Another Win for Astrophotography as Art - Forums

Topic starter

Jan 7, 2026

I was recently named 2025 Amateur Photographer of the Year by Monochrome Photo Awards for my astrophotography entry which won the amateur Grand Prize and 1st Place in the nature category. The Monochrome Awards is a general photography juried contest for black and white images with 13 categories ranging from Architecture to Wildlife. Having this image selected as a grand prize winner means the jury has selected an astrophotography entry over all other images from all categories. For me, this represents another validation of astrophotography as an art form.

https://monoawards.com/winners-gallery/monochrome-awards-2025/grand-prize/

-Pete

Well Written

Cindy Yepez

Jan 7, 2026

Congratulations! Nice to see astrophotography being recognized like this.

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Jean-David Gadina

Jan 7, 2026

Beautiful image, congratulations!

Frank Alvaro

Jan 7, 2026

Congratulations on the award - that is a stunning image.

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David Veach

Jan 7, 2026

Congratulations! Beautiful work!

Jim Thommes

Jan 7, 2026

Stunning photo and a well deserved grand prize (B&W) Pete! I guess that makes you one of our “Astrophotograpy as Fine Art” ambassadors.

Jim -

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Ewen

Perfect post

Jan 8, 2026

Congratulations! I’d love to hear more about how you went about preparing to enter your piece. Was it submitted digitally or did you create a print? I’m working on printing images and am stuck trying to find the right paper and processing to maintain detail. Thanks

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John Hayes

Exemplary contributor

Jan 8, 2026

Congratulations Pete. Your image is stunning! It is no wonder it won the grand prize…and what a fantastic honor.

- John

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Keith Hanssen

Jan 8, 2026 · Edited: Jan 8, 2026

Congrats! Super image.

Almos Balasi

Jan 8, 2026

Congratulations! Beautiful photo, it deserved the award it won!

Photographers are slowly opening up to astrophotography. It's a huge step and a great contribution to the recognition of astrophotography as an art form.

CS Almos

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Andy 01

IOTD Staff

Perfect post

Jan 8, 2026

Great image, well done!

Peter Hergesheimer

Topic starter

Jan 8, 2026

Cindy Yepez · Jan 7, 2026 at 10:09 PM
Congratulations! Nice to see astrophotography being recognized like this.
Jean-David Gadina · Jan 7, 2026 at 10:19 PM
Beautiful image, congratulations!
Frank Alvaro · Jan 7, 2026 at 11:30 PM
Congratulations on the award - that is a stunning image.
David Veach · Jan 7, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Congratulations! Beautiful work!
Jim Thommes · Jan 7, 2026 at 11:38 PM
Stunning photo and a well deserved grand prize (B&W) Pete! I guess that makes you one of our “Astrophotograpy as Fine Art” ambassadors.
Jim -
Ewen · Jan 8, 2026 at 02:07 AM
Congratulations! I’d love to hear more about how you went about preparing to enter your piece. Was it submitted digitally or did you create a print? I’m working on printing images and am stuck trying to find the right paper and processing to maintain detail. Thanks
John Hayes · Jan 8, 2026 at 02:22 AM
Congratulations Pete. Your image is stunning! It is no wonder it won the grand prize…and what a fantastic honor.
- John
Keith Hanssen · Jan 8, 2026 at 04:14 AM
Congrats! Super image.
Almos Balasi · Jan 8, 2026 at 06:21 AM
Congratulations! Beautiful photo, it deserved the award it won!
Photographers are slowly opening up to astrophotography. It's a huge step and a great contribution to the recognition of astrophotography as an art form.
CS Almos
Andy 01 · Jan 8, 2026 at 07:43 AM
Great image, well done!

Thank you all for your congratulatory messages! It was indeed an honor and a thrill to receive the recognition. I have submitted several images to various photography contest over the past few years, some astro and some not, with varying success. It was heartening to have an astro shot make it to the top in one of these contests.

