"The David Malin Awards" In July 2007, 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 four sections - Amateur, Semi-Professional, Junior and the Innovation Award. In addition, the Amateur section had four categories of entry: Wide-field (camera shots), Deep Sky (telescope shots), Solar System and Heaven and Earth (pictures with an earthly context). 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 14 July 2007. 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 $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 2007 Touring Exhibition Venues and Dates VENUE DATE CSIRO Parkes Observatory 1 - 31 July 2007 Sydney Observatory 18 August - 15 October 2007 Tidbinbilla CDSCC (Canberra) Late October - Mid-December 2007 Not Yet Confirmed Late December 2007 - Mid-February 2008 Scienceworks (Melbourne Planetarium) Late February - Mid-April 2008 Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium (Brisbane) Late April - Mid-June 2008 Last year's exhibition was phenomenally successful - exceeding all expectations. The exhibition was viewed by 110,000 people at seven venues, in three States and the ACT. This year we received a record number of entries from a record number of entrants. To have received any one of these awards, is a great honour. Congratulations!

Click in the above window to view a video clip of the Exhibition at the CSIRO Parkes Observatory Visitors Centre where 9,751 people viewed the exhibition in July 2007.

The Competition - Category Winners

Photo Copyright: Terry Cuttle

Winner: Terry Cuttle Amateur: Heaven and Earth OVERALL WINNER "Comet McNaught with Crescent Moon" Citation: "The overall visual impact is impressive. In this image we have the Glasshouse Mountains as an interesting foreground, well-located framing by trees, traces of cloud, city lights and unique in this company, the crescent Moon, which is amplified by the hazy cloud. All the elements are expertly combined in Photoshop." Details: Taken from Mt Coochin, Queensland. Canon 350D with 18-55 zoom lens @ 18mm f/4.0. Three images combined : comet @ 145 seconds, foreground @ 183 seconds and Moon @ 2 second exposures. Processed with Photoshop.

Photo Copyright: Gary Hill

Winner: Gary Hill Amateur: Wide-Field "Across the Galactic Heart" Citation: "This image was made with a Canon 300D camera and its standard 50mm lens. The picture here is a mosaic of three fields, each of which consists of five 200 second exposures. None of the processing is obvious, the colour balance is good and the image has real presence and is pin-sharp." Details: Canon 300D with 50mm f/1.4 lens @ f/3.5. Mosaic of three images each comprising 5x200sec exposures. Stacked using Registax then combined and processed in Photoshop.

Photo Copyright: Mike Salway

Winner: Mike Salway Amateur: Solar System "Jupiter plus Triple Moon" Citation: "This is a fine example of webcam imaging. This series was made over two hours and shows the moons Ganymede and Europa transiting. There’s a wealth of detail on Jupiter itself and it even shows details on Io and Ganymede. There is no sign of the intensive processing necessary to achieve this excellent result." Details: 12-inch Newtonian telescope. 30 FPS (1/30th sec exposure) with 40 seconds each channel. Processed with Registax, Astraimage and Photoshop. Imaged over a two hour period showing the moons orbiting - Ganymede and Europa transiting at bottom and Io popping out from behind Jupiter at the end.

Photo Copyright: Peter Ward

Winner: Peter Ward Semi-Professional "Space is Curved" Citation: "The original all-sky picture was a 10 minute exposure made with a Canon digital SLR camera, and fisheye lens, remapped in Photoshop. The most conspicuous feature is the Milky Way, arching across the zenith. Terrific! Innovative!" Details: Canon DSLR with 8mm fisheye lens. 10 minute exposure. Circular image re-mapped using Photoshop’s polar to rectangular feature.

Photo Copyright: David George

Winner: David George Junior "The Moon and Venus at Sunset" Citation: "This is a simple twilight scene very well captured with a Canon 350D camera. Simple it may be, but it is well observed and framed in the trees. The colour and dynamic range are well captured and the end result is a very satisfying print." Details: Canon EOS 350D camera @ f/4.5 with ˝ second exposure.

Photo Copyright: Peter Ward

Winner: Peter Ward The Innovation Prize "The Starry Night" Citation: "The original all-sky picture was a combination of two, 120 minute star trails exposures made with a Canon digital SLR camera and 180 degree fisheye lens. They were combined into a single circular image and remapped as a 360 degree panorama in Photoshop. The technique produces an eye-catching but heavily distorted result that shows stars circling the north and south celestial poles." Details: Canon DSLR with 8mm fisheye lens. 120 x 2 min. exposures combined using “star trails” software. Circular image re-mapped using Photoshop’s polar to rectangular feature to create a 360 star trail panorama.

The Competition - Honorable Mentions

Amateur: Wide-Field

Photo Copyright: Ray Palmer	Photo Copyright: Gary Hill
"Russian Rocket Explosion in the Southern Cross" Amateur: Wide-Field Ray Palmer	"Antares and Rho Ophiuchi Reflections" Amateur: Wide-Field Gary Hill

Amateur: Deep Sky

Photo Copyright: Steve Crouch	Photo Copyright: Steve Crouch
"Snake Nebula and Friends" Amateur: Deep Sky Steve Crouch	"Colourful Nebula near Antares" Amateur: Deep Sky Steve Crouch

Photo Copyright: Phil Hart	Photo Copyright: Phil Hart
"Horsehead Nebula" Amateur: Deep Sky Phil Hart	"The Pleiades - M45" Amateur: Deep Sky Phil Hart

