We grow, we evolve, but we forever stay true to our real selves.

Long time ago, before I was a photographer, during my younger years, I was totally addicted to music and to the night world. I’ve even been an amateur DJ in the world of Hardcore music, kind of fast and aggressive electro sounds which are very industrial and underground. From illegal rave parties in the woods hiding from the police to the biggest international events, I was out every weekends to dance through the night, and I remember that one of my favorite moments in those parties was to watch at the powerful green lights produced by lasers dancing into the sky above my head, no matter the cold or the tiredness.

Chasing the Northern Lights brings me more or less the same feeling nowadays. Despite the nights being less noisy and crowded than before, the adventure in itself is pretty similar.

Driving hundreds and hundreds of kilometers to reach the place of the show. Arriving when the day is getting over, standing out for hours in the cold, fighting against raging wind or rain showers, fighting against the tiredness and so much more, waiting for that breathtaking show to occur in the sky. Suddenly, a faint ray of light appear somewhere, grayish, almost invisible.. So much that you even ask yourself if you are not watching at a cloud. But then that cloud gets brighter and bigger, start moving, and then, you know. Feelings of joy and excitement invade you so much that you can feel some goosebumps under the many layers of clothes you wear. Eyes wide open, you can't stop watching at the sky, like hypnotized by the dancing Auroras.

This picture is a panoramic of 3 landscape format images. Foreground is a single picture which has been taken at blue hour with the last lights of the day while the sky has been captured in two images, later in the night, when Northern lights started to dance into the sky.

FG: iso: 100 | f/11 | focal length: 16mm | shutter speed: 30s Sky: iso: 3200 | f/2.8 | focal length: 16mm | shutter speed: 10s

Size: 6240 × 9360

License: Extended Editorial. Can be used to display privately, or in commercial and non-commercial settings, or in groups with an unlimited number of participants. The license includes unlimited use and display in virtual or physical galleries, documentaries, and essays by the NFT holder. Provides no rights to create commercial merchandise, commercial distribution, or derivative works.

Artist: Joffrey Briaud

Joffrey Briaud is a professional landscape photographer who grew up under the sun of the South East of France, somewhere between mountains and sea. In 2018, planning a trip to the arctic country of Norway, he took the decision to buy his first camera to capture the beauty of the Northern Lights. This is how a convenient purchase turned into a true passion, pushing him to dedicate all his savings from his hard work as a bartender to travel to some of the most incredible places of the world and capture their beauty. Regarding the difficulty to find some free time out of his work to practice his passion he decided in 2021 to stop his bartender career to focus 100% on photography and make it a full-time job. Self-taught artist, his unique style can be defined as complex, dreamy and colorful.