Spend a night capturing mesmerising star trails for you to create a star trail and a star trail time-lapse! This Masterclass teaching you how to set up your camera, plan your photoshoot, how star trails work, stacking your photographs and editing from start to finish.
2022 DAVID MAGRO MILKY WAY LANDSCAPE AWARDS
WINNERS ANNOUNCED!
Entry is free with prizes worth $4,000 to be won
The awards aim to promote the art of Milky Way Landscape Photography and to showcase photographers from all skill levels across 5 awards. You are welcome to enter and the competition is open nationally with lots of prizes to be won.
Thanks to the Sponsors
1 SPOT LEFT FOR THE 2024 STAR CHASER I TOUR
With all 2023 Star Chasers fully booked quickly, I have released new 2024 Star Chaser 6 Day Photo Tours. Each Star Chaser Photo Tour is a highly unique photographic adventure capturing the Milky Way in dark sky locations at spectacular locations. Explore the tours below.
And the 2022 Milky Way Award Winners!
The 2022 David Magro Milky Way Landscape Photographer
"Mist Rolling Under The Milky Way"
Craig Booth
The 2022 Emerging Superstar Milky Way Landscape Photographer
"Backlit Bottle Tree"
Tracey Axelsen
The 2022 Sky Watcher Award
"Eddystone Point Lighthouse"
Kim Payne
The 2022 Star Gazer Award
"Abandoned Silo"
Susan Grant
The 2022 Citadel's Choice Award
"Clairview at Low Tide"
Andrew Greenwood
Thanks for entering!
MILKY WAY LANDSCAPES
There is no other magical experience than standing under a star filled sky photographing the beauty of the Milky Way. Our cameras capture faint light our eyes are unable to see revealing light far away within our Milky Way Galaxy. Using long exposure photography, we capture beautiful landscape aligned with the stars to create Milky Way Landscapes. It will takes us on journeys to dark sky locations looking for stunning scenery to accompany the night sky telling an amazing story.
ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED
Entries are open from August 20th, 12pm and will close on November 11th, at 10pm.
The shortlist will be announced on November 21st at 4pm with winners announced on December 2nd at 6pm.
ALL SKILL LEVELS
Awards will be presented to photographers across all skill levels to allow a broad range of entries into the David Magro Milky Way Landscape Awards.
AWARDS
The David Magro Milky Way Landscape Awards has 5 awards to be won with great prizes to compliment and improve your photography. There are 2 grand awards, 2 supporting awards and a Citadel's Choice award. All entries have a chance to win.
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The David Magro Milky Way Landscape Award will be presented to the grand winner of the awards.
Prizes for the winner includes:
$500 Deluxe Art Prints Print and Frame Package
$500 Cash Prize
$300 Momento Photo Book voucher
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Emerging Superstar Milky Way Landscape Award will be presented to the emerging photographer winner.
Prizes for the winner includes:
Samyang 14mm mkII manual lens of your choice valued at $699
SanDisk G-DRIVE ArmorATD Space Grey 5TB valued at $399
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Sky Watcher Award will be presented to the runner-up of the David Magro Milky Way Landscape Award.
Prizes for the winner includes:
Sirui ST-224 + ST-20 tripod valued at $669
2 Hour Photography/Editing Mentorship Zoom Session valued at $500
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Star Gazer Award will be presented to the runner-up of the Emerging Superstar Award.
Prizes for the winner includes:
$200 Momento Photo Book voucher
2023 Milky Way Masterclass of your choice valued at $297
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The Citadel's Choice Award will be presented to the winner from the shortlisted entries voted by the public.
Prize for the winner include:
2023 Milky Way Masterclass of your choice valued at $297
JUDGING
Multi-award winning Milky Way Landscape photographer David Magro will be judging the entries. Milky Way Landscapes will be judged based on the following elements:
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Impact - The photo will grab the attention of the viewer with its uniqueness.
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Composition - The photo will be visually pleasing and balanced using the elements in the foreground and sky to navigate the viewer through the scene. Alignments, leading lines, rules of thirds, framing and other composition techniques tie an image together bringing together the sky and foreground.
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Subject Matter and Story Telling - The photo will showcase a landscape that will draw you into the scene with distinct features of the landscape and subjects without distractions.
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Photography Techniques - The photo will showcase your ability to capture a well exposed Milky Way Landscapes.
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Processing Techniques - The photo will showcase the ability to post process Milky Way Landscapes with a balanced image. The exposure, colour balance and contrast should be harmonious to produce a stunning photo that blends the sky and foreground seamlessly.
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Image Presentation - The photo's presentation should meet the requirements of entry or it may not be considered. The entry must use a standard aspect ratio (1:1, 2:1, 3;2, 4;3, 7;5) , no watermarks, no borders and must be a jpg file under 3MB. Additionally, to ensure your photo is viewed at it's best, your image should have the correct calibration and colour profiles. A useful tip to see how your photo is displayed to others is to send/upload the photo to your mobile phone and view it on your screen with brightness ~75%.
