Australian Photographic Prize (Astrophotography) - Winners!

[Andy01]

In a very close contest, congratulations to the Australian Photographic Prize, Astrophotography Competition winners! :bowdown:

Astro Landscape: Tristian McDonald "Double Helix"

Tristian provided the following information about his image.

After the main Aurora display died down, I was amazed to see this S.T.E.V.E appear in the East and travel directly overhead to the West.

Seven image Vertorama of this incredible phenomenon.; 15sec - ISO4000 - f2.8 - 24mm; Nikon D750; Tamron 24-70mm; Nugget Point Lighthouse; 24 - 04 - 2023

Astro Deep Space: Steeve Body "Gabriella and the Cosmic Inferno"

Steeve provided the following information about his image.

This 2-panel mosaic is an endeavour to showcase the breathtaking intricacies of the Carina Nebula, paired with the captivating aspects of NGC 3324. The Carina Nebula, a Southern Hemisphere exclusive and the brightest nebula in the sky takes a proud stand on the right side of this image. Its core bristles with mesmerising phenomena, from towering dust pillars to compact globules and objects that have achieved fame through the Hubble Telescope's lens. Discover 'The Defiant Finger', whose elegant structure is beautifully portrayed. Gaze upon the 'Mystic Mountains', colossal pillars of dust and gas, their exquisite detail captured by Hubble's watchful eye. To the left, NGC 3324 captivates us. Known as the Gabriela Mistral Nebula, it mirrors the silhouette of the renowned Chilean poet, adding a touch of artistic resonance to this cosmic exploration.

This two-frame mosaic taken from Bentleigh, Victoria features a panoramic view of some of the most significant features belonging to the brightest nebula in the night sky.; Ha 40x600, Oiii 40x600, Sii 40x600, RGB 40x45s each; 1600mm Pro SHO 3nm Antlia Filters RGB Pro Filters; Askar 107 PHQ; Bentleigh, Victoria; 1 Apr 2023 2 Apr 2023 3 Apr 2023 15 Apr 2023;

The organizers (and I) would sincerely like to thank all the entrants who supported this competition. :thanx: There can only be one winner for each category, but hopefully the online judging, live debates and written feedback will be a useful resource to help all the entrants wherever they are on their astrophotography journey!

There were 433 entries - 263 in Deep Space and 170 Astro Landscape.
Images were received from 14 countries over 5 continents, including the USA, UK, Germany, Estonia, France, Austria, Sweden, Romania, India, Pakistan, Chile, New Zealand & Australia!

The top 25 images of each category averaging just over 85/100 in online judging - were then rejudged by the APP panel, in front of a live audience, and broadcast in real time on YouTube. This was watched closely by entrants across the globe, a worldwide first for an Astrophotography competition!

While not without it's technical challenges, this proved to be both educational & entertaining!

Special thanks to the competition sponsor, Sidereal Trading and William Optics for the generous prizes - a WO Redcat 51 telescope for each category winner.

Huge thanks to the live judging panel - Dr. Tanya Hill PhD Astronomy BSc (Hons) Physics, "Strongman" Mike Sidonio (Act), Diego Colonello (Vic) Ari Rex (Act), Tim Moon (NSW) and Grand Master Photographers Paul Hoelen (Tas) and Peter Eastway (NSW).

Also a special shoutout to online judge Marcel Drescher, for his contributions from Germany.

In closing, thanks again to Mike Sidonio for his popular, educational, well-received Keynote presentation following the judging.

We’ve all learned a great deal from this experience, and I’m sure what has now become Australia's most popular Astrophotography Competition will be back again next year bigger & better than ever!

So go outside & keep looking up; space is amazing! :D

[Nikolas]

I tried to watch the live stream but it was riddled with ballerinas and printers.

[Andy01]

Should have come to the live judging then ;)

[Paul Haese]

I did not watch the live judging. Not sure if I am comfortable with that approach anyway, however I do have a few questions and observations.

Where are the top 25 short listed images in the Deep sky section? I cannot seem to find anything online about the results.

