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Ian Inverarity of South Australia won the 2022 David Malin Awards overall with “Old Giant in the Fog,” a nightscape of an old gum tree near Gawler beneath the Milky Way. The annual Central West Astronomical Society (CWAS) competition showcased amateur astrophotography from around Australia, spanning deep-sky images, solar-system scenes, nightscapes and smartphone photography.
Who won the 2022 David Malin Awards?
Inverarity also won the Nightscapes category with “Old Giant in the Fog.” ABC News describes the photograph as an old gum tree in Gawler shrouded in fog before the Milky Way. The overall award was a separate decision from the category results: Dr David Malin selected the overall winner from the category-winning images.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe awards were presented at CWAS AstroFest on 23 July 2022. CWAS invited amateur astronomers and photographers from around Australia to enter.
#1 Best Overall
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What were the winning astrophotography images?
The category winners demonstrate the range of subjects and formats represented in the 2022 competition. The official results page names David Gray as the Animated Sequences winner but does not provide a reliably identifiable title in its available text.
| Award or category | Photographer | Winning image |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Winner and Nightscapes | Ian Inverarity | “Old Giant in the Fog” |
| Wide-Field | Jarrod Koh | “Bluey” |
| Deep Sky | Shaun Robertson | “NGC 6188 Immortal Kombat” |
| Solar System | Stefan Buda | “Mare Crisium” |
| Smartphone Astrophotography | Lucy Yunxi Hu | “Celestial River Bifurcation” |
| Junior | Lachlan Wilson | “Gems of Outer Carina” |
| Theme—“Alignments” | Jong Lee | “Origin of Stars” |
| Animated Sequences | David Gray | Title not stated (CWAS official results) |
| Photo Editor’s Choice | Jarrod Andrews | “Beams at the Arctic Henge” |
How were the images judged?
Australian astrophotographers judged the category entries; Phil Hart and Alex Cherney were among the judges. Dr David Malin then chose the overall winner from the category winners. Separately, News Corp picture editor Jeff Darmanin selected the Photo Editor’s Choice awards, including Jarrod Andrews’s “Beams at the Arctic Henge.”
Rank #2
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CWAS said that technical skill alone was not the point: the awards recognized photographs that conveyed the beauty of the sky and astronomy’s intrinsic interest in an aesthetically pleasing way. The overall selection’s comment on Inverarity’s image was: “This is the finest image I have seen in this competition. It is simply beautiful, and no more needs to be said. No sign of stitching, either.”
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The official results also singled out qualities in other winning work. The judges called “Bluey” an unusual composition and noted its resolution and brown dust cloud. For “NGC 6188 Immortal Kombat,” they remarked on the challenge of cropping the field and praised the rendering of NGC 6164 and NGC 6165.
Rank #3
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- SV105 astrophotography camera is suitable for lunar and planetary photography; share the view of bright planets; moon and terrestrial targets; just point the telescope at the moon or planet and record a quick video; you can transfer the real-time view of the telescope to your laptop or PC
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What do the photographs show?
The winning subjects range from broad views of the night sky to individual astronomical targets. ABC News describes Lucy Yunxi Hu’s smartphone-category photograph, “Celestial River Bifurcation,” as showing a dead tree stump on the banks of Lake Eucumbene in the Snowy Mountains. That makes the awards’ range especially clear: the entries were organized by subject and format, not just by traditional telescope-based deep-sky photography.
John Sarkissian, a scientist at CSIRO’s Parkes Observatory, told ABC News that “it was great to see the hobby becoming popular and that amateur photographers were taking better pictures than professionals were able to just 10 years ago.” This is his assessment of the hobby, not a measured comparison of the award entries.
Rank #4
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- 1920*1080@107FPS: capture the cosmos with the astrophotography camera offering 1920x1080 resolution at 107FPS; ensuring every detail of fast-moving planets; like Jupiter’s clouds and Saturn’s rings; is sharp and clear
- Lightning-fast transfers: SVBONY Astronomy camera features USB 3.0 high-speed transfer technology; offering a staggering 5Gbps speed—over 10 times faster than USB 2.0; This enhances your astrophotography workflow significantly.
- ST4 guiding interface; SV305C Pro guide camera features an ST4 guiding interface; ensuring seamless compatibility with popular software like PHD2 and ASCOM; This simplifies setup; allowing your telescope camera to track celestial objects quickly and accurately
Prizes and exhibition plans announced in 2022
CWAS reported that Celestron Australia supplied prizes valued at $10,000 for the 2022 competition. The overall winner’s prize was an 8-inch Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph; category winners received Nature DX 10×42 binoculars, and honorable mentions received SkyMaster 15×70 binoculars. These were awards, not evidence of what equipment photographers used to make their images.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The exhibition prints were produced at SUNSTUDIOS on Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 and PRO-4000 printers. At the time, CWAS said the winning works would be displayed for a year at the Parkes Observatory Visitors Centre and that a Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences touring exhibition would begin in October 2022. Those were plans announced in 2022, not confirmation of current display dates or locations.
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- 【Pro-Level EQ Mode & Long Exposure】 Unlock advanced deep-space imaging with Equatorial (EQ) Mode. Supporting impressive single-frame exposures up to 90 seconds and featuring built-in light pollution filters, it easily cuts through city glow to reveal intricate celestial structures.
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What is not known about the winning images?
The published results and reporting cited here do not establish the specific cameras, telescopes, mounts, filters, exposure times or processing software used for each photograph. The prizes and print-production details do not fill those gaps, so equipment-based comparisons between the winning images cannot be made from these accounts.
The awards are named for astrophotographer David Malin. Later CSIRO descriptions characterize them as a blend of scientific integrity and artistic beauty; the 2025 account says the event is hosted at the Parkes Observatory Visitors Centre. Those later descriptions provide institutional context, but they should not be treated as a substitute for the 2022 invitation and event details.
Sources: CWAS 2022 results and competition details; ABC News, 31 July 2022; CSIRO, September 2025.
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