Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

That sounds great!

Except for timing. December is not particularly good. Late September into early November and then February through early March are the best times. But the fall months are more likely to be cloudy, while the spring months are clear (and freaking cold too). During peak years it makes no difference, but otherwise it does.

klbuild Loc: Durham, north carolina

Rokinon 14mm 2.8
24mm 1.4
35mm 1.4
85mm 1.4
These lenses are highly recommended by David kingman. I've read a lot about night photography. I'm going to Wyoming in a couple months

Jer Loc: Mesa, Arizona

I'm planning on going to either Alaska or Iceland to take photos during peak season.
All of the infor was very helpful.

thx

lhdiver Loc: Midwest

Be sure to take foot warmers & hand warmers, you will probably need them. I like to use thin gloves under a mitten-glove where the "mitten" folds back so you can operate the camera, putting a hand warmer on top of your fingers in the mitten will help a lot, you can also just stick your trigger finger out & keep others covered.
It is possible to get frost on the lens so have your lens cleaning cloth handy.
When focusing zoom in & see if the stars are sharp then you can tape your lens in that position so it doesn't move if you like.
Most of all, keep warm & enjoy!

Jer Loc: Mesa, Arizona

Thx, I really appreciate the advice.

Robeng Loc: California

Keep it simple, take your 28mm-300mm. Not just my opinion. Trey Ratcliff & Ken Rockwell also believes the same.

lhdiver Loc: Midwest

Agreed, the 28-300 is my workhorse lens. That & your 20mm for the lights should be all you need.

tom hughes Loc: Phila Pa

The University of Alaska, Anchorage, has a phone app. that will notify you if there is any activity. You know there is no guarantee. You need super clear skies, December should do that for you, and no city or artificial light. Plenty of good google info on how to shoot.

genepoole Loc: Alaska (South Central)

Don't forget to take extra batteries and keep them fully charged inside your coat next to your body. The cold will suck the charge right out of a battery in short order. I also have an inverter to run my charger off my car battery. Fingers and toes will be the weak points. Take hand warmers and good boots.

Kalina54 Loc: Flagstaff, AZ

Purchase chemical hand warmers to help keep your batteries warm. The cold zaps the length of the charge. Make certain to put your camera into a ziplock before entering a building and let it adjust to the inside temperature for about 30 minutes before removing it from the bag. This will reduce condensation from the cold

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

Ziploc bags will work, but they aren't the best way to do it.

Almost anything will work in a pinch, so even just wrapping the camera in a coat will work... if you can wait all the next day for it to get warm enough to take out!

The best way is to use a kitchen size plastic trash bag, and while still outside put the camera into that, squeeze all the air out and give it a twist to keep air out. Bring that inside and place it in a warm area that has good air circulation. Because the air was removed (air is very good insulation that would keep the camera warm) it will warm up fast. But there is another advantage too, because if you then decide you want the battery or the memory card you can safely just stick your hand down into the bag and get what you want. No air will get in. With a Ziploc bag that isn't safe because a lot of air will get into the bag.

With the kitchen sized trash bag you might get the camera warm in 30 minutes, but maybe not. With other wrapping it will take longer. Given that in December it might be anything from -30F to -60F, it could take awhile. The camera needs to be at least about +36F to prevent condensation.

stringplayer Loc: Atlanta, GA

I neglected to follow up with you fine folks. First, thanks for all the suggestions. I ultimately decided to go with the AF-S Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G ED, which worked just fine. I took the two shots below with my D800 at an exposure of 13 sec at f/3.2 (ISO 1000). If I had to do it all over again, I'd likely bump up the ISO and use a faster shutter speed. The Northern Lights move more quickly than it appears to the eye, and I think the photos would have been better with less blur. Any thoughts in that regard would be appreciated.

ValliPride Loc: Lost in Florida

WOW!! Beautiful, I just bought that lens 20mm on Friday, thank you for sharing. Beautiful.