I came all the way to Alaska in the dead of winter to take a picture.
It’s a long way to go for a snapshot—1,528 miles—but it’s one heck of an image, one I’ll use the rest of my life to win dinner bets. And it’s only the second-most popular Fairbanks midwinter photo.
First, of course, is the Northern Lights: banners of green, gold, persimmon, and pear arching across the indigo sky like rainbow bands blown loose in cosmic winds. Cameras click constantly in central Alaska all winter to capture nature’s art above.
My picture, which I might call “Shock and Awe,” shows me standing beside the famous University of Alaska Fairbanks temperature sign. The sign says minus 32 degrees F, I’m grinning happily, and my mother would be aghast because I’m not wearing a hat. No need, Mom….