2008 CWAS Astrophotography Exhibition and Competition - "David Malin Awards"
The 2008 CWAS Astrophotography Exhibition and Competition


"The David Malin Awards"

In July 2008, the Central West Astronomical Society's astrophotography exhibition and competition was held again as part of the CWAS AstroFest. Amateur astronomers and photographers from around Australia were invited to take part in the exhibition and to submit their astrophotographs for consideration in the prestigious "David Malin Awards". The exhibited photographs represent the very best of those received.

This year's competition had five sections - Amateur, Semi-Professional, Open, Junior and the Innovation Award. In addition, the Amateur section had three categories of entry: Wide-field (camera shots), Deep Sky (telescope shots) and Solar System.

The photographs were judged by world-renowned astrophotographer, Dr David Malin, without David being aware of the identity of the photographers. The winners were presented with the "David Malin Awards" at a special Civic Reception held in the Coventry Room of the Parkes Shire Library and Cultural Centre in the presence of invited dignitaries, during the CWAS AstroFest on 5 July 2008.

It was not just technical skill that was awarded. The prizes went to pictures that captured the beauty of the sky and the intrinsic interest of astronomy in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Canon Australia supported the competition with prizes to the value of over $6,500.

The judged photographs are being exhibited for the entire month of July in the CSIRO Parkes Observatory's Visitors Centre. The exhibition will then tour the country to selected venues beginning with Sydney Observatory in August. The travelling exhibition will tour to the following venues:

The 2008 Touring Exhibition Venues and Dates

VENUEDATE
CSIRO Parkes Observatory30 June - 31 July 2008
Sydney Observatory12 August - 12 October 2008
Cosmology Gallery, Gravity Discovery Centre, WA28 October 2008 - 18 January 2009
Scienceworks (Melbourne Planetarium)28 January - 29 March 2009
Museum of the Riverina, Wagga Wagga, NSW11 April - 17 May 2009
Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium (Brisbane)20 May - 12 July 2009


Last year's exhibition was phenomenally successful - exceeding all expectations. The exhibition was viewed by over 130,000 people at six venues, in three States and the ACT.

This year the number of entries equalled the record number for last year. To have received any one of these awards, is a great honour. Congratulations!




The Competition - Category Winners



Photo Copyright: Martin Pugh
Winner: Martin Pugh
Amateur: Deep Sky

OVERALL WINNER "The Lambda Cen Nebula in Centaurus"

Citation: "In broadband images, this nebula is a bland patch of red with these distinctive globules of dust. However, demonstrating his versatility, Martin used narrowband filters in his 12.5 inch telescope to reveal the different ionisation conditions in the nebula. This picture combines 11 hours of Ha exposure (red, mapped the green here), 12 hours SII exposure (also red, and mapped to red here), and 7 hours of OIII exposure, mapped to blue here, for a terrific result."

Details: RCOS 12.5-inch telescope @ F9.1. SBIG STLIIK camera fitted with AOL Astrodon Ha, SII, OIII narrowband filters. Ha=11 hrs, SII=12 hrs, OIII=7 hrs. H? mapped to Green, SII to Red and OIII mapped to Blue. Combined and scaled in Maxim DL. Noise/data rejection and sharpening in CCDSTACK. Final curves in Photoshop CS2.




Photo Copyright: Phil Hart
Winner: Phil Hart
Amateur: Wide-Field

"The Southern Cross and Pointers in the Milky Way"

Citation: "This is a beautiful rendition of a part of the sky that is familiar to all of us. It was not long ago that to make a wide field picture like this, with this kind of definition you needed a 4 x 5 camera and very pricey lenses -- like Akira Fujii. This picture is a 3-part mosaic made with a modified Canon 40D camera (ISO 800) and a standard Canon 50mm F/1.4 lens. Each of the three parts is made by combining 30, four-minute exposures, so the total exposure time was six hours. The blurred stars were recorded separately through high cloud. "

Details: Canon 40D with 50mm F1.4 lens @ F3.5. Three part mosaic with each part 30 x 4 min (2 hrs) exp. @ ISO 800. Processed with Images Plus, Registar and Photoshop. Blurred stars recorded on a separate night with high cloud.




Photo Copyright: Phil Hart
Winner: Phil Hart
Amateur: Solar System

"Five Stages of a Lunar Eclipse"

Citation: "A very well executed picture was made with a Takahashi Epsilon telescope, which is equivalent to a 1m FL lens working at F/6.6. Phil use a 2x convertor to double the focal length. The large range of brightness involved exposures varying from 1/45 sec to 120 seconds (or equivalent -- he changed ISO number as well). This is very well done with convincing colours and very good control of contrast. "

Details: Canon 20D with Takahashi Epsilon 160 telescope with 2xteleconverter. F=1060mm at F6.6. Partial=1/45th sec. @ ISO 100, Early Totality=30sec. @ ISO 100, Mid Totality=30sec. @ ISO 400. Processed with Images Plus and Photoshop. Aligned to show relative size and shape of Earth’s shadow.




