How to see and capture the Northern Lights with next two winters believed to be best chance to see them in decades

With the next two winters set to be your best chance to see the Northern Lights in decades, call off your holiday plans to Scandinavia.

Norway and Sweden, as well as their Nordic neighbours in Finland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland are all famous for their display of the “merry dancers”, but Aberdeen can be just as good.

Just last week, the Granite City and the wider north-east, as well as the Highlands and islands saw the Northern Lights – or Aurelius Borealis to give them their formal title – light up the skies.

Press & Journal photographer Darrell Benns gave us his expert tips on how to get the best shots of them:

For phones and DSLR:

• Avoid light pollution so get out of the city or any street lights.
• Use a tripod or a clamp. Anything to keep your camera or phone still. Since you’ll be using a slow shutter any movement will give a blurry photo.
• Set a timer or use a trigger to help reduce shake from pressing the shutter.
• Look for trees or buildings to help give your photo some depth. Water can also be nice if you can get a reflection.

DSLR camera settings:

• Choose manual mode and set file type to RAW. Manual gives you the most control and RAW is the best quality.
• Aim for an f-stop of 2.8 – but as low as your lens will go. This will allow the most light into your camera.
• ISO 1600-3200. Try and keep it as low as you can to help reduce noise. You’ll need to adjust as you go but start low and increase as needed.
• Shutter speed of anywhere between one to 15 seconds, no longer than 30. Same as ISO, just adjust as needed. The fine line will be when you get a sharp and bright image but with low noise.
• Manual focus set to infinity (looks like a sideways “8”) and then adjust if needed to get a sharp image.

Mobile settings:

• Use night mode if your phone has it.
• If not, set a timer, set the camera to slow shutter and then find something to balance your phone to keep it steady.

‘Northern Nights’

“The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen” is a well-known song to Aberdonians far and wide and VisitAberdeenshire are hoping to attract people to the Granite City to witness them with their own eyes.

A winter marketing campaign called “Northern Nights” is being launched by the tourism agency to try and attract people to the north-east during the cold and dark winter months.

It will promote the bright lights of the city and the starry skies of Aberdeenshire, which has some of the darkest skies in the UK, with Dunnottar Castle and Cairn o’ Mount being particularly good places to see the natural phenomenon.

There is also a good chance of spotting it from the Torry Battery in Aberdeen, as well as other areas along the North Sea coast of the city and Aberdeenshire.

Located more north than parts of Alaska and the Russian capital of Moscow, the city is the ideal place to see the lights and Aberdeen FC even had a “Northern Lights” away strip last season.

The campaign, which aims to “further sustainable growth” and “extend the visitor season”, will run until the end of January and target potential visitors in the rest of Scotland, the north of England and London.

Last year, the north-east enjoyed a record-breaking year in terms of visitor numbers, with over three million people visiting, with the economic value measured at over £1 billion.

With the campaign trying to get visitors from the rest of Scotland to visit Aberdeen, this aims to help the city’s perception Scotland-wide, which in the past has got more tourists from England and Scandinavia due to the lengthy train journey from the central belt.

‘We want the region to be an established year-round destination’

VisitAberdeenshire chief executive Chris Foy said: “We want the region to be an established year-round destination, and “Northern Nights” highlights the reasons to travel here in the traditionally quieter months.

“Statistically this year and next are believed to be the best in decades for spotting the Aurora Borealis, and our northern latitude, natural environment and clear night skies combine to make the north-east a prime destination for winter experiences without having to hop on a plane to Iceland or Norway.

“From the city’s vibrant festivals to Aberdeenshire’s stargazing credentials – we want visitors to look up and around and immerse themselves in the sights and sounds of winter.”