A SCOTS photographer has captured a series of incredible watercolour-like photos of the aurora borealis shimmering above Loch Lomond.
Gerry Doherty had been waiting patiently in the cold in the early hours of Wednesday morning when a sudden brush of exuberant colours suddenly painted the sky.
Grabbing his camera at Duck Bay Marina on the south side of the Loch, the 63-year-old snapped the natural phenomenon, resulting in an awe-inspiring set of photographs.
Images show the deep velvety blue sky twinkling with bright stars, whilst brushed with a sweeping array of lilac, pink, blue and green hues emanating from the northern lights.
The lights can be seen reflecting across the waters of Loch Lomond, heavily resembling a brilliant watercolour painting.
Glowing lights are visible from residencies across the water, creating a striking contrast with the deeper colours of the sky, creating a galactic-like scene.
There appear to be stratus clouds looming low over the loch, an unusual sight as skies are ordinarily clear during a Northern Lights display.
Gerry shared the incredible photos on social media on Wednesday, writing: “Pink diffuse aurora between the clouds over Loch Lomond, Wednesday 15th Feb, 00:35am.”
The post has received hundreds of likes and dozens of comments as many enamoured fans shared their delight in seeing the beautiful photos.
One person wrote: “Just breathtaking.”
Another said: “Imagine the sights we will see when we’re here”.
A third commented: “Lovely shots, Gerry”.
A fourth added: “Duck Bay Marina, loved it when I was around 15.”
Speaking today, Gerry from Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire said: “I was keeping an eye on the aurora apps and FB aurora pages before it got dark, and there was a good forecast of a show.
“You also have to keep an eye on the weather forecast as you won’t see it if it’s cloudy.
“It was forecast for cloud most of the evening but it was time – it started breaking up about 11pm.
“So, I checked the apps again and the readings were rising, so I went out about 11:15pm to Loch Lomond which is only three miles away.
“It started to appear about midnight when I started taking long exposure photos.
“I’ve photographed it a few times and most of the time you’re standing about for hours in the dark and cold nights, but when it appears it never fails to amaze me.
“It’s normally different every time, the shapes and colours.”
Aurora borealis – or northern lights – appear when highly charged solar wind particles flowing from the sun collide with air molecules in the earth’s atmosphere transferring their energy into light.
The aurora borealis are usually visible in dark skies from late August to mid-April preferably under clear conditions.
While they occur year round they are weaker than sunlight, making sightings from May to July and for most of August almost impossible.
