I saw the northern lights during the historic solar storm. I was surprised by how misleading the photos are.

• I saw the northern lights just outside San Francisco on Friday during a rare geomagnetic storm.
• I was surprised that my phone camera captured a vibrant pink explosion, while I saw a dull red glow.
• Photos of the aurora borealis can be misleading, but it's still worth seeing.

I saw the northern lights glowing in the California skies last weekend — but just barely.