SKY’S THE LIMIT:
Horsham College student and budding photographer Baillie Farley is pictured with the extraordinary image of the night sky near Horsham that netted him a major national award.
Baillie Farley’s fascination with capturing images of the night sky has led to him winning a major national photographic competition.
The 17-year-old Horsham College year-12 student won the junior section of 2017 Central West Astronomical Society David Malin astrophotography awards.
The budding photographer, who plans to pursue a career in the industry, said he had been focusing on night-time photography of the sky for a little more than 12 months.
“I thought the competition was a good chance to enter some of my photos, so I did and then found out I was on a short list of seven entries,” he said.
“I received an email that said I had to go the CSIRO Parkes Observatory for an awards night where I found out I had won.
“I entered two photographs and for the other one I received an honourable mention.”
Baillie’s winning photograph, called Emu in the Sky and captured near Taylors Lake, south-east of Horsham, features a constellation in the Milky Way known for indig- enous cultural significance. He took the photograph ‘on a back road’ shortly after midnight in early autumn.
World-renowned astrophotographer Dr David Malin presented him and other winners with their awards.
Baillie said he pursued astrophotography to be different from other photographers.
“I wanted to stand out and didn’t want to focus on daytime landscapes,” he said. “I thought the Milky Way was something different.
“People don’t often get to see it because of town lights. It is also calming to sit out under the stars.”
Baillie’s images will be part of a national touring exhibition.
Last year a similar exhibition attracted about 200,000 viewers.