Stunning star trails image takes out Kalgoorlie Miner’s Best Goldfields Photograph Competition

A stunning image of star trails stretching across the night sky has won this year’s Kalgoorlie Miner Best Goldfields Photograph Competition. Lex Porebski’s entry, Under a Big Sky, took out both the Judges’ Choice and People’s Choice awards. The Albany-based photographer captured the incredible photo during a camping trip to Lake Baladjie, north-west of Southern Cross, with his Suzuki 4WD and campsite in the foreground. Mr Porebski said the final image was the result of about 210 exposures merged together to capture the apparent motion of stars due to the Earth’s rotation. “Each year I go for a drive out to the Wheatbelt and Kalgoorlie area to look for interesting photo opportunities,” he said. “This time I stopped at Lake Baladjie … there was clear skies and no wind, so I decided to do some star trails.” Mr Porebski received $500 in prize money courtesy of Goldfields Transport Solutions and a framed print of his image by Snap Print Kalgoorlie. Under a Big Sky will be featured on the 130th anniversary edition of the Kalgoorlie Miner calendar. “I’m always pleased to win something; it’s a reward for the effort of going all that way and camping in the dirt for a week,” Mr Porebski said. Kalgoorlie-Boulder snapper Warren Pilton took out the Miner’s first Social Shutterbug competition with his entry Dreaming. The public was asked to vote on 20 entries posted to the Miner’s Facebook page. Local creative Em Anders made the final decision from the top three images that attracted the most interactions. Ms Anders said the creative composition of Dreaming helped it stand out from the crowd. “It’s mesmerising and the composition is really creative and fun,” she said. “An incredibly beautiful photo and would be my pick.” Mr Pilton said he aimed to create an image which depicted an iconic Lake Ballard statue “looking up” towards the Milky Way. “With the dark skies and the statues on the lake there is a sense ... that it is a special place,” he said. Mr Pilton received a $250 Kal Dollar Gift Voucher from the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Activ8-KB.