Photography & Digital ArtSEP 18, 2019

35 'Astronomy Photographer Of The Year 2019' Finalists That Took Massive Amounts Of Planning And Precision

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Astrophotography is probably one of the most difficult and specialized types of photography to try your hand at, but if you manage to get it right the rewards are some of the most astonishingly breathtaking images you are ever likely to see.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich has just revealed the winners of its annual Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, and the quality of the entrants was nothing short of spectacular. This year the competition attracted 4,602 entries from 90 different countries across the world, all presenting the universe in a new light and vying for the coveted prize of best picture.

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Hungarian photographer László Francsics was named the overall winner of Insight Investment Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2019. His bewitching image, 'Into the Shadow', depicts the 35 phases of the total lunar eclipse that occurred on 21 January 2019.

"I started taking astrophotos in 2003 at the age of 19 at the very moment I looked into a small telescope," László told Bored Panda. "I had already been into photography for several years, and one of my friends pulled me into amateur astronomy. I put the two things together immediately."

"For this moon eclipse shot I did not need to travel anywhere, I took this photo at home from the roof-terrace over my house. But for deepsky images (nebulas, galaxies) we have to go to extremely dark places far from settlement, also in Hungary. Hungary is actually a fairly good location in Europe for astrophotography as the light pollution is quite low at certain areas."

László is incredibly proud and honored to win the prestigious award, however he explains that it was not entirely unexpected. His wife knew it was coming! "When I started to process the image after my sleepless night of the capturing, she saw halfready image on my computers screen and told me confidently that it will be the next overall winner, he told us. "She has never said it before, despite I have already took 5 awarded images at the IAPY competition during the past 7 years."

The style of photography, while techincal and difficult, is more accessible than you might think. László says that people are trying it with their mobile phones - you don't need a hundred thousand dollar robotic photo-telescope in the Atacama desert! "In Hungary we have a strong community of astrophotographers, he said. "In 2018, we founded the Hungarian Astrophotographers' Association, of which I became the chairman, and already have 90 members. We organise annual exhibitions, frequent club events, and most of all we go out together to take photos under the starry sky. Our recent great challenge to establish our own astrophoto observing site in Hungary."

Would you like to give it a try? Scroll down below to see the best of the entrants from this year's competition for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!