Auroras and Star Trails – Ten Stunning Nightscapes
Artist Statement – Nightscapes:
I have a reverence for nature and an interest in how inner experience responds to the natural world, to place, climate and time. I took these photographs of the aurora australis, stars and the moon above various Tasmanian landscapes. While most sleep or dwell indoors surrounded by artificial lights, noise and technology, I am awake and ecstatic, finding solace under silent night skies.
Images:
1. Dancing light
The aurora australis dances over Pipe Clay Lagoon, Tasmania, 29th June 2013.
2. Mountain star trail
The night sky in the mountains is truly mesmerizing. With no light pollution, the stars are many and bright. Mount Field, Tasmania, August 2013.
3. Milky Way tree
A Pencil Pine under the Milky Way. Mount Field, Tasmania, August 2013. Star spikes added in Photoshop.
4. City glow
Glow from Hobart’s city lights brings these dead trees alive. South Arm, Tasmania, August 2013.
5. Fading aurora
A faint and fading aurora australis glows in the early morning. South Arm, Tasmania, August 2013.
6. River aurora 1
A spectacular aurora australis reflected in the river; the International Space Station passing by. Huon River, Tasmania, 9th November 2013.
7. River aurora 2
The aurora’s ever-changing glow. Huon River, Tasmania, 9th November 2013.
8. River aurora 3
The fading moments of a stunning light display. Huon River, Tasmania, 9th November 2013.
9. River aurora star trail
Multiple images stacked to create circling stars amidst the aurora. Huon River, Tasmania, 9th November 2013.
10. Moonscape
Cliffs and shrubs silhouetted by the light of a half-moon. Clifton Beach, Tasmania, November 2013.
Arwen is a photographer and creative artist from Hobart, Tasmania. While she has worked in various creative modalities, including ceramics, visual arts and dance, nature photography has been her primary mode of artistic expression for the past five years. With photography, she combines her creative ideas with a love of wild places, light and pattern. She seeks to represent emotional responses to place, landscape and natural phenomena, thereby evoking a response in the viewer. Arwen has a particular interest in macro and night photography: both illuminate worlds that we do not often stop to immerse in and appreciate. Through her photographs, she aims to portray the unique beauty of the Tasmanian wilderness and to raise awareness of its need for protection. Arwen recently held a joint exhibition with multi-media artist Andrea Breen titled Celestial Listening (Sidespace Gallery, Salamanca Arts Centre, April 2014) and has had photographs exhibited in various other exhibitions, including the Weld Echo, Love the Tarkine and Kingborough Art Prize. Arwen also works as an arts and play therapist, having graduated with a Masters of Creative Arts Therapy in 2009.