Photo Copyright: Peter Ward
Winner: Peter Ward
Semi-Professional

"M104, The Sombrero Hat Galaxy"

Citation: "This is a bright galaxy and is not particularly challenging. This was photographed with a 36cm reflector and a fancy CCD using 3 hours of luminance data combined with 2 hours of RGB. But what a result. What immediately caught my eye was the luminosity of the print; the brightness really shines out of it. I thought it was beautifully rendered."

Details: 14.25-inch reflector using an SBIG STL11000 CCD camera fitted with AOL adaptive optics. LRGB, L=3 hrs, RGB=2 hrs. Processed using Photoshop CS2. Digital Layering was used to bring out the inner ring and dust lane details.




Photo Copyright: David George
Winner: Gary Hill
Open Theme - "Star Trails in the Landscape"

"Windswept Stars"

Citation: "The winner in this section is by Gary Hill with his Canon 300D. I spent a long time enjoying this, which is a very painterly image, full of visual references to the forces of the natural world and its connection to the wider Universe."

Details: Canon 300D with 17-70mm lens at 17mm @ F4.5. Image is a single 8 min. shot @ ISO 400. Dark frame subtracted in Deepsky Stacker. Final processing done in Photoshop CS. Torch light was used to illuminate the foreground trees.




The Competition - Honorable Mentions

Amateur: Wide-Field


Photo Copyright: Russell Cockman

Photo Copyright: Gary Hill
"Belt of Venus and Easter Moon"
Amateur: Wide-Field
Russell Cockman
"Distant Local"
Amateur: Wide-Field
Gary Hill



Photo Copyright: Mike Salway

Photo Copyright: Phil Hart
"Crescent Moon, Venus nd Mercury"
Amateur: Wide-Field
Mike Salway
"Barnard's Loop and Orion Nebulosity"
Amateur: Wide-Field
Phil Hart



Amateur: Deep Sky


Photo Copyright: Michael Sidonio

Photo Copyright: Michael Sidonio
"Centaurus A, Deep Field"
Amateur: Deep Sky
Michael Sidonio
"Cometary Globule CG4"
Amateur: Deep Sky
Michael Sidonio



Photo Copyright: Martin Pugh

Photo Copyright: Jason Jennings

Photo Copyright: Jason Jennings
"Galactic Dust in Corona Australis"
Amateur: Deep Sky
Martin Pugh
"Barred Spiral Seyfert - NGC 1365"
Amateur: Deep Sky
Jason Jennings
"Irregular Neighbour - The Small Magellanic Cloud"
Amateur: Deep Sky
Jason Jennings



Amateur: Solar System


Photo Copyright: Jeremy Waller

Photo Copyright: Paul Haese
"Lunar Eclipse over the Barossa Valley"
Amateur: Solar System
Jeremy Waller
"Transit of Io"
Amateur: Solar System
Paul Haese



Open Theme


Photo Copyright: Phil Hart

Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque
"Star Trails over Lake St. Claire, Tasmania"
Open Theme
Phil Hart
"Coal Tree"
Open Theme
Brad Le Brocque



Photo Copyright: Gary Hill

Photo Copyright: Gary Hill
"Towards the Pole"
Open Theme
Gary Hill
"Beachside Milky Way"
Open Theme
Gary Hill



Semi-Professional


Photo Copyright: Melissa Hulbert

Photo Copyright: Eddie Trimarchi
"A Twilight Conjunction - The Moon and Venus"
Semi-Professional
Melissa Hulbert
"The Eta Carina Nebula"
Semi-Professional
Eddie Trimarchi


Photo Copyright: Peter Ward

Photo Copyright: Peter Ward
"Moon Dance"
Semi-Professional
Peter Ward
"Radio Galaxy"
Semi-Professional
Peter Ward



The Presentation Ceremony - 5 July 2008


The winners were presented with the awards by Dr David Malin himself, at a special civic reception held in the Parkes Shire Library and Cultural Centre in the presence of invited dignitaries, during the CWAS AstroFest on July 5, 2008. The dignitaries included the Mayor of Parkes, Robert Wilson OAM; Prof. Harvey Butcher, Director of Mt Stromlo Observatory; Dr John Reynolds, ASKAP System Scientist; Cr Ken Keith, Deputy Parkes Mayor; Prof. Anne Green, Head of the School of Physics, Sydney University; Prof. Michael Kramer, Jodrell Bank Observatory, Manchester University; Bishop Christopher Toohey, President of the CWAS; and Mr Alan Brightman of Canon Australia.

