Beyond Our Earth
Visiting Astronomy Photographer Of The Year Exhibition,
At the World Museum Liverpool
Astronomy photography has been really been an interest of mine, but after seeing the photos displayed at the Astronomy Photographer Of The Year Exhibition, I can say that I am very much inspired and definitely want to give astro photography a try!
My first year of studying at University was coming to a close and summer holidays were quickly approaching. Over Face-time with my parents we planned for me to spend a week at home before the holidays official begun and discussed possible days out. One suggestion I was drawn to was going up to Liverpool to see the Astronomy Photographer Of The Year Exhibition. As we didn’t need to book tickets and it was free entry, we simply picked a day and set off!
And wow, am I happy we went! The Exhibition was absolutely enthralling and the pictures had me awestruck! It only covered one floor of the museum but the layout was very easy to follow and take at your own pace. The pictures were displayed on screens and the dark lighting really let the images stand out. The images were shown in the categories in which they were entered, these included:
· Aurorae
· Galaxies
· Our Moon
· Our Sun
· People and Space
· Planets, Comets and Asteroids
· Skyscapes
· Stars and Nebulae
· Young Competition
· Special Prize - The Sir Patrick Moore Prize for Best Newcomer
· Special Prize – Robotic Scope
Some of my personal favourite photos include Thunderstorm Under Milky Waytaken by Chinese photographer Tianyuan Xiao, which was shortlisted in the Skyscapes category. The bold purple colours the surround the lightning flash and the gold tones of the Milky Way seen in the image captured my attention very quickly and the combination of the static Milky Way and active thunderstorm creates a beautiful yet somewhat chaotic image that a simply adore!
Another shortlisted photo from the same category that I was drawn to was Jake Mosher’s Holding Due North. This image is beautifully composed with the star trails centered around the North Star, Polaris which fits perfectly within the curved branches of a tree. The energy and sense of movement I get from this still image is one of power, and reminds me that the galaxy and space surround Earth is always shifting and changing (which is both amazing and quite scary to think about!)
Miguel Angel Garcia Borrella and Lluis Romero Ventura, in my opinion, captured one of the most colourful and eye catching photos in the entire exhibition. The image entitled Mosaic of the Great Bear and Running Man Nebulawas a shortlisted photo in the Stars and Nebula category. What draw me to this image was the bright, vibrant and contrasting colour palette that makes the image really stand out in a dark room. The motion of the swirling Nebula really drew my eye into this image and the sheer amount of detail in captures is breathtaking!
Considering stars and galaxies surround us, I feel that my appreciation of them was lacking, but the photos I saw during this exhibition very much changed that and I now want to challenge myself to a new form of photography and capture my own images of the stars and sky. Luckily for me, there are a fair few places close to home that have dark skies and an easy view of the skyscape so in the near future I cant wait to give astronomy photography a try and explore beyond our Earth.
I better wrap up warm, get a flask of hot chocolate ready and set of for a new photography adventure and experience!
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