GAM2012 News
- Created: Friday, May 11 2012 05:08
Winners of the Third International Earth and Sky Photo Contest on Dark Skies Importance were announced May 9. International projects The World at Night (TWAN) and Global Astronomy Month, along with the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, are the contest organizers. The 2012 contest submission period was during April, the Global Astronomy Month. Submitted photographs were all taken since the beginning of 2011 and were all created in the “TWAN style”—showing both the Earth and the sky—by combining elements of the night sky set in the backdrop of the Earth horizon with a notable location or landmark. This style of photography is called “landscape astrophotography.”
The contest was open to anyone of any age, anywhere around the world. With a significant increase from the 2011 contest, over 600 entries were received. The images were submitted from some 50 countries and territories including Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, England, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Marshal Islands, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Reunion Island, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Georgia Island, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, USA, and Venezuela.
In keeping with the contest theme of “Dark Skies Importance,” the submitted photos were judged in two categories: “Beauty of the Night Sky” and “Against the Lights.” The selected images are those judged to be most effective in impressing the public on both how amazingly beautiful the starry sky is and how bad the light pollution problem has become.
A list of the winning photos is available at the TWAN website.
Contest video: the winners and the notable photos. Enjoy the video in full screen with the sounds on.
