13/11/2025
Aurora Australis on 12/11/2025.
It’s been two years since I decided I wanted to capture this phenomenon from this area. Every attempt since then didn’t go well - the weather, the timing, lack or luck or just life getting in the way.
That night was cold. I had driven more than an hour, hiked for another forty minutes, exploring the coastline for the right angle. Some of the places I had planned were already taken, others didn’t feel right once I got there.
When I got to the spot of the photo, I noticed I had to walk on and through some very sharp rocks. To carry a tripod and a 10kg backpack there would be hard, but I didn’t dare leave anything behind in the dark. Partly because… Well, even though I was practically alone there, I’m still Brazilian and learned the hard way not to leave any of my things unattended, and partly because I noticed the tide was rising fast. I didn’t want to come back and find Poseidon or Iemanjá checking my equipment up close.
After accidentally drenching my boots, a pair of wild waves almost taking me out, and a handful of painfully awkward poses on uneven rocks, this moment finally came together.
I’m quite picky with my photography, so I’m still not 100% satisfied with this result, but I can say I’m pretty happy with it.
There’s still so much to learn about astrophotography, and I love that fact. It gives me motivation to keep learning and to try again and again. Specially because for me, it’s not just about the image itself, but about everything that leads to it: the journey, the solitude, the ability to face fears and overcome them (even though sometimes these adventures unlock new ones), the time spent in Nature (this is a big one), the meditation… It’s when I can stop the rushed life, breathe, remember what really matters in my life and be a better person when I get back to the day to day.
So even though this is not the result I was hoping for, I’ll still post this a reminder to myself to keep chasing it and to keep learning the craft. And to never forget how much I love doing this.
