THEBACHA/FORT SMITH - A young photographer in Fort Smith has won international recognition for a stunning image he captured of the aurora borealis.

Karl Johnston is a professional photographer in Fort Smith. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Karl Johnston's picture earned praise as a "highly commendable" entry from Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2009, a new competition in Great Britain.

"It was like winning the lottery for me," Johnston said.

The photo, taken in Fort Smith on Feb. 14 of this year, is now part of an exhibit at the Royal Observatory of Greenwich from Sept. 9 to Jan. 10.

"It was taken on the scenic road coming into Fort Smith," Johnston said, referring to Trout Street, which connects Highway 5 and the road to the airport.

"It was going crazy out there," he recalled of the Valentine's Day Northern lights, noting he got hundreds of images.

Johnston submitted three photos to the competition.

The winning entry is called 'Bow of Orion,' since that constellation can be seen near the aurora borealis.

"It looked sort of like an archer's bow," Johnston said.

A judge noted careful composition created a rhythm and symmetry between the lights and silhouetted trees that "beautifully expresses something of the strangely musical and trance-like quality" of the aurora borealis experience.

Johnston, 21, said he looks for special meaning when capturing the aurora borealis.

"It's almost a spiritual experience to be out there shooting," he said.

He added that it's very challenging to photograph the Northern lights.

Some of his tips are to use a tripod to steady the camera, a wide-angle lens and a long exposure of 10-30 seconds.

The photographer said his recognition in the British contest has resulted in worldwide publicity, noting he received calls about using the image in a number of newspapers and magazines.

This image of the aurora borealis – taken in Fort Smith by Karl Johnston – received praise as a highly commendable entry in an international photography competition in Great Britain. - photo courtesy of Karl Johnston

Johnston said close to 500 photographers submitted about 2,000 images to the contest, but he was the only Canadian as far as he knows.

The contest had several categories for photos of images from the solar system and deeper in space. Each category had a first-place photo, a runner-up and several highly commendable entries.

Johnston's images were in the Earth and Space category.

The competition is sponsored by the Royal Observatory of Greenwich, the BBC, Sky at Night Magazine and Flickr, a photo-sharing website.

Johnston said one of his specialties is capturing images of the aurora borealis, of which he has thousands of images.

Yet he has been interested in photography for not quite two years.

"That's what so incredible to a lot of people," he said. "That I managed to get so good in such an incredibly short period of time."

Johnston was born in Scotland, but grew up in Fort Smith since he was two.

Johnston has worked as a photographer for about seven months, making a living of fine arts, commercial and portrait photography.

At the same time, he has attended Aurora College to study business administration, so he can manage his own photography business.

Johnston hopes to further develop his photography career.

"I think eventually I will have to move to a larger place," he said, noting he is not sure the NWT can support more commercial photographers.

He may move to Vancouver or London, where he can work because of his dual citizenship.

But it's Fort Smith that is one of the best places in the world to view Northern lights, he said.

Johnston plans to enter the photography contest again next year, noting, "I'll be competing for first next time."