Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Photography
  3. Outdoors
  4. News

Stunning Northern Lights captured in time lapse of Voyageurs National Park

Add as a preferred source on Google

More than Just Parks is back with another National Park video, this one revealing the serene landscapes and incredible night skies of Voyageurs National Park. Located on the northern edge of Minnesota, with a landscape dominated by water, Voyageurs offers impressive views of the Northern Lights.

It took three people 14 days to capture more than 20,000 still photos for the time-lapse sequences (which make up the bulk of the film). The crew worked their way northwest after starting in Crane Lake, hiking and often boating their way throughout the park’s 340 square miles.

Recommended Videos

Voyageurs is characterized by its many lakes and waterways The video takes viewers through Sand Point Lake, Namakan Lake, Ash River, Kabetogama Lake, and Rainy Lake on the northwest corner where the team eventually exited the park.

The production schedule was timed perfectly to catch the vibrant fall color that surrounds the park. The deep yellows and reds contrast nicely with the vibrant green of the aurora.

The film was shot on a variety of cameras, including a Canon 5D Mark III DSLR, Sony A7R II, and even a Blackmagic Design URSA Mini 4.6K. The crew also employed time-lapse motion control and triggering solutions from Alpine Labs.

More Than Just Parks started as a side project for brothers Jim and Will Pattiz, who together run Sea Raven Media. The brothers combined their experience in film production with their love for the outdoors. Their goal is to film all 58 U.S. national parks. Voyageurs was number nine, following the release of a Grand Teton time lapse in July.

The project is supported through print sales and donations. To watch earlier films in the series and for more information, head on over to morethanjustparks.com.

Daven Mathies
Daven is a contributing writer to the photography section. He has been with Digital Trends since 2016 and has been writing…
RAMmageddon is coming for cameras, and your dream setup is in the crosshairs
Fujifilm's camera price hikes are just the latest sign of a DRAM crisis reshaping costs beyond smartphones and laptops.
Fujifilm's X100VI camera, released in 2024.

If you've been saving up for a new camera, I've got some bad news for you. Waiting until fall just got a lot more expensive. And this isn't some isolated issue troubling the camera industry. 

It's the same global chip crisis coming for basically everything with a processor and memory inside it.

Read more
Fujifilm Instax Mini 13 review: This instant camera won me over with its no-frills retro charm
From printing instant memories to rediscovering the fading charm of polaroids, Fujifilm's camera offers a budget route to a simple indulgence.
Fujifilm Instax mini 13 camera.

See at Amazon

Quick review

Read more
Want to try film photography? Kodak’s new $35 camera is a great place to start
This retro inspired Kodak EC35 camera keeps film photography refreshingly simple.
Kodak-EC35

If you've been curious about film photography but didn't want to spend a fortune, Kodak has a new camera worth checking out. The new Kodak EC35 is a reusable 35mm point-and-shoot camera that costs just $34.99, making it one of the most affordable ways to try shooting on film.

Developed by Reto Project under the Kodak brand, the EC35 keeps things simple with a lightweight design, automatic flash, and a pocket-friendly body. It also arrives as interest in analog photography continues to grow, offering beginners an inexpensive alternative to disposable film cameras.

Read more