I shot this picture while on assignment in Angoon, Alaska. The northern lights shown with a green glow in the northeastern sky. The aurora borealis are believed to be charged particles ejected into magnetic fields. It doesn't explain the beauty of it. And to capture it in photography is the challenge. I shot it on a balcony so I could get a reflection in Favorite Bay. The way the streams of light bent in this frame added the celestial effect of another planet intersecting with our Earth.

Making the picture

• The challenge: The light is in constant fluctuation, which can increase the failures of the photograph's exposure.

• The solution: This photograph was taken at an 800 ISO at f2.8 for 15 seconds.