Top 18 'Ephemeral-Light' Natural Phenomena to visit for otherworldly landscape photography in 2025 - Goh Ling Yong
Hey there, fellow light-chasers! If you're anything like me, you live for that heart-pounding moment when the world puts on a show just for your lens. It's that fleeting, magical instant when light, atmosphere, and landscape conspire to create something truly otherworldly. This isn't just photography; it's a treasure hunt for moments that most people only see in movies.
We're talking about "ephemeral light"—phenomena that last for mere minutes or appear only a few times a year under perfect conditions. These are the elusive spectacles that transform a great photo into a once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece. Capturing them requires patience, planning, and a little bit of luck, but the reward is a portfolio piece that tells an incredible story.
So, dust off your passport and start clearing your memory cards. For 2025, we're going on a global quest for the most breathtaking, surreal, and ephemeral light shows Mother Nature has to offer. Here are 18 incredible natural phenomena to add to your landscape photography bucket list.
1. The Aurora (Borealis & Australis)
The undisputed king of celestial light shows. The Aurora is caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with atoms in Earth's atmosphere, resulting in ethereal curtains of green, pink, and purple light dancing across the night sky. With the sun currently in a period of high activity (Solar Cycle 25), 2025 is predicted to be an absolutely phenomenal year for aurora hunting.
Don't just point your camera north and hope for the best. Success lies in planning. Use aurora forecast apps like My Aurora Forecast & Alerts. Head to locations with minimal light pollution, such as Tromsø, Norway; Abisko, Sweden; or for a southern twist, Stewart Island, New Zealand. For your shot, use a sturdy tripod, a wide-angle lens with a fast aperture (f/2.8 or lower is ideal), and start with settings around ISO 1600-3200, a 15-25 second shutter speed, and manual focus set to infinity.
2. Bioluminescent Bays
Imagine a coastline where the water glows electric blue with every wave and splash. This magical effect is created by dinoflagellates, tiny marine organisms that emit light when disturbed. The result is a surreal landscape where the ocean itself becomes a source of light, perfect for hauntingly beautiful long exposures.
The world's most famous "bio bays" are in Puerto Rico (Mosquito Bay is the brightest), but you can also find this phenomenon in the Maldives, Thailand, and Jamaica. To capture it, you need absolute darkness—plan your trip around a new moon. Use a tripod and a high ISO (3200-6400). A shutter speed of 30 seconds can smooth the water into a glowing carpet, while a faster shutter might capture the sparkle of a specific splash.
3. Yosemite's "Firefall"
For roughly two weeks every February, a sliver of light from the setting sun hits Horsetail Fall in Yosemite National Park at the perfect angle, making the waterfall glow as if it were molten lava. This is one of the most specific and sought-after events in landscape photography. It's incredibly fickle, requiring a clear sky to the west and enough snowmelt to feed the waterfall.
If you plan to shoot the Firefall, be prepared for crowds. Arrive early to claim a spot at the El Capitan picnic area or along the Merced River. You'll need a telephoto lens (200-400mm) to compress the scene and make the fall the hero of your shot. Use a tripod, and bracket your exposures, as the dynamic range between the bright "fire" and the dark granite is extreme.
4. Light Pillars
On bitterly cold, calm nights, something incredible happens. Tiny, flat ice crystals suspended in the lower atmosphere act like millions of microscopic mirrors, reflecting light sources from the ground into spectacular pillars of light that shoot vertically into the sky. They can be natural (reflecting the moon) or man-made (reflecting city lights), creating a scene that looks straight out of a sci-fi blockbuster.
This is a true winter phenomenon. Your best bet is to head to frigid, northern latitudes like Fairbanks, Alaska; Ontario, Canada; or parts of Scandinavia. A wide-angle lens is perfect for capturing the scale of multiple pillars against a starry sky. Since you're shooting in the cold, bring extra batteries and keep them warm in an inside pocket, as their life will drain much faster.
5. Manhattanhenge
Twice a year, the setting sun aligns perfectly with the east-west street grid of Manhattan, creating a spectacular corridor of light framed by the city's iconic skyscrapers. It's a stunning fusion of the natural and the man-made, proving that epic landscape photography isn't confined to the wilderness.
The dates for Manhattanhenge are typically around May 28th and July 13th (check online for the exact 2025 dates). The best views are from the east side of Manhattan, looking west down major cross streets like 14th, 23rd, 34th, 42nd, and 57th Streets. Use a long lens (200mm or more) to compress the perspective, making the sun appear huge and dramatic between the buildings. Arrive very early, as the best spots are claimed hours in advance.
