Unusually massive and colorful northern lights even far south in the country have received a lot of attention this winter.
Social media - such as Facebook and Instagram - has been filled with photos and posts from the spectacle.
The interest has never been greater, according to Calle Rosenqvist, who runs the photo page Norrsken on Facebook, in addition to the job as editor-in-chief of the photo magazine Kamera & Bild.
- A good aurora borealis picture that is posted on our Facebook page can get thousands of likes and several hundred comments, he says.
The pandemic has contributed
The increased interest in nature experiences in the pandemic has contributed to the hype, Rosenqvist believes.
In addition, many people have bought more advanced cameras and mobile phones recently, which makes it easier to take good pictures.
He expects the trend to continue.
The conditions are there.
The expertise expects that there will be both more and larger northern lights in the next three or four years.
The Northern Lights trend is connected with the activity on the sun, which goes in cycles of eleven years, and right now we are in a phase of increasing solar winds.
The experience of the northern lights is enhanced and extended by the spectacular images, according to Rosenqvist.
The Northern Lights are also often more clearly visible via a camera sensor than with the naked eye.
- The camera accumulates light before it displays an image on the phone or on the monitor.
The eye does not work that way.
It needs constant light, all the time.
Most Northern Lights pictures on the Northern Lights page are taken with a mobile camera, according to Rosenqvist.
- You must keep your phone still when shooting.
Then you can get it right, he says.
Most common beginner error
However, a system camera increases the possibility of being more precise in the settings and capturing movements, color play and details in the northern lights better, according to Rosenqvist.
The most common beginner mistake is to use autofocus.
It can therefore be a good idea to practice how to adjust the focus manually on your lens, so it will be easier in sharp mode out in the dark and winter cold.
- The mobile phone automatically provides a greater depth of field, which means that it resolves itself.
That's not usually a problem.
But the system camera needs to be set manually, says Rosenqvist.
There are system cameras for a few thousand bucks and others that cost tens of thousands of kronor.
But according to Rosenqvist, a relatively simple system camera already raises the level of the images compared to a mobile.
It is crucial that it is possible to adjust the aperture and use different exposure times - that is, how long the camera should be open when the photo is taken.
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During Friday evening, the northern lights were visible over the county.
In the clip you can see more pictures from the light phenomenon.
Photo: Elin Karlsson