Feb 18, 2025
Best Private Tour Available!!! - Michael and Faced The Outdoors helped deliver one of the most magical nights of my life. I want to be clear I booked a private tour so the review and information I have are for that experience. With that said if anyone is looking for someone who can help capture a personal night with the best chances of seeing the lights then booking the private tour with Michael is a MUST do! I proposed on the night of my tour and this experience was above and beyond what I hoped to have and capture the night for my fiance and I.
The lights are never guaranteed and anyone promoting that they are is simply trying to make a buck off you. the FTO website is extremely honest and well filled with information regarding the lights and what to expect throughout your experiences with them and I HIGHLY recommend taking the time to read the site and FAQs. But if your looking for someone who is extremely knowledgeable and honest about getting you the best opportunity to see them and take breath taking photos of you then Michael is your man! His home is beautiful and the view from the site if the sky and lights (when there of course) is like no other and the fact that the option to chase on nights where its necessary exist makes this experiences the absolute best available near Fairbanks!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 19, 2024
A Dream Come True! - Like so many people, seeing the Northern Lights has been on our bucket list! Luckily, we choose “Face the Outdoors,” with Michael He is a native of Alaska with lots of knowledge and years of experience photographing the Aurora.
He picked us up around 8:00 pm from our hotel in Fairbanks and bought us out to a large open field by his house. We dressed for the cold, prepared to spend hours outside. Seeing the northern lights is always a crap shoot, and luck was in our favor! Michael is very knowledgeable about the Aurora and photography. He helped us know what to look for and how to capture a shot with our iPhone. (BRING A TRIPOD!). He also took a beautiful photo of us framed by the Northern Lights! We highly recommend booking with Michael at “Face the Outdoors.”
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Feb 18, 2024
Amazing guide & lucky night of viewing! - Michael is an amazing tour guide, his knowledge of the aurora is off the charts! We were lucky enough to go on 2 consecutive nights for private tours.
The first night we went to Michaels beautiful house in Delta Junction, with an unobstructed, open field for viewing just out the door. Unfortunately for us Aurora didn’t cooperate that night. Nobody’s fault, just nature, it’s always a crap shoot. But Michael waited till the end of our time before calling it a night, hoping they’d come out.
Our second night we went chasing. Literally driving hundreds of miles due to heavy cloud cover but great projections. Michael didn’t give up he kept going trying to find an opening in the clouds. Finally on the way back about 120 miles from the hotel & at 3:30 am he saw it, the opening! The winds were howling 60 to 70 mph so it was very hard to hold still for pictures or for him to keep his camera still but he got us some pictures & at least 45 minutes with Aurora shining brightly above us. Michael never gave up, he wants to give you the best possible trip he can. He shares his knowledge about Aurora in an easy way to understand making it interesting while learning about one of Gods little miracles on earth.
Thank You Michael for an amazing 2 nights of Aurora hunting & finally finding them & getting pictures of us to share with family & friends in the most difficult conditions. You are great & we highly recommend you to anyone going to Fairbanks to see the Northern Lights!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 5, 2023
Chasing the Aurora - This was a bucket list item for us. there were quite a few clouds at the start of our evening. As we set up our camaras we could only see clouds to the north. The skies however were clear to the south so Michael loaded us all up in the van and we traveled south for almost an hour. once we made it to his viewing area the skies cleared up and we got our first view of the Northern Lights. It was a little less than spectacular, but still pretty neat. The tour was scheduled to return at 3:30am, but the longer we stayed the better the lights became. Michael was determined to give us the best show possible so as we started back, he kept a sharp lookout and we were able to stop again and get a much better viewing opportunity, We stayed an extra two ours and didn't head back till 5:30.
If you go to all of the trouble like we did to go to Fairbanks to see the Norther lights you don't want to do it on your own. You defiantly need to have a guide, and I don't think there is anyone who puts in the effort and will actually chase the clear skies like Michael at "Face the Outdoors".
