Stargazing photographer shares sense of wonder

A Welsh photographer whose images of the Northern Lights went viral said he wants to share a sense of wonder through his images.

Cormac Downes from Newport was inspired by award-winning astrophotographer Alyn Wallace's night images in the Bannau Brecheiniog National Park, also known as the Brecon Beacons.

The full-time civil servant started photographing Welsh landscapes four years ago during the Covid lockdown, when he watched Wallace's YouTube videos and taught himself how to capture the perfect image.

His work is now on display in a solo exhibition at the International Welsh Rarebit Centre in Defynnog, Powys.

Some of the images he has selected for the exhibition were special to him because of the effort it took to capture those moments.

His photos of the Northern Lights required determination and perseverance: driving, sometimes for hours, to the right location and hiking up mountains for the perfect vantage point.

"You need to pay attention to the weather, the moon phase. Everything can come into play," he said.

A striking image of the Newport transporter bridge was taken on a foggy Sunday morning.

"The gondola was around a third of the way out and just looked like it was emerging from the fog and I just knew it would be a fantastic shot. I was lucky that the Welsh flag was in full display too," he said.

The photo was shortlisted for the World Historic Photographer of the Year prize in 2022.

For his photo of St Govan's chapel in Pembrokeshire, he made a spur-of-the-moment decision to place a spare head torch inside the building.

"I was waiting to capture the Milky Way at Broadhaven South and I had a couple of hours to spare," he said.

The road to the chapel was open and as he was taking images of the chapel he thought: "Wouldn't it be better with a light inside?"

At Llangorse Lake he also decided spontaneously to capture the fishermen when he saw their reflections mirrored perfectly in the still water.

"A lot of the time you're hoping for good conditions with photography. You want nice light or mood," he said.

He said the dramatic Welsh landscapes helped frame his images of night skies and added a "sense of balance".

Going to a dark location and seeing a proper dark sky for the first time gave him a real sense of wonder, he said.

"When the stars really pop, they're really bright, that's a special feeling," he said.

"It enables me just to focus on one thing and forget about everything else," he said.

"It's getting away from it all. Having an opportunity to reflect and get away from the nine to five."

Cormac said he was surprised to find he was creative with photography, thinking about composition and not just its technicality.

"I never knew I had it in me. It was a shame it happened later on in life," he said, adding that he would love to spend more time working in photography.

"It's not something normal people can't do. You can do it. You've just got to go ahead and do it," he said.

"You've just got to put the effort in."