The Category Winners
Judged by Peter Ward, Alex Cherney, and Selena Simpson
Judged by Peter Ward, Alex Cherney, and Selena Simpson
OVERALL WINNER
Jar
Kavan Chay
"Crown of Light"
Winner: Nightscapes (International)
Winner: Nightscapes (International)
Citation: "Waves crashing onto a rocky coastline sets the perfect location to capture the most powerful geomagnetic storm witnessed from southern skies in decades. A delicate shimmer of starlight blended with the radiant auroral tones of red, orange, green, blue, and violet completes the scene with a sense of royal grandeur."
Jarrod
Anne-Maree McComb
"BBW56"
Winner: Deep Sky
Winner: Deep Sky
Citation: "BBW56 is an extremely faint molecular cloud located near the more famous Vela Super Nova remnant. So faint that it is notoriously difficult subject to capture well. This very deep and narrow-field image of BBW56 shows superb structure, highlights, shadows and a beautifully rendered star field. A simply stunning rendition."
Rodney Watters
"Chamaeleon Cloud Complex"
Winner: Wide-Field
Winner: Wide-Field
Citation: "This exceptional 28-hour deep exposure captures the intricate dust structures of the Chamaeleon molecular cloud complex across a wide field, creating a visually striking composition that balances technical skill with artistic appeal. A remarkable wide-field portrait of this challenging southern sky object."
Andy Casely
"A Journey Through Equinox"
Winner: Solar System
Winner: Solar System
Citation: “This four-image sequence captures Saturn's ring evolution, documenting this once-in-15-years equinox event with careful timing and great detail. The composition beautifully showcases the progressive narrowing, disappearance, and gradual re-emergence of the rings alongside subtle hemispheric colour variations. An impressive planetary portrait of this cyclical celestial event spanning nearly two years of dedicated observation.”
Rob Embury
"The Lights of Stykkisholmur"
Winner: Theme - "People and Sky"
Winner: Theme - "People and Sky"
Citation: “Standing beneath the captivating show of the Aurora Borealis on Iceland's coastline, the photographer presents an awe-inspiring moment of human connection with the cosmos. Ethereal arcs sweep and spiral into dynamic formations, creating a powerful juxtaposition between earthbound observer and celestial spectacle.”
Charlie Marzolla
"Eagle Nebula SHO"
Winner: Junior
Winner: Junior
Citation: “Messier 16 or the “Eagle” nebula is seen here sporting Peacock colours. Tightly rendered
stars and a pleasing blue-green narrow band colour palette made this the standout image in the Junior category.”
stars and a pleasing blue-green narrow band colour palette made this the standout image in the Junior category.”
Rob Embury
"Stargazer - Reflections of Tyrille"
Winner: Photo Editor's Choice
Winner: Photo Editor's Choice
Citation: “What a wonderful image. This truly captures the meaning of "Stargazer" in a creative way. You can just picture yourself sitting on that chair staring up at the stars trying to work out what everything means in the world. Exposure and composition is on point and the reflection just gives an element of added creativity. Well done.”