Why have the shortlisted people not been informed of their results and the comments of judges via email? Given that there is an entrance fee to enter, I would have thought a competition which stems from the professional photography realm there would have been detailed results supplied to the entrants. Not everyone is able to watch the event.

Finally, I am at odds to understand how an easily imaged target would win. The image is a good one but frankly everyone has seen this target more times than having hot breakfasts.

[Andy01]

You can hear the judge's comments on that image at 2:57:20

[Nikolas]

You know Why I couldn't make it
The live judging was riddled greatly with ads rather than explanations.

[joshman]

I caught most of the live judging for both categories, and while it was informative to hear the varying critiques from the judges, there were a few things that stood out to me.

The biggest detractor for me was several images in both categories were too similar in subject, framing and content for it to be an overly enjoyable experience to watch, especially considering that only the top 25 images or so were being live judged.

I'd like to see more landscape judges on the astro landscape panel next year if possible. Having Paul and Peter on the panel was fantastic, as they both brought a wealth of experience from the technical proficiency side and the artistic side, completely independant of the astrophotograhy.

Either way, it's was a good experience to engage with and I look forward to next year.

[The_bluester]

To put in my ten cents.

I actually quite enjoyed the live judging aspect (And managed to be there for it in person, otherwise I would have gone to the stream) and I found the judges commentary interesting and in cases, revealing as to why an individual judge might have scored a particular image higher or lower than the others. Having received my feedback I am pretty pleased with it, and the image that came in for some (Relatively faint) criticism, I am not unhappy with either, the aspect that was noted as a negative had me umming and ahhing about entering it for some time before I pulled the trigger. Last I checked, entry to the Malins was not free but there is generally no feedback apart from the shortlist and that is live during the presentation.

I understand the judging format (Regardless of having "Live" final judging of the top images or not) to be quite common in photographic competition circles and it all seemed to work pretty smoothly to me.

Regards images being a bit too similar, I reckon it is a bit of a case of "Thems the breaks". They can't fairly push down an image as it is the 20th Trifid they have seen, or Dragons of Ara, Or M42, or in the case of this year, Rho Oph and it is worth noting that relatively "easy" or just plain popular targets feature heavily in the Malins over the years too as you would expect. But if you do a truly stunning Trifid or M42, shouldn't that be recognised?

Landscapes I reckon is a hard nut to crack. Unless you are truly fortunate with a setting, or catch a great auroral display, the obvious target is going to be the Milky way as a line or wide field loop, contrasted with suitably photogenic foreground objects. It has to be momentously hard to stand out from the crowd there.

There is certainly room on the calendar for both comps and formats, but I quite enjoyed the APP format, having attended both.

[Andy01]

Just a heads up that requested written feedbacks and scores are now available for all entrants by logging in to the APP entry portal.
The online judges worked hard to make these educational, and it's my hope that all entrants gain some benefit from their experience and observations, regardless of what their images have scored :)

https://awards.australianphotographicprize. com.au/auth/login

The image galleries are also posted; finalists with scores of 90+ are displayed when selected, as are semi-finalists 80-89, and commended 75-79.

https://winners.australianphotographicprize .com.au/competition/647437f68c68884d4a92c9af

Of course, it's human nature to express disappointment when expectations are unfulfilled, but constructive criticism and suggestions for the APP are most welcome. :thumbsup:
The organizers are listening, appreciate your support and intend to make what became Australia's most popular Astrophotography comp an even better event next year. :D

[Nikolas]

some very good constructive criticism in the feedback there which is welcomed.

One critique on the web format is that it doesnt work very well unless using Chrome, I generally use Firefox to web browse and it will not scroll.

[bsteeve]

Just wanted to chip in with my experience from the competition.

I receive my feedback for all the images I have entered today and I thought it was spot-on. It told me what I was doing right, what needed work, and gave me clear suggestions for improvement. This kind of honest, constructive critique is gold for someone like me.

I haven't been in the astrophotography scene for very long, so entering was mainly about learning. I wanted to get a sense of where I stood and how I could improve. Winning was great and I’m absolutely over the moon about that don’t get me wrong, but it wasn't the main goal.

Thanks to everyone involved. It's been a great experience and I’m looking forward to the next one.

Cheers,

Steeve