The award winners represented entries from across Australia (NSW, Qld, Vic. and SA.). Congratulations to them all.

The overall winner of the 2008 CWAS "David Malin Awards" was Martin Pugh of Yass, NSW, for his beautiful image of the Lambda Cen Nebula in Centaurus.

The quality of the images was of an incredibly high standard and a testament to the great skill and talent of Australian astrophotographers. All of the entries submitted and received are being exhibited at the Parkes Observatory for the entire month of July, ensuring that every photograph has a showing.

The very finest images will tour the country in exhibition form to various venues, beginning with Sydney Observatory in August and followed by the Cosmology Gallery, Gravity Discovery Centre, WA; Scienceworks, Melbourne Planetarium; The Museum of the Riverina, Wagga Wagga, NSW; Brisbane Planetarium. Last year's touring exhibition was a resounding success, with over 120,000 people viewing the exhibition. Many more are expected to view this year's exhibition.

The competition was proudly supported by Canon Australia, who provided prizes to the value of over $6,500. Each of the category winners received a Canon PowerShot G9 digital camera (RRP $799). The honorable mentions received a Canon IXUS 80IS digital camera (RRP $379).


The Guest Speakers and Guests of Honour at the Presentation


Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
(L-R): Mr Peter Ward; Dr David Malin; Hon. Dawn Fardell, MP for Dubbo; Cr Robert Wilson OAM, Mayor of Parkes; Bishop Christopher Toohey; Dr John Reynolds; Prof. Harvey Butcher; Prof. Anne Green and Dr Fred Watson (kneeling) with Galileo Galilei.
Missing are Prof. Michael Kramer and Mr Alan Brightman.


Galileo contemplating the heavens.


Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute


Mayor Robert Wilson introduced the awards and acknowledged the generous support of Canon Australia


Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Copyright: Denis Crute


Dr David Malin described each photograph in turn and the qualities he identified in them.


Photo Copyright: Tony Trelford

Photo Copyright: Tony Trelford

Photo Copyright: Tony Trelford

Photo Copyright: Tony Trelford



The Award Winners



Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
All of the "David Malin Awards" winners.

(L-R): Michael Sidonio, Melissa Hulbert, Phil Hart, Jason Jennings, Russell Cockman, Peter Ward, Paul Haese, Martin Pugh, Brad Le Brocque, Gary Hill and Jeremy Waller.

Not present were Eddie Trimarchi and Mike Salway.



Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
The category award winners with Dr David Malin.

(L-R): Peter Ward, Dr David Malin, Martin Pugh, Phil Hart and Gary Hill.



Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
The category award winners with Mr Alan Brightman, Dr David Malin and Galileo Galilei.

(L-R): Mr Alan Brightman, Peter Ward, Gary Hill, Martin Pugh (with the Galileo Trophy), Phil Hart and Dr David Malin.



The winners receiving their awards


Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Brad Le BrocqueJason JenningsJeremy Waller



Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Melissa HulbertMichael SidonioPaul Haese



Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Russell CockmanPeter WardGary Hill



Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Phil HartPhil HartMartin Pugh



Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

CWAS President, Chris Toohey, presented Martin Pugh with the Galileo Bust and Perpetual Trophy as the OVERALL WINNER
Congratulations, Martin!



Canon Australia Prizes

Mr Alan Brightman, representing Canon Australia, presented prizes to the award winners, in recognition by Canon Australia of the excellence that was judged by Dr David Malin in their work.

The Category Winners received a prize of a Canon PowerShot G9 digital camera (RRP $799).
The Honorary Mentions received a prize of a Canon IXUS 80IS digital camera (RRP $379).


Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Martin PughPhil HartGary Hill



Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Peter WardJason JenningsJeremy Waller



Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Russell CockmanPaul HaeseMelissa Hulbert



Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Michael SidonioBrad Le Brocque



Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

(L-R): Martin Pugh, Galileo Galilei x 2, Alan Brightman



Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Congratulations to all the winners!

Dr David Malin announced that the theme for next year's Open Section was to be "Twilight".

So, start preparing your astrophotos for the 2009 CWAS "David Malin Awards", and share with the wider public your enthusiasm for the grandeur and beauty of astronomy.





The 2008 CWAS "David Malin Awards" was proudly supported by Canon Australia and


Parkes Shire Council



Comments and Enquiries: John Sarkissian of the AstroFest Organising Committee