The winners will be based off the Milky Way Landscape photographs aesthetics and ability to stand out. Whether that is with either a composition with layers of depth, incredible photography skills or the ability to move the viewer, all attributes to an image are equally important.
CONDITIONS OF ENTRY & GUIDELINES
Below the submission form, you will find the Conditions of Entry and Guidelines.
Meet the Judge David Magro
2021 Snoop Dogg acquired 'Startrails' in his NFT collection
2020 PSQ Speaker
2019 2nd Place Aperture Emerging Photographer of the Year
2018 Australian Ambassador for Sandisk and Western Digital
The 2022 David Magro Milky Way Landscape Awards Shortlist
Conditions of Entry, Guidelines and FAQs
Answers to commonly asked questions
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Entry is open to residents of Australia.
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Entries will only be submitted through the above form.
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Entrants under the age of 18 at the date of entry must obtain prior permission of their legal parent or guardian over the age of 18 to enter. The release must be completed with the full name, address and telephone number of the entrant’s parent/guardian. Failure to provide documentation will immediately invalidate the entrant’s entitlement to any prize.
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Two entries are allowed per person.
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Photographs must be submitted with your full name and title. For example 'DavidMagro-Reflections'.
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Photographs must be submitted using a standard aspect ratio (1:1, 3:2, 4:3, 7:5, 2:1, etc).
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No watermarks or borders are permitted on the image.
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Photos must be submitted as JPG files with 2048px on the long edge in SRGB.
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All photographs must be photographed from 2020 - 2022.
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All entries must be images that reflect the landscape aligning with the night sky. For example, if using a sky tracker you can capture the the landscape and sky separately as long as they both were captured on the same day/location. Another example, if you photographed the foreground during twilight then without moving your tripod you captured the night sky at night, this is acceptable. It is not acceptable if you captured the night sky from a different location than your foreground/landscape then combined then both together.
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Composites which are not accurate representations of the Milky Way and landscape are not permitted. The judge will be able to distinguish this and entries will be automatically disqualified.
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Photographs that use techniques such as image stacking, multi-row stitching (panorama's) and star trails are allowed to enter. These photography techniques showcase your technical ability.
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Photo Art (adding elements such as unicorns, giant moons, etc) will not be considered.
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Entries must not have previously won a national photography award.
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There will be 1 winner of each award with the prize stated above on this page.
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If you’re shortlisted for an award, you will be required to submit a high resolution photo to verify the authenticity and for online purposes. If you’re unable to supply a high resolution image within 5 days of being notified on November 21st, then your entry will be invalid.
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Shortlisted photos will be published online and used for the David Magro Milky Way Landscape Awards. Credit will be supplied front and centre when used to ensure you receive recognition for you photography.
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You maintain full ownership and rights to your image. David Magro and sponsors may showcase finalists and winners online and on socials with name credit. Submitted photographs will not be printed.
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Entries will be not considered for awards if not following these guidelines.
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The 2023 David Magro Milky Way Landscapes Awards open on August 20th at 12pm. Registration closes on November 11th at 10pm. Finalist will be announced on November 21st at 4pm. Winners will be announced December 2nd 6pm.
What are the key dates?
The 2023 David Magro Milky Way Landscapes Awards opens on August 20th at 12pm.
November 11th at 10pm - Registration closes.
November 21st at 9am - Finalist will be announced.
December 2nd at 6pm - Winners will be announced.
How many photo's can I enter?
Two (2) Milky Way Landscape photographs can be entered per person.
Is there an entry fee?
There is no entry fee, it is free to enter!
Are composites allowed?
Composites which are not accurate representations of the Milky Way and landscapes are not permitted. The judge will be able to distinguish this and will be automatically disqualified.
Stacking, stitching and star trails are allowed to enter.
Are stitched panroama's, stacked photographs and star trails allowed?
Yes! You are allowed to enter stitched panoramas, stacked photographs and star trails.
Do you have an age limit?
Entrants under the age of 18 at the date of entry must obtain prior permission of their legal parent or guardian over the age of 18 to enter.
Do I retain copyright of my image?
You maintain full ownership and rights to your image. We may showcase finalists and feature your work online and on socials with name credit.
How do I supply and name the photo?
Photographs must be 3MB in jpeg format with no watermark. It must be submitted with your name and title.
For example - DavidMagro-Reflections.
Can I receive feedback on my photos?
Feedback will be provided to the winners.
I'm only a beginner, should I enter?
Yes, of course! I encourage you to enter the Emerging Milky Way Landscape Photographer as the award is designed for new Milky Way Landscape photographers.
Does the photograph need to be taken in Australia?
No, you are welcome to enter Milky Way Landscapes from anywhere around the world.
Why should I enter the awards?
Entering awards enables you to grow as a photographer, showcase your work among with your peers and build your confidence. Also, you will win prizes that will benefit your photography!
