Eager to capture the rare spectacle of the Northern Lights gracing Kansas skies, I minimized the horizon in my composition, unaware of the tree's presence until I reviewed the image later.
This shot was captured with my trusty Canon 90D and 18-55mm kit lens set to 18mm, f/3.5 aperture, and 8-second exposure. With ISO at 1600, the aurora borealis was so vibrant that night that its reds and greens were easily visible to the naked eye.
Post-processing involved cropping to center the tree and darkening the foreground to avoid distracting from the vibrant sky. White balance was adjusted to closely match the colors witnessed in person. No major color or saturation edits were applied, preserving the authenticity of this extraordinary natural light show.