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In the build-up to the now infamouns Friday 10th May, strange things were going on. Looking at the Sun through my eclipse glasses, I was awed to see one the biggest sunspot groups (known astronomically as AR3664). I couldn't believe my luck through the sheer scale of this group and being safely observed using appropriate solar filters; to the naked eye. I knew somethinfg big was going to happen after multiple reports of major M and X-Class Flares hurtling towards Earth. Eventually merging into one big Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) inbound for Earth. For this reason and for the rare prospects of high-pressure being in the right place at the right time, the goldilocks effect had been reached with much of the entirety of the UK under clear skies. Now was the time to act. It was therefore my decision to go somewhere close to my heart; to chase a dream I have always dreamt of seeing. The aurora from the Castle Ruins of Corfe Castle. Yes - many may say it is heavilly photographed, but each Photographer has their own story to tell. Arriving at the moment of twilight, the reports were coming in. They were getting stronger. The aurora oval models were increasing; to levels that I had never-before witnessed. Reports coming in from observers in Kent and Norwich where astornomical darkness would reach first. Signs of pink 'pillars' in the sky. On reaching my location (which just so happened to be a graveyard of all places!!) I waited for the moment of darkness and to see if my camera would pick up anything. And there it was. Red, diffuse aurora high up in the sky!! I couldn't beliueve the extreme scale of the aurora oval; it was overhead!!! As it gew evermore darker, the green bands of the aurora were visible at lower extremeties near to the castle. Only then, for one of the biggesrt light shows of my life was about to unfold... After recviewing the rushes in the build-up to this heck of a celestial light show, the green auroral arc was pushing further and further south; increasing in magnitude. Before long, the gravestones and the ground were illumiated green. Then, there she bows. The pillars started to dance, coloursa of pink and red were now becoming visible with some fo the biggest aurora pillars I had seen in my life jetting off in every direction. Quite frankly, I did not know what to do with myself. As with the recent Total Solar Eclipse, I was overcome with emotion. I was positively dismayed. I had never seen like this before; the power of mother nature. Before long, the depth and extremity of the storm would unfold. Growing in light and intensity as the inbound CME reached the Earh's magnetic field. It was awe-inspiring. Capturing my images from the castle ruins and the tomb stones, it was almost fanatical. I will not forget calling my nearest and dearest to let them know. To see Instagram being flooded with messages from enthusiasts and astrophotographers alike, we were all on standby to bare witness to a moment shared by all. I know in my heart now - what I observed was to be cherished. Unless I am wrong, I am positively certain this may be one of the only magnetic storms of this scale; with reports dating as far back as 2003 and then, 1935. I hope really that I am wrong, but to see the lights dancing for what seemed like hours, I knew I would have to do an all-nighter and it so turns out, many Astrophotographers did the same and ended up feeling 'aurora-hangover' from the night before and for many nights to come!!! I wanted to make the best of my night under the aurora so I pushed to go to as many locations as possibke; and in the smallest amount of time possible. This is when I headed out shortly after to Knowlton Henge. After meeting to many lovely Photographers in my travels, I soon learned from a passer-by doing a head-count, over 100-Photographers made their way to Knowlton Henge?!? I could not believe the scale of Photographers there hoping to catch their dibs of the great event?! This is what I loved at the same time. It was connecting a community more than ever. The public showing an interest, getting up to see it. We were all bound by the same thing; in telling our story of the great cosmic event. Shortly after, I was deciding to travel to Stonehenge, but I am glad I didn't with probably, more photographers lining the A303. It was then that I decided to head homebound when I stopped of at Cranbourne Chase before dawn. For once, I took my photos and then I just looked up and stared at it. As mentioned before, I knew this would be special and I took it all in; to grace the wonders of what were visible in the heavens. I just could not get over the scale of the aurora this night; being seen all the way across Europe, Slovenia, Northern Africa, The Southern States of Amercia and likewise for the Southern Hemisphere with the Aurora Australis. Imagine being able to see the aurora from The Atacama Desert in Chile?! This event was purely mind-baffling and an event the world shared in unity.

