@gbhnews@jessamyn The color-detecting cells in our retinas require fairly bright light to work. At night everything is lacking in color.
If the aurora's faint there's only just enough light to slightly trigger those cells. I wasn't always 100% sure I was seeing colors at times!
Your camera works differently. It can accumulate light over time to register the colors your eye can't, or can only barely, see. The amazing thing is the digital stabilization in cameras, so it's not all a blur!