Selwyn Times: October 09, 2019

6 Wednesday October 9 2019
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Our People
SELWYN TIMES
Simon Lewis
Passion for astronomy is out
Space, planets and
galaxies have interested
Simon Lewis for as long
as he can remember.
The Greendale resident
talks to Devon Bolger
about his passion for
astronomy and work as
an astrophotographer at
the West Melton
observatory
What was it that first
attracted you to astronomy?
Even as a kid, I’ve always
been interested in science and
technology. As a boy, I was
always pulling things apart and
trying to fix them, nothing was
safe in my house. I started to
grow this passion for space and
our universe so this is kind of
a natural progression for me
because I’ve taken that interest
in science and technology and
applied it to astrophotography
which is what I specialise in.
What do you like about
astrophotography?
Astrophotography really
includes a large part of science
and astronomy because you’re
trying to look at different type of
objects using cameras and you
have to try to understand the
LIGHT SHOW: Astrophotographer Simon Lewis took this photo of the southern night sky from
the West Melton observatory.
dynamics of what you’re looking
at, the size and scale of what
you’re looking at, and also the
type of object you’re looking at
and even when it might be visible.
You have to put some effort into
it and that’s the bit I like, there’s
a science behind it. You have to
understand the night sky and
the object your aiming for and
then kind of frame it up from
there to create something that’s
pleasing to the eye. Everybody
that does astrophotography say
it’s very much an art form in its
own right. There’s result that’s
the correct one to aim for, you
just give it the finish that is your
interpretation of the subject and
one which makes you happy.
Is there anything that you
find particularly exciting when
you photograph it?
I like to look at things that
aren’t quite mainstream. There
are definitely major celestial
objects that are commonly
photographed and if you picked
up an astronomy magazine you’d
see pictures of them in there
but I like to photograph more
low key objects that are just as
interesting. They’re not always as
photogenic perhaps but they’re
very interesting in their own
right. For example, there’s an
object near the Southern Cross
called the Corona Australis that
is what’s called a dark nebula,
which is actually dust that is
blocking the light from stars so
if you look at it you can’t actually
see any light through it because
they’re being blocked by the dust.
I quite like taking photographs
of them and think they’re nice
to look at because they’re not
photographed very often.
What is your favourite
constellation?
Not a constellation in
particular, as our southern night
sky is really fantastic there is so
much to look at, so choosing one
as a favourite is really hard. If
you look directly to the south of
us you’ve got Carina which is a
fabulous constellation which has
the Carina Nebula and what’s
called the Homunculus which
is a bubble of gas round a huge
star that’s a 100 times bigger than
ours. It’s a really beautiful area
to photograph. Orion is also a
really amazing constellation to
look at too. It’s in our summer
evening sky and it has a number
of beautiful objects within it to
image. If you look up and to the
right from the stars on the belt
you’ll see the Orion Nebula. It’s
so big and so bright you can see
it without a telescope even by
naked eye as a fuzzy patch, you
can really see it very clearly in a
pair of binoculars.
FREE
October 12– 20
Darfield Rec Centre, North Terrace, Darfield
FREE Entry to Artweek exhibition and sale
10am–5pm daily • Sunday, 20 October - 10am–4pm
Darfield Artweek Opening Night — Friday, 11 October 7pm–9pm
Pre-sale tickets $15 from Selwyn Gallery or treasurer.mcac@xtra.co.nz or $20 door sales
Telephone 03 318 8702 • darfieldartweek@xtra.co.nz • facebook.com/selwyngallery
Darfield Artweek will celebrate its 38th Opening
Night on Friday, 11 October, 7pm, at the Darfield Rec
Centre.
“We are pleased to have Fiona Simpson, Art Curator
at the University of Lincoln, as this year’s judge for
the Artweek competition. She will announce the
winner of a number of awards sponsored by local
businesses, including the coveted $2000 Premier
Award”, said Malvern Community Arts Council Chair,
Philip Baldwin.
A number of local artists received awards in 2018,
including potter Alan Hooper, Lorraine Natusch, Alice
Olds, Soon-Lee Spicer, and Alison Staniland.
MCAC anticipates that approximately 300 artworks
will be on exhibit, including painting, photography,
sculpture, ceramics, jewellery, wood carving, and
fabric works. As many as 140 artists from Selwyn
District, the city of Christchurch, and countrywide
enter each year.
Darfield Artweek comprises two exhibitions this year.
The Darfield Rec Centre will hold the main exhibition,
with works that are in competition for awards. At
the same time Selwyn Gallery will feature work by
members of the Textile and Fibre Arts Network.
“This exhibition’s variety of crafts—quilting, spinning
and weaving, lacework,
embroidery, and felting—
are all creative, colourful,
and skilfully executed.
The selection of works
is stunning”, Mr Baldwin
concluded.
Darfield Artweek 2019 • darfieldartweek@xtra.co.nz
selwyngallery.co.nz/artweek • facebook.com/selwynartgallerynz
Mature drivers course
Build confidence by refreshing your knowledge
of the road rules.
Morning tea and lunch provided.
To register your interest in
future courses, contact
Age Concern on 03 366 0903.
Proudly supported by the Road Safety Team
www.selwyn.govt.nz