Amateur: Solar System

Photo Copyright: Laurence Crowley	Photo Copyright: Mike Salway	Photo Copyright: Phil Hart
"Two Phased Moon" Amateur: Solar System Laurence Crowley	"Straight Wall and Davey Crater Chain" Amateur: Solar System Mike Salway	"Comet McNaught P1" Amateur: Solar System Phil Hart

Amateur: Heaven and Earth

Photo Copyright: Gary Hill	Photo Copyright: Grahame Kelaher
"Star Trails in the Flinders" Amateur: Heaven and Earth Gary Hill	"Comet McNaught Early in the Morning" Amateur: Heaven and Earth Grahame Kelaher

Photo Copyright: Brad Le Brocque	Photo Copyright: Mike Salway
"Comet McNaught from East of Musswellbrook" Amateur: Heaven and Earth Brad Le Brocque	"Comet McNaught in the Hunter Valley" Amateur: Heaven and Earth Mike Salway

Semi-Professional

Photo Copyright: Eddie Trimarchi	Photo Copyright: Peter Ward	Photo Copyright: Peter Ward
"Emission Nebula Gum 34b and Pismis 17" Semi-Professional Eddi Trimarchi	"Rook takes Night" Semi-Professional Peter Ward	"Distant Suns" Semi-Professional Peter Ward

The Presentation Ceremony - 14 July 2007

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 14, 2007. The dignitaries included the Mayor of Parkes, Robert Wilson OAM; Dr Richard Manchester, CSIRO Federation Fellow; Dr John Reynolds, Officer-in-Charge of the CSIRO's Parkes Observatory; Cr Ken Keith, Deputy Parkes Mayor; Dr Brian Schmidt, ANU Federation Fellow; Dr Naomi McClure-Griffths; Bishop Chris Toohey, President of the CWAS; and Mr Steve Massey of myastroshop.com.au. Mr Paul Stewart of Canon Australia was also present to congratulate the winners. This year, following the great success of last year's "David Malin Awards", the Parkes Shire Council commissioned a new Perpetual Trophy to commemorate the overall winners of the competition. Local artist, Jim Butler Esq., was commissioned to produce the sculpture of Galileo contemplating the heavens. It was unveiled by Jim Butler himself, and by Mayor Robert Wilson, OAM, and Bishop Chris Toohey, CWAS President, during the presentation ceremony. A small bust of Galileo was also commissioned to be awarded to the overall winner each year. This magnificent statue will be on permanent display at the CSIRO Parkes Observatory Visitors Centre. For the first time in the history of the awards, all of the winners were present for the ceremony. The award winners represented entries from across Australia (NSW, Qld, ACT, Vic. and WA.). Congratulations to them all. The overall winner of the 2007 CWAS "David Malin Awards" was Terry Cuttle of Queensland for his beautiful image of Comet McNaught from the Glasshouse Mountains, Qld. 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. A core group of the very finest images has been selected to tour the country in exhibition form to various venues, beginning with Sydney Observatory in August and followed by Tidbinbilla Deep Space Tracking Station near Canberra, Melbourne Planetarium and Brisbane Planetarium. Last year's touring exhibition was a resounding success, with 110,000 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 $6,500. Each of the category winners received a Canon IXUS 850IS digital camera (RRP $699). The honorable mentions received a Canon IXUS 70 digital camera (RRP $429). The Guests of Honour at the Presentation Photo Copyright: Denis Crute (L-R): Dr John Reynolds, Dr Brian Schmidt, Cr Ken Keith, Bishop Chris Toohey, Cr Robert Wilson OAM, Dr Richard Manchester, Steve Massey, Paul Stewart, Dr Naomi McClure-Griffiths, Dr David Malin. The unveiling of the new Galileo Perpetual Trophy - A Gift from Parkes Shire Council Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute The Galileo trophy was unveiled by artist Jim Bulter (left), Mayor Robert Wilson (centre) and Bishop Chris Toohey (right). Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Galileo contemplating the heavens. Dr David Malin introduced the awards and acknowledged the generous support of Canon Australia Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Describing the winning pictures Photo Copyright: Denis Crute Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

The Award Winners

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

All of the "David Malin Awards" winners. (L-R): Ray Palmer, Eddie Trimarchi, Laurence Crowley, Peter Ward, Dr David Malin, Mike Salway, Phil Hart, Terry Cuttle, Gary Hill, Brad Le Brocque, David George, Grahame Kelaher, Steve Crouch.

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

The category award winners with Dr David Malin. (L-R): Peter Ward, Dr David Malin, Mike Salway, Terry Cuttle (with the Perpetual Trophy), Gary Hill and David George.

The winners receiving their awards

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Ray Palmer	Brad Le Brocque	Gary Hill

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Graham Kelaher	Mike Salway	Terry Cuttle

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Phil Hart	Laurence Crowley	Steve Crouch

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Eddie Trimarchi	Peter Ward	David George

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Canon Australia Prizes

Mr Paul Stewart, 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 IXUS 850IS digital camera (RRP $699). The Honorary mentions received a prize of a Canon IXUS 70 digital camera (RRP $429).

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Terry Cuttle	Gary Hill	Mike Salway

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Peter Ward	David George	Eddie Trimarchi

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Ray Palmer	Brad Le Brocque	Grahame Kelaher

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute	Photo Copyright: Denis Crute
Phil Hart	Laurence Crowley	Steve Crouch

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Photo Copyright: Denis Crute

Congratulations to all the winners!

So, start preparing your astrophotos for the 2008 CWAS "David Malin Awards", and share with the wider public your enthusiasm for the grandeur and beauty of astronomy.

The 2007 CWAS "David Malin Awards" was proudly supported by Canon Australia and

Parkes Shire Council