Australia photography awards showcase beauty of space

  • Published
Arctic Nights by Judith ConningImage source, Judith Conning/CWAS
Image caption,

The David Malin Astrophotography award started with a just a handful of entries 12 years ago.

Image source, James Stone/CWAS
Image caption,

It now attracts nationwide attention with hundreds of submissions and celebrates some of best Australia's astronomical photography.

Image source, Peter Hilkmann/CWAS
Image caption,

The annual competition is open to all amateur astronomers across the country, aiming to encourage new developments in photography and a wider interest in astronomy.

Image source, Chris Marklew/CWAS
Image caption,

Awards judge David Malin said in addition to aesthetic merit the awards recognise the technical complexity of night-time photography.

Image source, Stephen Humpleby/CWAS
Image caption,

"Getting the colours right is very important and you have to have some knowledge of the nature of the stars to get the colours right," he told the BBC.

Image source, Peter Ward/CWAS
Image caption,

The winners of the competition were announced on the weekend and are on display at the Parkes Observatory in New South Wales.

Image source, Troy Casswell/CWAS
Image caption,

This year's top prize was awarded to photographer Troy Casswell for his widefield image depicting the full constellation Orion.

Image source, Stefan Buda/CWAS
Image caption,

Mr Hall said night-time photography was open to anyone who wanted to get involved.

Image source, Neil Creek/CWAS
Image caption,

"You might need some expensive stuff if you want to do really fancy things but an off-the-shelf camera will get you started," he said.