borealis from a professional photographer” is a real highlight of the ecotour. Most cameras will work, but photographing the aurora is best done with full-frame camera with a wide-angle lens with a low aperture, and a tripod. Photographing the aurora under Alaska’s expansive sky will help preserve these travel memories forever.

Since the lights are a natural occurrence, there’s no guarantee of how brilliant the aurora will be on any given day. However, the location of Fairbanks and our cozy cabin outside the city provides excellent visibility of the lights. “Fairbanks is situated within a ring-shaped region around the North Pole called the auroral oval. This location affords a terrific balance of occurrence, frequency and activity of Northern Lights.” 2016 is also at the tail end of the 11-year solar cycle, meaning that this year’s aurora is going to be especially brilliant. Photographing the Aurora is easy when training is provided and optimal viewing conditions have been met.

Alaska’s Culture and People

One reason we love to travel is meeting people from around the world. However, Alaska’s culture and people are unique in themselves. In fact, we’ve even made the claim that their motto should be “Keep Alaska Weird!” Jared Sternberg mentions, “We visit a local family who lives off the grid and learn about their lifestyle in the Alaskan backcountry. Our local guide, a former sprint dog racer, has amazing stories about her racing experience, including being mauled by a grizzly bear.” Everyone has a story, and the statement above gives a sample of some of the locals you’ll encounter on the Northern Lights Ecotour.



Alaska’s culture and people are deeply intertwined with nature. With close proximity to the north pole and snowy, extreme winters, Alaska’s climate puts an interesting twist on it’s culture as well. Not surprisingly, popular activities like snowshoeing, hiking, and the sport curling can all be traced back to nature. On the Northern Lights Ecotour, we take pride in knowing that guests get to experience Alaska’s culture, people and natural wonders.

Visit Alaska With Gondwana

Though seeing the northern lights at night are the main focus of this ecotour, don’t think that your days will be dull! Visit Alaska with Gondwana to get a well-rounded experience of natural and cultural wonders. Guests can participate in as many activities as they’d like, so your trip can be customized to your interests. Learn more about the dates and inclusions of the Northern Lights Ecotour!

Download Our Northern Lights Brochure Here.


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