This Photographer Went for the Northern Lights, However He By no means Anticipated to Meet a Curious Creature

Dennis Lehtonen, a passionate aurora chaser, had ventured to the distant village of Kilpisjärvi, situated inside the Arctic Circle, to seize the northern lights of their full glory. What he didn’t anticipate was to discover a curious animal underneath the glowing sky, turning a routine pictures session right into a surreal expertise. This encounter sparked a sequence of pictures that appear to breathe life into the traditional fable that the northern lights are created by a fox racing throughout the snowy tundra.

Revontulet: The Fox Fires of Finnish Folklore

The northern lights, these mesmerizing mild shows within the Arctic skies, have impressed numerous legends world wide. In Finland, they’re tied to an historic fable that includes a magical fox.

“In Finnish the word for northern lights is “revontulet,” and it immediately interprets to “fox fires.” According to the outdated mythology, when it runs alongside the tundra, the fox’s flaming tail sweeps snowflakes into the sky and the fur scratches the bushes, setting the skies on hearth. That is how the northern lights are created,” shared the photographer in his Instagram submit.

In Lehtonen’s photos, the parable feels virtually tangible because the fox, seen underneath the good auroras, brings the story of the revontulet to life.

Dennis Lehtonen’s Aurora Chase within the Arctic

The photographer moved to Kilpisjärvi for a 12 months to be within the excellent location for aurora pictures, drawn to the village’s darkish skies and frequent aurora shows. This distant spot within the Arctic Circle, recognized for its beautiful pure magnificence, gave Lehtonen the best situations to seize the northern lights in all their radiant glory.

“My original reason for moving and living in this small village, Kilpisjärvi, home to a hundred people, was my aurora hobby. I lived there for a year, but then I continued moving to Greenland,”Lehtonen told to Space.com.

However, whereas Lehtonen arrange his digital camera gear on one chilly evening in December 2022, a fox appeared and, seemingly unfazed by his presence, swiped his gloves. The animal darted off however returned per week later, solely to drop the gloves with just a few fingers lacking. Lehtonen humorously recounted the fox’s antics, saying:

“Whenever I would attempt to approach it, trying to get the gloves back, it would run away, but eventually returned them with fingers missing.” This cheeky interplay added an surprising twist to his pictures session.