On the evening of 12 November 2025, the skies above Tasmania were transformed by a severe and powerful solar storm, producing an extraordinary display of the southern lights, the Aurora Australis. According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the intense geomagnetic storm was one of the largest seen in recent years, with G4 conditions observed on the geomagnetic storm scale. The maximum is a G5.
I ventured out just a short distance from my home, beneath the presence of the Great Western Tiers, and was met by gusty winds and heavy cloud cover. At first, I felt some disappointment, but the unsettled sky soon revealed streaks of colour, greens and purples breaking through, offering glimpses of stars and solar energy made visible. To witness such an event in my immediate surroundings felt special.
Rather than framing the aurora against a cloudy sky alone, I deliberately included some foreground, electricity poles, pylons, and transmission wires in my compositions. These energy structures, symbols of human industry and power, became angle-lines of steel imprinted against light. In doing so, I sought to capture a contrast between human-made systems and the untamed energies of the cosmos.
To create art so close to where I live affirms the idea that great experiences do not always require distant travel; sometimes the extraordinary arrives and is present in familiar, local places. By photographing the aurora alongside the geometry of structures and wires, I acknowledge the juxtaposing of both natural beauty and the intrusions of modern life, and perhaps how art can merge them.
This image is now a personal record of a rare natural event, upon the ground I inhabit, local structures, and the night skies I look to each day.
What are the TWO most impactful features that make your image a good photograph? Don’t be shy!
The image features a creative composition of geometry and atmospheric drama. There’s a juxtaposition of cosmic and human energy; the presence of electrical infrastructure becomes metaphorical, evoking artistic tension between natural forces and engineered power.
If you could make this photo again, what would be the ONE thing you would like to do better or differently?
More visible foreground and silhouetted mountains could improve the image (I’ve done this in other images).
Kelvin Knox shared this photograph with the FRAMES Facebook Group.
Photographer
Kelvin Knox, Tasmania, Australia
Equipment and settings
Nikon Z 6 with Nikkor 20 mm f/1.8 S prime lens
20 mm | f/2.8 | 10 seconds | ISO 1600
Editing: Adobe Lightroom
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Wim Keessen
January 10, 2026 at 20:14
Very impressive images because of a combination of foregound combined with cosmetic and human ower. It sets the humanity in the cosmos dimension.
Kelvin Knox
January 10, 2026 at 23:18
Thank you, Wim. I appreciate your reading of the image. I’m glad the relationship between the foreground, the human presence, and the aurora came through; that sense of humanity and our place in the cosmos is something I’m always exploring.