-Pete

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Peter Hergesheimer

Topic starter

Jan 8, 2026

Ewen · Jan 8, 2026 at 02:07 AM
Congratulations! I’d love to hear more about how you went about preparing to enter your piece. Was it submitted digitally or did you create a print? I’m working on printing images and am stuck trying to find the right paper and processing to maintain detail. Thanks

Ewen - Most photography contests… color, B&W, film and digital…are online and accept only digital entries. The only exception I’ve encountered is a county fair contest/exhibition which down-selects from digital entries and then accepts prints of a specific size.

Printing astro images is particularly frustrating and involves a lot of trial and error. I won’t claim to have mastered this challenge. I’m sure you know to be using a calibrated monitor and paper-printer profiles in your quest. Good luck.

-Pete

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Rainer Ehlert

Frequent contributor

Jan 9, 2026

Ewen · Jan 8, 2026, 02:07 AM
Congratulations! I’d love to hear more about how you went about preparing to enter your piece. Was it submitted digitally or did you create a print? I’m working on printing images and am stuck trying to find the right paper and processing to maintain detail. Thanks

Can you elaborate a bit more about your printing equipment?

About paper, well that is a personal taste. I have printed many astro photographies and maybe you can start a new topic…

churmey

Jan 9, 2026

No wonder! That’s a fantastic image, you can almost feel the breeze going through those detailed valleys :)

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Gary Lopez

Jan 9, 2026 · Edited: Jan 12, 2026

This is fantastic news, Pete! Congratulation. The image is wonderful. It would be great to include your story, perspective and guidance in the next edition of The New Art of Astrophotography. It will be an inspiration to aspiring artist. BTW, thank you for your wonderful review of the book that you posted at Amazon.

Gary

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Jim Case

Jan 10, 2026

What an impressive image Peter. My congratulations.

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Cindy Yepez

Jan 10, 2026

@Gary Lopez I have a copy of your book and love it. Inspirational and very helpful.

Gary Lopez

Jan 11, 2026 · Edited: Jan 12, 2026

Cindy Yepez:
@Gary Lopez I have a copy of your book and love it. Inspirational and very helpful.

Thank you so much, Cindy. I'd appreciate any feedback you have to improve the book. Also, if you can, please leave a review at Amazon. Reviews help with the visibility of the book.

CS, Gary

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Peter Hergesheimer

Topic starter

Jan 12, 2026

churmey · Jan 9, 2026 at 04:00 AM
No wonder! That’s a fantastic image, you can almost feel the breeze going through those detailed valleys :)

Thank you, Churmey! It is a very interesting piece of sky.

-Pete

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Peter Hergesheimer

Topic starter

Jan 12, 2026

Gary Lopez · Jan 9, 2026 at 11:32 PM
This is fantastic news, Pete! Congratulation. The image is wonderful. It would be great to include your story, perspective and guidance in the next edition of The New Art of Astrophotography. It will be an inspiration to aspiring artist. BTW, thank you for your wonderful review of the book that you posted at Amazon.

Gary

Gary, Thank you for the note. It would be wonderful to be part of your second addition publication. The book is so relevant for those learning ‘the art’. I’ll contact you directly.

-Pete

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Peter Hergesheimer

Topic starter

Jan 12, 2026

Jim Case · Jan 10, 2026 at 07:37 AM
What an impressive image Peter. My congratulations.

Thanks, Jim! This image was one of a series of three B&W astro images in which I highlighted the nebula and its energizing star.

-Pete

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Jim Case

Jan 12, 2026

Peter Hergesheimer · Jan 12, 2026 at 05:23 AM
Jim Case · Jan 10, 2026 at 07:37 AM
What an impressive image Peter. My congratulations.
Thanks, Jim! This image was one of a series of three B&W astro images in which I highlighted the nebula and its energizing star.
-Pete

I am struck by how the abstraction, structure, and the monochrome nature of this image creates a reality not confined while building upon the Flaming Star. Thanks again for sharing.

Jim