Aurora Australis

On 1st June 2025 there was a forecast for a strong geomagnetic storm which causes the Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights. This is a natural light display in the Earth’s southern sky caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with gases in the atmosphere.

It is very rare for the Aurora to be visible this far north. The forecast was for 9pm, i decided to leave at 7pm and drive down to Sugarloaf Lighthouse as this faces south and has little light pollution. Once i arrived i setup my camera and tripod, the sky started to light up with red, yellow, pink and violet ribbons of light.

The sky lit up above Treachery Beach and i couldn’t believe i was witnessing and photographing my first ever Aurora. The dancing beams of light moved north accross the ocean towards the lighthouse, once i was satisfied with the images i captured from the grassy area below the cottages, i ran up to the lighthouse and captured some other angles which showed the vibrant sky around our historic lighthouse.

I was shooting with my Sony A7R4 and the new Sigma f1.8 14mm fish eye art series lens. The settings were f 1.8, ISO 2000 and 12-15 second exposures.

An incredible display by mother nature and a night with new experiences, images and memories. I am glad i went with my instincts and not with the forecast prediction. If i went for the forecast time i would of missed out completely as this incredible display only lasted for 30 minutes.