In July 2014, the Central West Astronomical Society's astrophotography 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". This year's competition had seven categories: Deep Sky Wide-Field Solar System: Hires (< 30') Wide-Field (> 30') Animated Sequences: Scientific Aesthetic Themed Section - "The Moon" 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" in the presence of invited dignitaries, during the CWAS AstroFest conference dinner on 19 July 2014. 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 $18,000. Mr Steve Grove, the News Corp. Photographic Manager, judged the "Photo Editor's Choice" awards and gave his pick from each category. His overall winner was awarded the Photo Editor's Choice Award. Last year's exhibitions were a resounding success. The two parallel exhibitions were viewed by over 234,000 people Australia-wide. This year's permanent exhibition will be on show at the CSIRO Parkes Observatory's Visitor's Centre for one year from 20 July 2014. A second touring exhibition, organised by the Powerhouse Museum, will travel to selected venues, beginning with Sydney Observatory on 13 August 2014. To have received any one of these awards is a great honour. Congratulations!

The Competition - Category Winners

© Paul Haese

Winner: Paul Haese Deep Sky OVERALL WINNER "Dust and Gas" Citation: "I think this is the best true-colour image of the Orion Nebula I have seen for a long time. It has everything. The basics are well covered by a realistic-looking colour balance and the dynamic range, which makes the heart of the nebula look brighter than everything else, which is as it should be. But the other things are right too, including the delicate, faint nebulosity that fills the field and the careful handling of the bright stars, which don't dominate the image. Fantastic!"

© Phil Hart

Winner: Phil Hart Wide-Field "Dusty Heart of the Milky Way" Citation: "This is a perfectly simple rendition of the Milky Way using an off-the-shelf camera and a standard 50mm lens. However, the quality of the result is outstanding, especially the colour balace and stunning detail. Beautiful!"

© Stefan Buda

Winner: Stefan Buda Solar System - Hires "Mars 2014" Citation: "Intriguing composition of a series of excellent images of Mars over several months, all of them showing fine resolution and the obvious change in the diameter of the planet with distance. Excellent!"

© Paul Haese

Winner: Paul Haese Solar System - Wide-Field "Prominence"   Photo Editor's Pick Citation: "This is a stunning image in all respects, and shows the active Sun and large prominence on the limb. A lot of effort and specialised knowledge goes into making images of this quality, and this is a superb example of an arcane art."

© Phil Hart

Winner: Phil Hart Theme - "The Moon" "Marine Moonset" Citation: "This is a striking image that has a quite painterly quality. The careful cropping and a soft and gentle light, makes the photograph look like an art work."

© Peter Ward

Winner: Peter Ward Animated Sequences - Scientific "Shine On" Citation: "Very beautiful and informative high resolution, time-lapse footage of the Sun in H-alpha light, carefully edited and very effectively set to music by Pink Floyd."

© Alex Cherney

Winner: Alex Cherney Animated Sequences - Aesthetic "Dance of the Dishes" Citation: "Very smoothly edited and professional-looking sequences of the ATCA telescopes at work, and I especially like the fish-eye sequences of the dishes nodding at each other as they scan the Milky Way. Great stuff!"

The News Corp. Photo Editor's Choice

© David Fitz-Henry

Winner: David Fitz-Henry Photo Editor's Choice - Judged by Steve Grove "The Horsehead and Flame Nebulas" Citation: "This image contains all the elements of an intriguing photograph - splendour, mystery and drama. It's one that takes the average observer into what is truly the beauty of deep space."

The Competition - Honorable Mentions

© Phil Hart	© Erik Monteith
"Rho Ophiuchi Region" Phil Hart	"The Eagle and the Pillars of Creation" Erik Monteith

© Michael Goh	© Stephen Humpleby
"Convergence" Michael Goh	"London Bridge Stars" Stephen Humpleby

© Bratislav Curcic	© David Hough	© David Hough
"Moonflowers" Bratislav Curcic   Photo Editor's Pick	"Popcorn" David Hough	"White Light Sunspot AR11967" David Hough

© Saeed Salimpour	© Saeed Salimpour
"Luna in the Clouds" Saeed Salimpour	"Scorpio in Luna's Halo" Saeed Salimpour

Animated Sequences: Scientific

© Alex Cherney	© Phil Hart
"Occultation of Saturn by the Moon" Alex Cherney	"Eta Aquarids" Phil Hart

© Peter Ward

"Solar Maximum" Peter Ward

© Greg Priestley	© Mike Salway	© Matthew Vandeputte
"Kalaya" Greg Priestley	"Nightscape Adventures in Coona and Narrabri" Mike Salway	"The DISH" Matthew Vandeputte