Written by Bianka Kovács
This spring, the Institute’s newest student organization, the Astrophysics, and Astronomy Society shall be organizing an official Astrophotography Competition for all star-lover students out there in the form of a collaboration with the Arts Society. The applicants will have a chance to take part in a two-part workshop series with professional astrophotographers who will familiarize them with the topic. This will serve as great preparation for the competition!
The spring term is only the second term of the Astrophysics and Astronomy Society as it started operating in last year’s autumn, yet they are already engaged in several projects; the Exoplanet Hunting, the Horoscope Writing Team, and now, the Astrophotography Competition, as well, the latter being one of the main building blocks of their spring term.
The competition will be organized in collaboration with the Institute’s Arts Society. The Arts Society has similar experiences such as organizing the Milestone Arts Prize, the Dystopian Future essay competition, and a Documentary Film Festival. The submissions will be judged by the presidency members of the two societies. The judging criteria will include originality, quality, as well as aesthetics.
“We chose Astrophotography as a topic for our spring term because we believe that it is the perfect way to involve the creative side of Milestone students while also familiarizing them with the night sky and offering a new perspective on space and astronomy.”
Léna Lakatos, President of Astrophysics and Astronomy Society
To properly prepare each applicant, they will have a chance to take part in a workshop series prior to the competition. Here, two guest speakers will give lectures, one of whom is a famous Canadian astrophotographer, Trevor Jones. He also has a YouTube Channel (known as AstroBackyard) and will provide tips and suggestions for the participants so that they can bring the best out of their works. The other professional is Lionel Majzik, a Hungarian astrophotographer, who is also the member of Magyar Asztrofotósok Egyesülete (Hungarian Astrophotographers’ Association) and Magyar Csillagászati Egyesület (Hungarian Astronomical Association) alike. They will both share their experience, talk about their journey in astrophotography and familiarize participants with the topic.
Workshop held by Trevor Jones: February 19th, 5 pm (Friday, English event)
Register for the event here
Workshop held by Lionel Majzik: February 25th, 5 pm (Thursday, Hungarian event)
Register for the event here
Submissions will be divided into two categories, one of which includes photographs taken by phones or regular (non-DSLR) cameras and the other one including photographs using DSLR cameras. The deadline for submissions is March 21st (any submissions sent in after this deadline shall NOT be considered) and the best photos will be announced at the end of the spring term, on March 26th. Participation is encouraged as the winners will receive a heartfelt prize!
“The Presidency of the Arts Society was very pleased when the Astrophysics and Astronomy Society came up with the idea of the collaboration. The night sky is one of the most beautiful things on Earth and looking at it is simply magnificent. We hope that the participants of the competition will find creative ways to capture it and put their own personality into the artworks as well. I am beyond excited to see the results!”
Kinga Pőcze, Vice-President of the Arts Society
The entries will become part of Milestone’s Astrophoto Exhibition this summer! Application is possible through the form provided by the Astrophysics and Astronomy Society, which can be found in both societies’ Facebook groups.
Good luck to all and have fun “shooting the stars”!