Alix resident Darlene Tanner knew that she was going to get a great photo — she just didn’t expect it would receive worldwide attention.
Recently, Tanner — who works in Lacombe — went out into the country braving sub-zero temperatures to grab a shot of a phenomenon where ice crystals in the air reflect off artificial light creating beams of astonishing light shooting into the night sky.
Since posting on her Team Tanner website, the photos of Blackfalds, Lacombe and Red Deer have went viral worldwide.
“I Googled it today and I saw that even Forbes Magazine had my picture in there. To see it going international is surreal. I even saw one in France. It is crazy,” Tanner said.
Tanner is no stranger to the ice-crystal beams — having shot them in the past.
“I was looking for them. I knew I had a good chance of seeing them and it was just excitement until I hit the last hill where it overlooks Blackfalds, Lacombe and Red Deer. I saw them and they were everywhere,” she said.
Tanner has always loved photography but began getting real serious seven years ago.
Anything landscape, weather related, I am always looking for.
“Before that it was iPhone pictures and then we started to get more into it. We bought DSLRs and learned on our own about night photography and long exposures. It has been a learning process,” she said.
Since then, Tanner’s focus has been on landscapes — especially of the Northern Lights. Her team also storm chases in the summer time.
Going forward, Tanner will be travelling abroad to find even more beautiful landscapes.
“We are going to Iceland. We have been there before and we want to go back because the Northern Lights are amazing. They fill the whole sky. We are also going to Yellowknife and in the summer we also chase storms,” she said.
Tanner said that Central Alberta has plenty of untapped beauty to capture.
“Living in little ole’ Alix is awesome. In Central Alberta, people think you can’t see the Northern Lights and other stuff out here, but there is a lot out here people don’t know about because they aren’t really looking,” she said.
todd.vaughan@lacombeexpress.com
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