Northern lights image to grace hotel wall

An image of the Northern Lights captured by photographer Austin Taylor has been given pride of place at The Moorfield Hotel in Brae.

The photo, shot at Wadbister, was installed in 30 guest bedrooms in the hotel.

The nature photographer, who moved to Shetland from Kendal in the Lake District almost three decades ago, is an aurora borealis enthusiast who regularly seeks out the elusive lights in the night sky.

He said: “I’ve had an interest in photography since I was old enough to hold a camera. The Aurora is one of my favourite things to shoot and I see something different each time the lights appear.

“The picture selected by The Moorfield Hotel is one of my personal favourites, captured right here on the Mainland. When I started to sell my work professionally, around a decade ago now, I never imagined that it would be greeting visitors from all over the world as they arrive in Shetland.”

Hotel manager Ailsa Sangster added: “We wanted our guestroom artwork to represent the very best of what Shetland has to offer and there is nothing more spectacular than the Northern Lights in the night sky.

“We were familiar with Austin’s photography and we knew we wanted to showcase his work. It was a hard choice selecting the final image but in the end there was one which just blew us away.”