• Thursday-What'sUP May 3 - 06:09 pm

This has to be a banner spring for viewing the Northern Lights here in the U.P. It seems they're pulsating across the night sky just about every week, sometimes several nights in a row. These two shots from Shawn Malone were snapped in the past week or so.

In the first shot, you're so busy looking at all the stars and the glow in the sky, that you hardly even notice that it was snapped at the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and has Miners Castle jutting out into Lake Superior in the night sky. I don't recall ever seeing a nighttime photo of this landmark and what a spectacular one this is.

Shawn's second aurora photo has another landmark in it. This one is manmade, though, the Marquette Lighthouse and here again it doesn't take center stage in the photograph, but sits unobtrusively on the bottom left of the photo. The aurora, exploding across the sky is front and center, along with the myriad of stars dotting the darkened sky.

These aren't easy scenes to capture. It takes knowing your equipment and settings, not to mention being able to stay up late, when the show is in its blazing glory. Thanks for doing all the hard parts, Shawn, so we can just sit back and enjoy!

WOW! Those are awesome! Thanks for sharing!

WOW, again! The first shot is otherworldly.

Really amazing pictures today! I especially love the Miner's Castle one. In the second photo, there is a light on the horizon of the lake, to the right of the lighthouse. Is that an ore boat perhaps?

These photos are the next best thing to seeing the Northern Lights in real!

I agree, Lisa. The Miner's Castle one is my favorite, too!!

Pictures similar to this were shown on NBC nightly news about a week ago and it was mentioned that they occure over Lake Superior in Michigan Upper Peninsula.

hi
Sisugirl, a Great Lakes freigher would be much more lit up---they typically are lit stem to stern--and even though salties have fewer lights, they still have more than that. Although I don't know the area, I'd guess it was an off-shore channel marker/small lighthouse.

Beautiful! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Northern Lights continue until I get there on May 21st. I'm counting the days, can you tell?

Very busy sky in that second shot. Both are beautiful work from the Hand of God!
Thanks for capturing them, Shawn.

STUNNING!!! Shawn Malone is making a worldwide name for herself, with her OUTSTANDING Aurora work.....

He is making a name for himself? I don't know...one time I commented on here about "him" and was told Shawn was a "her".....

I'm sorry I don't know....BUT...I do know this is some of the most stunning photography out there

Mary says: Shawn is definitely a SHE, Donna. And I agree on your "stunning photography" observation!

Awesome!

Thanks Mary, and thank you for the very nice comments here. Lisa R, good eye, yes it is a freighter-it looks that way due to it being a ways out and the angle it is at on the water.
EddyFitz, yes, that was our video shown on NBC Nightly News April 24- it is archived here: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/47165857/
dovetails nicely with the story NBC ran March 8 archived here: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46674510/#46674510
Donna I am a she :) no prob with the he/she thing :)

Thanks again, it has been a blast to have the opportunity to document such a frequent occurrence of the lights here in our paradise of Upper Michigan and Lake Superior over the past year.

OUTSTANDING photos today! I have a new desktop background!!!!

Fantastic photos! I love them and I hope someday I see them in person.

Awesome photos, Shawn!!
Maybe one of these days you or Brian will share some of your "secrets" on what methods you use to capture these images.... J

Thank you for the fabulous Northern Lights photos, Shawn & Mary! We just drove by the Marquette Lighthouse on Friday, while taking a detour to see it, on the way home while bringing my youngest son home from Michigan Tech for the summer. It's awesome to see the Northern Lights picture over the area that we just saw. We would have stayed in Houghton on Friday night, too, but there were no available hotel rooms because of Tech's graduation on Saturday, and my son needed to start his summer job on Monday morning at 7:30 am. As it was, we didn't get home until midnight on Friday night. Two nights is just too short for that trip, but I'll take what I can get!

Beautiful!

I was thinking the light could possibly be the Granite Island Lighthouse but not sure if its visible that far.

After all those years in Marquette, i should know that, shouldn't i, UC?

Even a Husky would know that, jbuck!! ;-)

Only two in Marquette, you can't see stanard rock from there if I'm correct.

Oh man, i'm going to get ganged up on! A little help here, UC!!!

I got ur back kiddo, Husky's eat yellow snow, what's that about? lol just messin with ya Capt.

I have to say, when I'm at the GLI'S the Tech band is the best! "In heaven there is no beer, that's why we drink it here" NMU should be at that event every year with Tech, I'm sick of MSU & U of M! POWER TO DA YOOP'S

Hear, hear UC!!!

With NMU moving back to the WCHA, just maybe you'll get your wish UC. If nothing else, it will make for some great college hockey.....

Tomorrow everyone at my work is going to be treated to a look at
my hometown with the backdrop of the Northern Lights. Wish I had
seen them personally. Thanks to Shawn!

True Capt.

Capt. Paul, secrets? not really, just some basic night sky settings. I bet you could tell me how I took 'em, would love to see some of your work posted up sometime