There's never been a better time to be a night owl in Strathmore and surrounding areas, as the Northern Lights have been lighting up our nights with their signature dancing rays of light for nearly two weeks now.

Lois Munro is one of many who were treated to the light show, and she said she was able to spot them near Langdon. This was her second time seeing the Northern Lights, which she said has been a dream come true.

"I've always wanted to see them, but I've never gotten lucky enough to see them, so I've been looking for a long time. Even when people say they're out, I've tried to go out and look for them and I couldn't see them, but my kids happened to see them, and they just told me."

The Northern Lights is just one of many things Munro is interested in regarding photography. She called photography her addiction in life, saying the older she gets, the more she wants to see. While herself proclaimed addiction can lead to beautiful photos, it can also derail a day. 

"When I go on car trips with my husband, it drives him absolutely nuts because I'll see something and I'll go, 'oh my God, stop, there's a flower there.' He's like, 'oh my God, you're making me stop for a flower.' That that's how I am. Or if I see scenery that I want to take pictures of, like the ocean or something. I get excited too, and I make them pull over." 

Northern Lights

If you're looking to get some nice photos yourself, Munro has some tips. For starters, she said in her experience the best time to see the Northern Lights is around 1:30-2:00 a.m. Secondly, she said it's important to have a light source near you. While you may think it would be best to take photos somewhere like a dark field, Munro says that isn't the case, at least if you're using something like her iPhone 13.

"If I'm using my iPhone, it seems like the only way I can seem to capture them is go towards a source of light in front of me and have my camera focus on that. So I just kind of drive toward that light (in this case Langdon) and then I'm managing to take those pictures. For anybody that wants to see them and to take pictures, I just have to have my headlights on a set of lights in front of me, my lights have to be facing the town and then I can take the picture because it gives me that light source that I need." 

According to the Aurora Forecast, the next three days are looking pretty good for aurora spotting. If you're hoping to see them for yourself it may be worth staying up later than usual to watch the illuminated night sky.

aurora scheduleA screenshot from the Aurora Forecast website

Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@strathmorenow.com