Your Take Today: Paste BN's top reader photo

Matt Skinner never knows what he's going to see when he heads out to photograph aurora borealis.

"Some nights I'll go out and barely see a sliver of it; while other nights the light show that is put on is absolutely amazing and literally out of this world," he says.

Skinner is originally from Washington, but he now lives in Alaska. The majority of his aurora borealis photos were taken with a Sony DSC-RX100 point-and-shoot; however, he recently purchased a Canon 5D Mark III, and uses a 24-105mm lens.

Long exposure times (between two and 20 seconds) and an ISO between 800-1600 helps him capture the glowing night sky.

Skinner says that photographing "the aurora" often involves long nights waiting patiently for something to happen; when it does, it is rewarding as both a photographer and an observer.

"Sometimes, I have to remind myself to stop shooting and to just look up and take in the experience," he says.

For more of Skinner's photography, check out his Facebook page and Instagram account.

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