iN VIDEO: Northern lights shimmer, dance over Kelowna

The northern lights were shimmering over BC in the wee hours over the weekend, and professional Kelowna photographer Roman Bartos captured a stunning time lapse video of the celestial event.

Perched on a dark mountainside above the city lights of Kelowna, Bartos took the footage between 12 a.m. and 2 p.m. on May 31.

“When there are opportunities for capturing northern lights I go,” he said. “I don’t want to be in the middle of a forest. I try for interesting angles and wanted to show the city lights under the aurora.”

He sets his camera on a tripod and adjusts the settings as the lighting changes, then goes home to do all of the editing.

He enjoys sharing his work with others.

“When everyone likes the photos and videos it makes me happy, I don’t mind sharing my work and am always open to feedback,” he said.

Bartos’ video shows the William R. Bennett bridge lit up over Okanagan Lake, along with the lights of the city, while the aurora borealis dances as puffy clouds pass by. 

The celestial activity was caused by a powerful coronal mass ejection that erupted from the sun the evening of May 30, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center. 

A geomagnetic storm watch was put into effect for June 1 and 2, with activity forecast to begin subsiding by Tuesday, June 3, however the storm activity is difficult to predict.

Bartos has been a photographer for two decades. He started out doing landscape photography but now focuses on shooting for weddings and events with his company Roman Bartos Photography.