William Shakespeare once said that The Earth has music for those who listen. For me these elegant words perfectly embody the feeling I experienced while witnessing the Aurora Borealis. That night in Iceland, my heart sang along with the rhythm of motion, as I watched the curtains of light dance in the sky above. And as The Northern Lights sang their beautiful song, I could hear them with my ears, see them with my eyes, and feel them with my heart and soul.

Technical Mumbo Jumbo

Camera: Nikon D800
Lens: 14-24 f/2.8 (Shot at 14 mm)
Tripod: RRS TVC-33 / BH-55 Ballhead / RRS L-Plate
ISO: 800 at f/2.8
1 Exposure at 20 seconds.

Location: Shot in Western Iceland – September 2012, and post-processed near Dunedin, New Zealand – December 2012.

If you’re curious about how this image is created, you can see my post-processing breakdown on this Google+ hangout, hosted by Smugmug and NIK Software. In this video, Colby Brown and I each share our Lightroom, Photoshop, and NIK Software workflows as we edit a few of our favorite photographs.

To see the portion about this photo, go to: 37:50