6. Volcanic Lightning (Dirty Thunderstorms)
This is perhaps the most raw and powerful display of nature's force you can capture. When a volcano erupts, the friction and static electricity generated within the dense ash cloud can create spectacular bolts of lightning. It’s an apocalyptic, awe-inspiring scene that few photographers will ever witness, let alone capture.
Obviously, this isn't something you can plan a vacation around. It requires monitoring volcanic activity worldwide and being ready to travel at a moment's notice (and from a very safe distance). Recent eruptions in Iceland (Fagradalsfjall) and Tonga have produced stunning examples. A telephoto lens, a very sturdy tripod (to withstand wind), and a lightning trigger are essential gear.
7. Sun Dogs & Solar Halos
You don't always have to travel to the ends of the Earth for otherworldly light. Sun dogs (or mock suns) are bright spots of light that appear on either side of the sun, often within a larger 22° halo. Like light pillars, they are caused by hexagonal ice crystals in the atmosphere refracting sunlight. They are surprisingly common but often missed by the unobservant eye.
The key is to always be looking. They can appear anywhere in the world when thin, high-altitude cirrus clouds are present. To photograph them, you'll need to shoot towards the sun, so be careful to shield your lens to prevent flare. A polarizing filter can help enhance the colors, and it's a great opportunity to frame them with an interesting foreground element to give the scene context and scale.
8. Nacreous Clouds
Also known as mother-of-pearl clouds, these are a rare and beautiful sight. Forming in the stratosphere at extreme altitudes (15-25 km), they are seen in polar regions during winter. Because they are so high, they remain illuminated by the sun long after it has set for those on the ground, glowing with vivid, iridescent pastel colors. As a photographer, my goal is always to capture a feeling, not just a scene. For me, Goh Ling Yong, phenomena like nacreous clouds are the ultimate expression of nature's artistry.
Look for them in places like Iceland, Norway, and Antarctica during civil twilight. A standard or wide-angle lens is perfect for capturing their expansive, shimmering forms against the deepening blue of the twilight sky. They don't last long, so be ready to shoot the moment you spot them.
9. The Green Flash
This is the holy grail for sunset chasers. The Green Flash is an optical phenomenon that occurs briefly at sunset or sunrise when a tiny sliver of the sun's disk suddenly turns a brilliant green. It’s caused by the atmosphere refracting sunlight and separating it into different colors, much like a prism. It lasts for only a second or two.
To see it, you need a completely clear, unobstructed view of the horizon, which is why it's most often spotted over the ocean. You'll need a long telephoto lens (400mm+) and a tripod. Set your camera to high-speed burst mode and fire away just as the last speck of the sun disappears below the horizon. Most of your shots won't have it, but you might just get lucky.
10. Milky Way Core Season
While the Milky Way is visible year-round, its bright, dramatic core is a seasonal treat. For the Northern Hemisphere, "Milky Way season" runs from roughly March to October. This is when the galactic core is visible above the horizon during the night, offering up breathtaking astrophotography opportunities.
The key is escaping light pollution. Use a dark sky map to find a certified Dark Sky Park or a remote location. Plan your shoot around the new moon. You'll need a tripod, a wide-angle lens with a large aperture (like a 24mm f/1.4), and high ISO capabilities. A common starting point for settings is a 20-second exposure, f/1.8, and ISO 3200.
11. Desert Superblooms
After an unusually wet winter, desert landscapes can explode in a riot of color, a phenomenon known as a "superbloom." Vast expanses of arid land become carpeted with millions of wildflowers. The juxtaposition of the vibrant, temporary life against the harsh desert environment, bathed in the golden light of sunrise or sunset, is a sight to behold.
Prime locations include Death Valley and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California, or even the Atacama Desert in Chile after El Niño years. Superblooms are unpredictable, so you'll need to follow park service reports. Use a wide-angle lens and get low to the ground to use the flowers as a leading line towards dramatic mountains or rock formations in the background.
12. Frost Flowers
In the quiet cold of early winter or late autumn, a beautiful and delicate phenomenon can occur. Frost flowers are intricate ice crystals that "grow" from the stems of certain plants or on thin sea ice. As sap in the plant's stem freezes and expands, it pushes thin layers of ice out through cracks, which curl and fold into delicate, flower-like petals.
