Fox. Check.
Ravine. Check.
Full moon. Check.
Clear sky. Check.
Big Dipper. Check.
Aurora. Check.

For the longest time, I looked like it would be overcast today. But miracles do happen and the weather forecast indicated that it would be clear in the evening and sure enough, it was. The full moon was the reason I picked this week as my holiday but obviously, no amount of planning in the world can change the weather so I just had to hope for the best. And the best is what I got!

That escapade I had yesterday that lead me to Fiskhålsgraven turned out to be a blessing. The full moon will rise from the east, which means that standing on that west side of the ravine, I could have a view of the moonrise over the ravine. And secondly, I can also have a view to north over the big snow overhang I shot yesterday so I could shoot the aurora.

I set out well before sunset which would leave me a good margin to get to my spot. When I was getting close to the ravine, I saw something move ahead of me. The tail was unmistakable so I knew I was looking at a fox, but it took me a long time to believe it because it sure was a big fox. What amazed me even more than the size was that it was completely fearless. Instead of running away from me, it lay down on top of this hill! So I thought, let’s see if it’s still there when I take out the camera. It was. So let’s see if it’s still there if I get a few steps closer. It was. Hmm… so would it stay there if I climbed up that hill a little bit? Yes it was… Since it was over half an hour since sunset, there wasn’t a lot of light so I had to screw up the ISO well past my normal tolerance, but this situation was so unbelievable and new to me that I didn’t care how noisy the pictures would be. I think I was about 10 m from the fox when it reacted to the combination of me moving and the sound of snow mobiles in the background and finally got up and ran away. So I had this incredible experience and the evening hadn’t even begun yet!

I got to the same spot as yesterday and set up my gear. While waiting for the moon, I shot Mars above the ravine, because I really couldn’t think how I could ever find a better foreground for it. When the moon finally came up behind Ruändan, it was very difficult to shoot it. Since it was an hour since sunset, I needed a long exposure to get any definition in the foreground, while the moon was hopelessly overexposed. I tried bracketing but I knew that I didn’t have the skills to put together a natural looking HDR anyway, but how often do you get a chance to shoot the full moon rise like this? I had to try. In the end, I was right about the HDR, I couldn’t figure it out. So the picture is a single shot, with an overexposed moon.

As soon as the moon was fully above the horizon, it started spreading its light on the landscape. The first thing I noticed was how the big snow overhang in the ravine was lit. With the Big Dipper hanging above the ravine, all I needed now was the aurora… Aurora Alert kept beeping in my phone but unfortunately the increased geomagnetic activity didn’t translate in a good lightshow. The sensor caught a little big of the glow anyway.

I had been standing by the ravine for a long time now, and I was starting to seriously freeze. I knew that my spot was the best possible, but there’s always a point where your personal discomfort overcomes your patience so I packed up and started walking back to get some warmth back in my body. I had a view to the north on the way so in case the aurora would materialise, I would still be in a position to shoot it. But it never got better than the faint glow, and I could also see that the clear sky wasn’t so clear any more with some clouds starting to form, signalling the snowfall that would come later in the night.

I honestly can’t say I was disappointed about missing a good aurora when everything else about this evening was so perfect!