Bailey’s photo, titled “Misty Green River,” was taken last September with a 15-second exposure. He said the photo was taken looking across the river at the rifle as the mist rose from the water.
A Yellowknife man is gaining international recognition for a photo that captures a stunning display of green aurora lights dancing over the Cameron River.
Fred Bailey was the only Canadian among the finalists for the 2022 Royal Observatory Greenwich Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. His time-lapse photo taken outside the capital of the Northwest Territories earned him second place in the Aurorae category.
“Of course I was excited, but also humbled by the news given the quality of entries this year,” he said. “Once the overall ranking became fully public, it was understood very quickly that this was a significant achievement and shows that I am going in the right direction with my photography.”
The annual competition is the largest of its kind and showcases the space and sky photography of astrophotographers around the world. More than 100 winning and shortlisted images from this year’s entries are currently on display at the National Maritime Museum in London, featuring planets, galaxies, skyscapes and other celestial bodies.
Gerald Rhemann of Austria was named the overall winner for his photo of Comet C/2021 A1, commonly known as Comet Leonard.
First place in the Aurorae category went to Filip Hrebenda for his photo titled “In the embrace of a green lady,” which shows the lights reflected in a frozen lake on the Eystrahorn mountain in Hvalnes, Iceland.
Bailey’s photo, titled “Misty Green River,” was taken last September with a 15-second exposure. He said the photo was taken looking across the river at the rifle as the mist rose from the water.
Bailey, who has lived in Yellowknife for 18 years, said he first photographed the aurora when he and his wife, Karen, lived in the Yukon in the early 1980s.
She said she likes to enter contests to get feedback on her photography.
“In terms of future goals, I’ve always said it would be a good job for retirement,” he said, noting that he and his wife have dabbled in making salable products such as calendars and producing of prints for friends and family.
Another photo Bailey took of the aurora over the Cameron River, which he submitted to the National Wildlife Federation’s 2020 photo contest, was selected for use in a holiday card collection.
He said three of his aurora photos received a bronze award at the Epson International Pano Awards in 2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on September 24, 2022.
This story was produced with financial assistance from Meta and the Canadian Press News Fellowship.