Northern Lights: A dazzling shot in the dark

Once described as the "Dance of the Spirits", the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, is one of the most elusive of photography subjects. An award-winning British photographer who leads tours across Scandinavia in search of the perfect shot of the Northern Lights may well have captured it in this image.

Antony Spencer, 30, from Gillingham in Dorset, leads groups of up to five amateur photographers at a time through the Norwegian landscape and uses GPS systems to locate the best spot to capture the twice-yearly display. It takes patience and endurance.

He said: "After hours waiting with nothing but a flask full of coffee and all our thermals on for warmth, the clear skies approached. It couldn't have worked out any better, as the moment the clear skies were overhead, we saw a big spike on the geomagnetic graph and sure enough aurora borealis began its majestic dance and unfolded in front of us."