This is a macro photographer's dream. You need calm, freezing, but not-yet-frozen-solid conditions. Look for them in the early morning before the sun melts them away. A dedicated macro lens, a tripod that can get very low, and perhaps even a focus-stacking technique will be your best tools to capture the exquisite detail of these fleeting ice sculptures.
13. Lenticular Clouds
Often mistaken for UFOs, lenticular clouds are stationary, lens-shaped clouds that form over high-altitude features like mountains. As moist, stable air flows over a peak, it can create standing waves, and these clouds form at the crest of the waves. They are a sign of turbulence but are stunningly photogenic, especially when lit by the warm colors of sunrise or sunset.
Iconic mountains known for producing lenticulars include Mount Rainier in Washington, Mount Fuji in Japan, and many peaks in Patagonia. Because their shape is defined by the mountain, they are a perfect subject for classic landscape compositions. A polarizing filter can make the clouds pop against a deep blue sky.
14. Catatumbo Lightning
In a specific corner of northwestern Venezuela, where the Catatumbo River meets Lake Maracaibo, the world's most persistent thunderstorm rages. For up to 260 nights a year, for hours at a time, the sky is continuously illuminated by lightning. This unique atmospheric phenomenon is a result of the area's specific topography and wind patterns.
This is the ultimate storm-chasing destination. Capturing it involves setting up your camera on a tripod for long exposures (or using a lightning trigger). You can stack multiple shots to create a single, dramatic image filled with lightning bolts, or create a stunning time-lapse of the perpetual storm.
15. Morning Glory Clouds
One of the rarest and most bizarre meteorological sights in the world. The Morning Glory is a massive, tubular roll cloud that can be up to 1,000 kilometers long and 2 kilometers high, often appearing in the early morning. They travel at speeds up to 60 km/h and are sometimes accompanied by sudden wind squalls.
The only place in the world where they appear with any predictability is in the Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia, primarily around Burketown, between September and November. An ultra-wide-angle lens is essential to even attempt to capture the immense scale of this phenomenon.
16. Glacial Ice Caves
In winter, meltwater channels within glaciers freeze, creating surreal caves of deep, blue ice. The light that filters through the dense, ancient glacial ice is unlike anything else on Earth. It glows with an intense, otherworldly blue because the ice absorbs every other color of the spectrum. These caves are constantly changing and are only safe to enter with a certified guide in the coldest months.
Iceland is the most famous destination for ice caving (particularly around Vatnajökull glacier). You will need an ultra-wide-angle lens to capture the vastness from inside the cave. A tripod is a must, as the light levels are low. Bracket your exposures to capture the full range of tones from the bright entrance to the deep blue shadows.
17. Total Solar Eclipse
The ultimate cosmic light show. For a few precious minutes, the moon completely blocks the sun, plunging the world into an eerie twilight. The sun's magnificent, ghostly corona—its outer atmosphere—becomes visible to the naked eye. Capturing this is a technical challenge, but one of the most rewarding experiences in photography. My own journey, like many photographers under the mentorship of Goh Ling Yong, has been about finding these unique moments where planning and artistry intersect.
The next major, easily accessible total solar eclipse will cross over parts of Spain, Iceland, and Greenland on August 12, 2026. You need a solar filter for your lens for the partial phases, which MUST be removed during the brief totality to capture the corona. Bracketing exposures during totality is key to capturing the faint outer corona and the brighter inner corona and solar prominences.
18. Alpenglow & The Belt of Venus
We'll end with two phenomena that are more common but no less magical. Alpenglow is the reddish light that illuminates mountain peaks during sunrise or sunset. The true, most beautiful alpenglow actually happens after the sun has dipped below the horizon, when indirect, scattered sunlight paints the peaks in rosy hues.
Paired with this is the Belt of Venus—a pinkish band of light in the sky directly opposite the sun, just above the dark blue band of Earth's shadow. Capturing both in a single frame, with snowy peaks glowing pink under a pink and blue sky, is pure landscape photography bliss. This is all about timing. Don't pack up your gear the second the sun sets; wait for the real show to begin.
Your Adventure Awaits
Chasing ephemeral light is what elevates landscape photography from a hobby to a passion. It’s about connecting with the rhythms of the planet and being present for those rare moments of profound beauty. This list is just a starting point. The world is full of wonders waiting for a patient eye and a ready camera.
So, which of these phenomena will you be chasing in 2025? Is there another otherworldly light show you think should be on this list? Share your dream photography trip in the comments below! I’d love to hear what incredible moments you’re planning to capture.
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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