Photographers from all over the world have captured images depicting surreal night skies in 16 countries around the world. The travel photography site Capture The Atlas in early June announced the list of 25 best photos out of 3,000 entries for the Milky Way World Photography Awards. The works are made in many famous tourist destinations such as Japan, Madagascar, or Switzerland
Photographers from all over the world have captured images depicting surreal night skies in 16 countries around the world.
The travel photography site Capture The Atlas in early June announced the list of 25 best photos out of 3,000 entries for the Milky Way World Photography Awards. The works are made in many famous tourist destinations such as Japan, Madagascar, or Switzerland
1. Socotra Island, Yemen
The photo was taken by author Benjamin Barakat on the island of Socotra, in Yemen, located off the Indian Ocean. The photographer shares the "unforgettable" nights on the mysterious island of Socotra. The canopy of dragon's blood trees on the island's arid terrain is illuminated by a colorful starry sky. “The atmosphere here is fresh, no light pollution. The pristine natural setting on this island is like taking me back to ancient times," Barakat said.
The symbol of the island of Socotra is dracaena cinnabari (dragon's blood tree) shaped like a mushroom or a giant umbrella, the sap is red like blood. Since ancient times, indigenous people have used the sap of the dragon's blood tree for medical, veterinary and cosmetic purposes. The island was recognized by UNESCO as a world natural heritage in 2008.
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2. Cafayate Town, Salta, Argentina
This photo was taken at a nature reserve in the town of Cafayate, in the province of Salta, Argentina. Colorful nebulae through the lens of photographer Gonzalo Santile look like a rainbow in the evening sky. Santile shared that he had to correct the blue hour, the moment when the Sun is deep below the horizon, the sky changes color, to capture the Milky Way. The exact location of the picture is the Las Ventanas desert, with arid terrain, red soil containing iron, vegetation only thorny cactus bushes. A special feature in this area is the natural stone columns 9-18 m high.
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3. Mono Lake, California, USA
This image was named "alien forest" by photographer Marcin Zajac. The real-life location is Mono salt lake in Mono County, California, USA. The 183 square kilometer lake is one of the oldest lakes in North America. High salinity combines with carbonate, chloride and sulfur to form limestone columns, which are exposed in the middle of the lake bed when the water level is low.
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4. Baobab Avenue, Madagascar
The picture "night sky under the baobab trees" was taken by author Steffi Lieberman at the Baobab collection in the city of Morondava, famous for Madagascar's 400 to 1,000 year old baobab trees. Lieberman shared this photo that means a lot to her. To shoot at night, the female photographer had to cross difficult roads and ask permission from security forces. The result is a fanciful image of the Milky Way passing through the iconic forest of Africa.
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5. Tenerife Island, Spain
Photographer Roksolyana Hilevych shared this photo capturing the "once-in-a-lifetime" moment. The meteor happened to pass by just as Hilevych was photographing the Milky Way on the island of Tenerife. The star lights up everything around, making the night sky as bright as day for a few seconds.
Tenerife is an island of Spain and part of the Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa. Diverse nature, mild climate, visitors to Tenerife often climb mountains, dive or enjoy vacations at high-class coastal resorts.
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6. Yamagashi, Japan
Author Mitsuhiro Okabe captures the night scene in Yamagashi during cherry blossom season. This is a viewing angle of Mount Fuji that is familiar to many tourists and photographers. The difference in Okabe's photo is the sight of the Milky Way shining brightly in the night sky, instead of the usual white snow mountains in the blue sky.
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7. Namibia, Africa
Photographer Lorenzo Ranieri Tenti's journey to South Africa has been described as an "extraordinary adventure". Lorenzo had a trip to explore the Gross Spitzkoppe nature reserve located in the south of Namibia. After trekking the Spitzkoppe mountain here, the male photographer found an area with smooth granite slabs, a wide view to admire the Milky Way in the night sky.
Namibia is a country in Southern Africa, the west coast of which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. This place brings wild beauty from endless deserts, vast sand dunes, to national parks with diverse flora and fauna and even a starry night sky without electric lights.
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8. Julian Alps, Slovenia
The photo captures the double arc of light that adorns the saddle area of Mount Mangart in the Julian Alps, in northwestern Slovenia. From 2019, exploring the mountain range becomes easier when the Juliana trail is completed. The road is 270 km long, wrapping around the foot of the Julian Alps through 16 stages, starting and ending at the Kranjska Gora ski area. Visitors to the Julian Alps can admire the majestic nature at Lake Bled, the Tolmin gorge, or conquer the summit of Triglav.
Photographer Uros Fink shared that despite the bad weather forecast, he still decided to climb Mount Mangart and "hunt" the Milky Way. He stayed up for 30 hours, carrying 30 kg of equipment for the shooting process.
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9. The old town of Avila, Spain
Author Iván Ferrero said that to get to this photo spot, you have to go through a rough dirt road, cars can't enter, so you have to walk about 30 minutes. The place to take pictures has bad weather, strong winds and bitter cold, but in return is a clear sky without light pollution.
Avila was once called the "city of gods and stones" by the Castilla people. The old town was founded by Celtic tribes, then became a Roman outpost and was eventually conquered by the Visigoths. Today, Avila still has many religious buildings, Gothic churches (late 12-13 centuries) to attract visitors.
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10. Southern Alps, New Zealand
The picture was taken at a lake located at the foot of the Southern Alps, which is not affected by artificial lights, emitting colorful light due to the phenomenon of chi (making the night sky not completely dark). Author Larryn Rae accidentally captured this moment on his way to another shooting location. The amazing natural phenomenon gave the photographer a fanciful scene of the Ngan river crossing the pink sky.
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