Lookout by Greg Gibbs Winner: Wide-Field Citation: ”This is a great location, and Greg has used a wide lens to capture …

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Lookout by Greg Gibbs
Winner: Wide-Field
Citation: ”This is a great location, and Greg has used a wide lens to capture an impressive panorama, which consists of eight separate exposures. Apart from an interesting foreground, a striking aurora, the Moon, Orion, the Magellanic Clouds, the Milky Way and Southern Cross are all obvious. “
Details: Aurora Australis from Mt Buffalo National Park, Vic. A 180 degree panorama stitched from 8 images. Taken with a Canon 5D MkII, with a 14mm lens at F/2.8 and ISO 3200. 8 x 30 sec. exposures. 

 

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Beam Me Up, Greg Gibbs
Honourable Mention: People and Sky

 

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Rings and Hexes, Paul Haese
Honourable Mention: Solar System – Hires

 

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Early Morning Parade by Alex Cherney
Honourable Mention: Wide-Field

 

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Tropical Convergence by Peter and Lynette Ward
Honourable Mention: People and Sky

 

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Looking Up by Aaron Zajonc
Honourable Mention: People and Sky

 

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Milky Way Pinnacles by Grahame Kelaher
Honourable Mention: Wide-Field

 

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Big Swamp Church Star Trail by Michael Bolenski
Honourable Mention: Wide-Field

 

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Galaxy Rising by Neil Creek
Honourable Mention: Wide-Field

 

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Solar Eclipse – Progression at Second Contact by Phil Hart
Winner: Solar System – Hires
Citation: ”This is a beautifully handled series of exposures made as the Moon’s disc covers the Sun during an eclipse, where timing is of the essence. Here they have been expertly assembled into an attractive and interesting image that shows the solar prominences and rugged lunar rim.”
Details: Taken from the Mulligan Highway, Qld. with a Canon 5D MkII with a Takahashi FS-102 lens with 1.6x extender (1300mm, F/3). Stack of 7 images each 1/1600th sec. and ISO 100. 

 

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Total Coronal Radiance by Troy Casswell
Winner: Solar System – Wide-Field; Photo Editor’s Pick
Citation: ”The enormous brightness range and delicate structure of the solar corona is a difficult subject to capture, especially given its fleeting appearance. Troy’s high dynamic range picture is a very good effort that shows more than the eye can see.”
Details: An extreme high dynamic range image of the Cairns Total Solar Eclipse in November 2012. A series of images were taken at 1 stop increments from 1/1000th sec. to 1 sec. exposures. Canon EOS 600D with an EF 70-200mm lens at F/2.8.

 

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The DISH by Brooke Beniston
Winner: Junior; Photo Editor’s Pick
Citation: ”A striking and well composed night-time image of an Australian astronomical icon under the stars.”
Details: The Parkes Radio Telescope. Taken with a Canon 7D. A 30 second exposure with a10 mm lens at F/4 and ISO 2000.

 

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Night Sky Photo Course Group Shot by Neil Creek (with Phil Hart)
Winner: People and Sky
Citation: ”This is a combined effort of a good idea from one participant well executed by another. The most appropriate word to describe this scene is camaraderie, the bonds of friendship forged (in this case) under the night sky – with a camera. It is also a significantly difficult feat to record a good picture of a dozen faces and the Milky Way in one exposure.”
Details: Students from a night sky photography course. Taken with a Canon 5D MkIII with a Sigma 8mm fisheye lens. A 30 second exposure at F/4 and 3200 ISO. Timed to put the Milky Way directly overhead.

 

Winners of the 2013 Central West Astronomical Society’s astrophotography competition were announced in July as part of the society’s annual  Astrofest.

The competition was open to amateur Australian photographers, and the entries were judged by Dr David Malin, a highly regarded astrophotographer. First place was award to Martin Pugh for his Deep Sky galaxy image.

The exhibition will tour to various locations in Australia, beginning this month at the Sydney Observatory.

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Deep Sky by Martin Pugh
Overall Winner
Citation: ”This is a very fine image of a very interesting galaxy, one of the best I have seen. The subtle colouration of the dust lane and bluish hue of the faint outer structures are excellent. Martin has a very fine setup and it is used here with great skill. The image even contains one of my favourite kinds of galaxies (a nucleated dwarf elliptical).”
Details: Taken with a Planewave 17″ CDK F/6.8 telescope and an Apogee U16M CCD 4kx4k camera. Exposures: HaLRGB = 6:15.5:4:4:4 hours for a total of 33.5 hours. Processed with Photoshop CS5 and CCDStack, PixInsight and Maxim DL/CCD.

 

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Ring of Light in Outback Australia by Noeleen Lowndes
Honourable Mention: Solar System – Wide-Field

 

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Lake Wertherill by Julie Fletcher
Honourable Mention: Wide-Field

 

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A Song to the Heavens by Troy Casswell
Winner: The Innovation Prize
Citation: ”This is a serious piece of work, well thought through and executed. It is certainly eyecatching and innovative in its use of the author as the subject and his inclusion of an extremely wide angle star trail as the backdrop. Beautiful!”
Details: A full 360 degree panorama taken at Coolum Beach. The foreground was shot with 3 min. exposures at F/2.8 and ISO 1600. The star trails where (9 images+anchor image) x 20×45 sec. at ISO 3200. Canon 5D MkII with a Samyang 14mm F/2.8 lens.