A few tips: Because of the nature of weather and Aurora itself, you need to plan on staying at least 3 days. If you have a good camara and a tripod, take it. The camara picks up colors that you can't see with the naked eye. If you are going to use a phone camara you still need a tripod because the shutter needs to be set on 3 to 10 seconds.
Take a nap before you are picked up, this is an all nighter. Dress for very cold weather.
Thanks, Micheal, for the great adventure.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oct 16, 2023
Great tour for the serious photographer - My wife and I were looking for a private tour out of Fairbanks that would give us the best opportunity to photograph the northern lights. Michael provided that for us. While the night sky played tough to see, we were in great company, had plenty of opportunity to photograph as well as come indoors and warm up between shoots (we were out until 3 am in the morning).
I highly rate this tour for the serious photographer, as Michael can share his experiences with photographing and chasing the aurora borealis.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jan 11, 2023
Alaska Bucket List Aurora Lights - Alaska Bucket List
For months we scoured the internet for when, where, which companies to use and what activities to do.
We feel very fortunate in the companies we chose.
For seeing the Aurora lights we chose Face the Outdoors. Michael, owner, is fabulous! He had the night scheduled out as much as possible. What I really appreciate about Michael is that he knows the State, he knows how to read the space maps, how to find the best areas to attempt a view and doesn’t quit!!!
We first went out to his house that overlooks snow covered fields and quite a ways away from city lights. As he followed the weather calculations the decision was made to hit the road for clearer skies.
It took a bit of driving, but we found a site where we had success in seeing the Auroras. Mother Nature wasn’t playing as nice as we had hoped. We did see the formation and some lights. We were excited to see how it all comes into being. Michael’s knowledge of the Aurora’s and Alaska is amazing.
Face the Outdoors is not your typical Aurora lights company. Instead of just going to one location and hoping for the best Michael was willing to follow the weather to get us the best experience he could.
Michael is quite the artist with his lens, as well. He has some beautiful prints for sale.
I am the proud owner of one of his original, beautiful prints.
We were in AK for 5 days in January. Was it cold? Oh yeah! But so worth it!!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nov 18, 2022
3rd time’s a charm! - We had booked the Aurora tour with Michael for our first 2nts in Fairbanks. Caught a few glimpses of the lights the first night and nothing to speak of the second night due to cloud cover both nights. Michael was constantly monitoring weather conditions to see if moving to a different location would give a better chance to see the lights, which we tried late into the 2nd night with unfortunate results. While waiting for the lights your are surrounded with the comforts of Michaels home.
Multiple sofas, snacks, coffee, tea ,cold beverages, warmth and most importantly the bathroom. I couldnt imagine chasing the lights in a van and standing roadside for 8 hrs with 3 women and no restrooms around.
Michael was great helping me set up my camera settings and had camera’s to rent as well. Very friendly and informative on the lights and all things Alaska. We had such an enjoyable experience with Michael on those 2nts lights or not, we decided after talking with him and checking weather forecasts to give it a 3rd try on our last night in fairbanks.
Started out quiet as we sat and talked and waited for clouds to clear around 1am ,and at 1:20 am the skies opened up and JACKPOT!
The lights were dancing in the skies above us for a couple of hrs as we got a show of a lifetime and thanks to Michael some outstanding pictures to back up our story. Lol
A great trip to Fairbanks, topped off with our Aurora experience with Michel.
I highly recommend Michael and facetheoutdoors Aurora tour and look forward to having the opportunity to visit Fairbanks and Michael again.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Apr 18, 2022
Northern Wonders - This was my first trip to Alaska, and the one thing I had on my bucket list was being able to see the Northern Lights. Michael was great with communication the day of and arrived for pickup promptly at the hotel. On the way to our location, he even stopped for us to get a scenic photo op. Michael made us all feel welcome in his home, and as a fellow photographer, we were able to create a bond immediately. He took special care to make sure that we got the best possible viewing of the Northern Lights, and keepsake pictures as well. 5 out of 5 stars. Trust me, you're in great hands!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
