A SMALL village in Cumbria has been placed on an international stage thanks to a local photographer's image of the Northern Lights being showcased in the New York Times.
Keen photographer, Steve Emery, captured the breathtaking aurora display over Hesket Newmarket alongside his daughter Megan.
"We have a group of aurora watchers in Hesket Newmarket, there’s not that many houses but whenever anyone gets a notification from the app, you see half the village trawling up the hill to see what’s there," Steve said.
"It's always a great atmosphere.
“The night before everyone saw the aurora but there was another warning the next night that many people didn’t pick up.
“Then a reporter contacted me from the New York Times after I posted the photo, I thought it was a scam at first.
"I wasn’t expecting a great deal to come of it but then bang, it was on the second page of the New York Times," he said.
Whilst many don't get the chance to see the Northern Lights in their lifetime, Steve has had the fortune of seeing it around 8 times this year, so far.
“We’ve seen them about eight or nine times over the last year, it’s a real benefit of the group.
For aspiring aurora watchers, Steve advises: "You’ve got to keep pursuing it, get onto these groups and react quickly, sometimes you only have 10 minutes.
“There’s no thousands of pounds heading to Norway, join a group in Cumbria, work together and you’ll be able to see them," he said.
Steve’s daughter, Megan, shares his passion for photography, often following him with her camera for potential sightings.
"I think Megan's picture is better than mine but the NY Times picked up mine," he said.
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