(Pocket-lint) – Every year travel photography blog Capture the Atlas is running a prize competition to find the Photographer of the Year Milky Way.
This year, 25 of the best photos were selected from entries from around the world. Photographers from 12 countries including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Iran, Turkey, Brazil, Spain,
Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland and Greece submitted their images.
As you will see, the quality of these images is astounding.
Cadini di Misurina, Dolomites
This photo was taken in Cadini di Misurina, Dolomites in Italy by photographer Stefano Pellegrini.
It shows a fantastic view of the Milky Way on the Italian mountain side. This photo was not easy to take, however, as the photographer explains:
“It was from a great trip on the Milky Way in the Italian Dolomites, although there were some challenges due to the weather. First of all, I took this photo in May when the snow was falling. had almost melted, so I had to do the ascent to “Auronzo” on foot rather than a snowmobile. Also the path was difficult because I had hiked it in the middle of a heavy snowstorm.
Fortunately, once at the top the sky opened up completely, a good sign for the night shoot. After a brief rest in the winter shelter, I started the hike to this spectacular location at midnight. Once there, the possibilities of composition were very limited. This place, very popular during the summer, was completely different covered in snow. The whole ridge was covered with a 3 meter layer of swollen snow which made it very dangerous to get too close to the edge. I placed the camera as close to the edge as possible to capture the mountain range, then moved all the way to the right to finish the shot with myself. “
The forgotten side of Kanagaroo Island
Taken on Kangaroo Island in Australia, this image is excellent for several reasons. Not only does it show a fantastic view of the Milky Way but also of an area fortunately untouched by the fires that had ravaged other areas of Oz at the time.
“This image was taken at Baudin Beach on Kangaroo Island. Fortunately, this part of the island was not affected by the devastating bushfires in 2020. This is a capture of the galactic center in rise floating above the ocean and represents the way of life on the island. “Where people live in harmony with nature.” “
Sometimes it’s not just the subject of the photo that impresses, it’s also the framing.
Here, Daniel Thomas Gum used the surrounding environment to create an impressive foreground to complement the beautiful backdrop.
“This is my favorite nighttime landscape image to date. Mungo is a 12 hour drive from my home in Sydney, but the sky over Bortle 1 is the best I have ever seen and photographed at night. had perfect conditions for three consecutive nights., with very good views throughout.
By the time I stumbled upon this scene, I knew exactly what I wanted to name the image. It was from another world – think Game of Thrones – and it fit in perfectly with how I wanted to capture it. Large jagged walls framed a winding path leading to a spire centered to the west. There would never have been one way to do it justice and it was like a multilevel panorama of the Milky Way. “
Riaño
Taking a good Milky Way photo isn’t just about good photography skills, it’s also about patience and stewardship of the environment.
As you can imagine, working in cold conditions like this has proven to be difficult:
“I captured this image last winter in the Riaño mountain reservoir in Spain. The biggest difficulty that night was mainly the cold; it was over -10 degrees. The humidity in the reservoir was freezing. the lens and it was difficult to take pictures for a long time. period of time. “
When all the stars align
This gives the impression that the Milky Way is erupting from a volcano with an incredible view of the world perfectly covered by the Milky Way.
This area of ​​California is also a great place to capture this type of image due to the dark night sky.
“Some of California’s darkest skies lie along Highway 395 on the eastern side of the Sierras. This particular location, near Mammoth Lakes, is a unique place where the vertical alignment of the galactic core of the Way Milky Way sits perfectly above a mountain peak and a stream with natural hot springs flowing through it. “
Around dead trees
Dead trees and a living and growing universe. An excellent juxtaposition full of color and intrigue.
This view of Java, Indonesia certainly shows a beautiful part of the world surrounded by a beautiful night sky.
Skies above
In this image, an old church sits peacefully in an enclosure in the Hunter Valley of NSW, Australia. In the sky above is a magnificent Milky Way arch stretching impressively across the sky.
A truly stunning view that required clear weather to capture.
paradise
Absolutely breathtaking views of the waterfront on the Pacific coast. A beautiful seaside scene made all the more impressive by an unfathomable number of stars.
“If I had to pick my favorite place on earth it might be this one. Located on the Pacific Coast near Big Sur, it really has it all: a beautiful cove filled with emerald waters, an 80 foot waterfall that falls directly onto the beach, a palm tree that makes you feel like you’re on a tropical island, and a perfectly dark sky that shines with stars at night. “
Desolation
From amazing places to places where it looks like the earth is dying, these award-winning photographs certainly have it all.
Photographer Phil Sisto spoke passionately about the location of this photo.
“Utah has been a place that has captured my heart since I began my journey as a Milky Way Photographer. Living in the light-polluted Midwest (I’m located in northeastern Ohio), it takes a three to four hour drive from my home to get to any place where you can have an even more satisfying gaze at the stars. For this reason, I head west every summer now, looking the darkest skies and the most epic places I can find to shoot. “
GranTeCan
This brilliant view of the Milky Way was taken by Antonio Solano and shows the La Palma Observatory in the Canary Islands.
We like this image because it shows a taste of what the telescope in the tower should see.
Devil’s throat
This photo of Victor Lima required special permission from the local environmental agency to be taken.
It was taken in one of Brazil’s national parks and shows a fantastic waterfall against the backdrop of Saturn and a mass of other stars that seem to extend into infinity.
Victor Lima spoke about the difficulties and the results:
“In the area closest to the main waterfalls, the big challenge was to take long exposure images with the powerful water jet of over 1.5 million liters per second falling through the waterfalls. Working with exposure times longer than 10 or 15 seconds has become an almost impossible task and the lens has never been dry.
In this image we have one of the main waterfalls of the Iguazu Falls complex, the “Santa Maria Jumpâ€. Just above fall we can see Saturn and the zodiacal light illuminating the horizon. Higher up there is the nucleus of the Milky Way. We can also identify some of the major emission nebulae present in this region of the sky. “
Navajo Nights
At first glance, this image looks like it was taken on another planet, but it was actually taken at the Bisti Badlands in New Mexico.
Another stunning sight of our magnificent planet from potentially millions more in the skies above.
Written by Adrian Willings.
