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Taking pictures of the Northern Lights: 10 expert photography tips

Taking pictures of the Aurora Borealis is an art in itself and requires preparation, so The Local spoke to Abisko-based photographer Chad Blakley about how to take awe-inspiring snaps of the Northern Lights. Watch the video in the article.

Published: 26 October 2020 08:51 CET
Updated: 11 February 2022 16:48 CET

Taking pictures of the Northern Lights: 10 expert photography tips

There's a lot of tiny but essential details to be aware of when taking pictures of the Northern Lights. Photo: Magnus Hjalmarson Neideman/SvD/TT

Prefer to read? Here’s another guide to Northern Lights photography

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Here's why Umeå was just ranked the best place to live in Sweden

Umeå is in fact the best place to live in Sweden, according to a new ranking by the magazine Fokus.

The research was carried out by Infostat on behalf of Fokus and looked at factors such as household economy, safety, jobs, education, childcare, healthcare, infrastructure, services, leisure and public economy.

“This is of course great. All of northern Sweden and not least Umeå is on fire right now and offers residents extremely good opportunities to live good lives,” Umeå mayor Hans Lindberg said in a press statement.

Lindberg highlighted the fact that the city has low unemployment, good proximity to nature and good transport links. It was also ranked highly when it came to feelings of safety, has a low gun violence rate, low ethnic segregation and good police presence.

It’s also the largest city in Sweden with no so-called vulnerable areas.

While much of the rest of Norrland is predominantly industrial, Umeå has two universities, so the city benefits from a young population and a thriving cultural scene. Many people outside Sweden may not have heard of it, but it does have one claim to fame internationally: Stig Larsson, the author of the Millennium crime trilogy, grew up in Umeå and wrote some of his earliest work in the city.

And having a university appears to be a common theme in the top three, where Umeå was joined by Luleå, also in Norrland, and Karlstad, on the shores of Lake Vänern.

The study also looked at how different cities fare among varying groups of people who may not want the same things. The best municipalities for people in their twenties, for example, were Solna, Stockholm and Luleå, while families with young children had the same top three as the study as a whole, but in a different order, with Luleå first, followed by Karlstad, followed by Umeå.

READ MORE: Which Swedish cities are most popular among young professionals?

Pensioners preferred Örnsköldsvik, also in Norrland, followed by Umeå and Solna.

The worst municipalities overall were Tanum, Älvdalen and Vansbro.

Here’s the top ten:

1. Umeå

2. Luleå

3. Karlstad

4. Lidingö

5. Mölndal

6. Täby

7. Örnsköldsvik

8. Östersund

9. Nacka

10. Lund

And the bottom ten:

281. Heby

282. Gnesta

283. Östhammar

284. Valdemarsvik

285. Flen

286. Vingåker

287. Gagnef

288. Vansbro

289. Älvdalen

290. Tanum

Do you live in Umeå? Do you agree it’s the best place to live in Sweden? Let us know in the comments what you like about it.

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