Australian landscape photographers Dale Sharpe and Karlie Russell had watched the northern lights together around 30 times. On a winter trip to Norway’s Lofoten Islands, Dale set up the camera for what Karlie thought was one more aurora shot, then got down on one knee.
The northern lights proposal in Lofoten
Dale and Karlie worked together as DK Photography. They first met on a trip to Australia’s Gold Coast, and photographing big landscapes became the heart of their relationship. When the picture of the proposal spread in March 2017, reported by Daily Mail Australia and ABC7, it was the setting that caught everyone’s eye: green curtains of light, snow-covered peaks and a mirror of water below.
Karlie had no idea what was coming. She was urging Dale to hurry so they could get on with photographing the landscape. Once the camera was ready, he knelt with the ring. “I was completely blown away as it was the last thing I was expecting at that time,” she told reporters, and she later called the picture a “sneaky selfie”. She said yes.
The engagement ring that ended up in the bin
This was Dale’s second attempt. About nine months earlier he had planned to propose on an Arctic trip and had hidden the ring in their luggage. Before a flight from the Faroe Islands to Iceland, the bags turned out to be overweight, and Karlie threw out a pile of things to lighten the load. The hidden ring went with them.
Dale saved for a new ring and planned a two-month trip to the Arctic Circle. Since the aurora was something they loved hunting together, he decided it was the right backdrop for the question.
The details of the shot are simple and smart. A torch placed behind the couple outlines their figures, and the self-timer let Dale be in the frame and on one knee at the same moment. The still water carries the aurora’s colour into the lower half of the image, while the pale mountains draw a clean horizon between sky and reflection.
About the Lofoten Islands
Lofoten is an archipelago in Nordland county, northern Norway, lying between the 68th and 69th parallels, well north of the Arctic Circle. Its main islands are Austvågøya, Gimsøya, Vestvågøya, Flakstadøya and Moskenesøya, with the small outer islands of Værøy and Røst further south. About 24,500 people live on roughly 1,227 km² of land, and the main towns are Svolvær and Leknes. The highest peak, Higravstinden on Austvågøya, rises to 1,161 metres straight out of the sea.
Lofoten’s winters are remarkably mild for a place this far north, one of the largest warm temperature anomalies on Earth. For more than a thousand years the islands have lived from the winter cod fishery, when the fish migrate from the Barents Sea to spawn in these waters, and old fishing cabins, the rorbuer, still line the harbours.
Getting there is part of the trip:
- By air: small airports at Svolvær and Leknes connect with Bodø; Røst and Værøy have an airport and a heliport.
- By sea: car ferries run from Bodø to Moskenes, Værøy and Røst, and a fast boat links Bodø with Svolvær. The Hurtigruten coastal ship calls at Stamsund and Svolvær.
- By road: the E10 joins the larger islands with bridges and undersea tunnels, and the Lofast road links Lofoten with the mainland. Narvik, the nearest railway town, has bus connections to the islands.
Best time to see the aurora in Lofoten
Visit Lofoten gives the aurora season as late August to mid-April, when the nights are dark enough. In Svolvær the sun stays below the horizon from about 4 December to 7 January, so midwinter offers the longest nights, while autumn and March bring more daylight for exploring and photographing the scenery. From late May to mid-July the midnight sun makes the aurora impossible to see.
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center explains that energetic particles from the Sun, guided by Earth’s magnetic field, collide with oxygen and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere. The excited gases release that energy as light, far above the clouds.
Check two forecasts before heading out: an aurora forecast for geomagnetic activity and a local weather forecast for cloud cover. Coastal weather in Lofoten changes fast, so having a car and a few possible spots on both sides of the islands helps you find a gap in the clouds.
Tips for your own portrait under the aurora
- Use a sturdy tripod and a self-timer or remote release, as Dale did.
- Pick your composition in daylight. Beaches, still water and mountains, such as the reflections in this picture, make strong foregrounds.
- Check focus carefully. In Visit Lofoten’s photography guide, photographer Cody Duncan recommends confirming sharp focus on the stars and adjusting exposure as the display changes; fast-moving curtains need shorter exposures.
- Light the people gently. A torch behind or beside your subjects separates them from the dark landscape.
- Stay still. People in the frame need to hold their pose for the whole exposure.
More from DK Photography
The couple travelled widely with their cameras, from the Arctic to the American Southwest. These posts from their Facebook page show more of their work. You can also follow them on Instagram.
Another couple who chose a mountain stage for the big day: Ashley and James’s Everest Base Camp wedding photographs. For more night skies, see a collection of Finnish night skies and northern lights filmed across Iceland, and plan a trip with our guide to ten northern lights destinations.
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