For a while now, I had been amde aware of a comet, which was due to brighten in magnification from March onwards and was beginning to see the first images of the comet coming through. Therefore I decided to give it a go and to see if I could photograph the infamous, Comet 12/P Pons Brooks from Somerset. This comet has an orbital period of around ever 71-years; so if I did not get it this time, it may well be a once in a lifetime opportunity. Fortunately for me in Somerset, we had clear skies in our faovur for once. This was during the time when the comet was passing relateively close to the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). The relatively close conjunction between the two were making for some stunning compositions and this was one I could not afford to miss.. Then there is the old-age question with Photography. You know what you want to photograph, but what do you photograph it with in terms of a subject? There are always iconic landmarks but they are photographed qute often. FOr this one I wanted something that was unique to me and that is why I decided to photograph the comet from my homelands of The Mendips Hills in Somerset. There are some beautiful places here on The Mendips and as with any locations in Photography, I have comed to learn it was a matter of trial and error. So with a rough idea of where Andromeda anf 12/P were going to be, I headed out with clear skies overhead. I must admit, it was not an easy captures by any stretch. Where I eventually decided on was right next to the edge of a thorny bush so not ideal - but as visual artists, we know what things look like and sometimes you need to make comprimises to get that shot. What really was an eye-opener for me and should not have come as a surprise, was the amount of light pollution surrounding The Mendips which could not necessarilly be detected by the unaided eye but more so by using longer expsures. This was when I saw the comet and it was indeed visible. But not to the same extent as I had seen by other photographers capturing the comet from Bortle-Scale 1 locations. Regardless, it was putting Somerset on the map and before I knew it, this image took off. Days later, I found out this image was picked up by Television, The Radio and The Press. Below are a section of newspaper inserts from The Times, Daily Express and Daily Star. The biggest hommage for me, was to have my image recognised by The World At Night (TWAN): This is an initiative I have wanted to be apart of for a long time and followed the work of this initative since I was a youngster. The World At Night (TWAN) is an international effort to present stunning nightscape photos and timelapse videos of the world’s landmarks against celestial attractions. TWAN is a bridge between art, science, and culture.

Picture the scene, 22nd November; heading to the city on Bath. On board a bus. A friend from The Isle of Lewis pings me a message. Facebook only shows you a snippet of the message " Congratulations Josh!! I'm thinking to myself, what is this? Only to wait for a stable 5G connection only to find I had only gone and History Hit's History Photographer of the Year!! I thank Callanish Digital Design for letting me know the news. I was completely bessotted. Before I knew it, streams of newspieces were coming in from far and wide; Digital Camera, a friend in Somerset messaging me "You need to see this.." It was in The Times Newspaper! You name it! To see these tiles was an immense privilege let alone the following comments by Dan Snow!? See below: For any Photographer, this is an immense privilege and also a game changer. 2023 really was the year when I began to see change and was the time of resurgence. Lookijng back, I think why on earth did I give up Photography. After covid when life all got too much, things happen and I also wonder if they happen for a reason. Looking back at these photographs, I can can my photographic style has changed and so I believe one's artistic vision and outlook on life can do so as well. Callanish changed my life. How one trip can change everything. For the small amount of time I was there and to be greeted with wall-to-wall clear skies for 4 days at the time of new-moon really was a sight to behold. Not only having been recognised for Astronomy Photographer of the Year earlier in September, and now this. I could not be more greatful to Callanish and the islanders for their fountain of knowledge. It had always been somewhere I wanted to visit and to achieve these results, a book could not have written it.

CONTACT SEND Thank you for getting in touch! I will respond as soon as possible to your enquiry. BE A PART OF MY JOURNEY... 1/1 Josh Dury Josh Dury | Television Josh Dury | Radio Josh Dury | Writer Donate / Become a Patron Legal & Shipping Sear ch Contact Informa tion Privacy Policy Refund Policy Become a Patron! Become a patron and support Josh's Photography while also getting rewarded with access to exclusive content. Terms o f Service

SUBSCRIBE TO THE MAILING LIST: Subscribe to the mailing list for insider news, product launches, and more. ➡ Thank you for subscribing to the mailing list.Shortly you should begin to receive the latest news and more! Josh Dury Josh Dury | Television Josh Dury | Radio Josh Dury | Writer Donate / Become a Patron Legal & Shipping Sear ch Contact Information Privacy Policy Refund Policy Become a Patron! Become a patron and support Josh's Photography while also getting rewarded with access to exclusive content. Terms o f Service

3_R8B1850-2 Total Lunar Eclipse Composite: This image captures the sequence of the Total Lunar Eclipse from Somerset, United Kingdom in 2015. Sunrise over the Heel Stone June 20th 2019 This image captures the Summer Solstice Sunrise Alignment from Stonehenge with the permission of UNESCO English Heritage. 3_R8B1850-2 1/17 Josh Dury Photo-Media AKA 'Starman' (B.A. FRAS), is an Award-Winning Landscape Astrophotographer, Presenter, Speaker and Writer from The Mendip Hills "Super National Nature Reserve" in Somerset, United Kingdom. His images recognised by NASA, APOLLO 11, ESA, TWAN, BBC & CBS amongst others. NASA'S ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE DAY (APOD): PERSEID METEORS OVER STONEHENGE: MONDAY 12TH AUGUST 2024: NASA.GOV SHARED BY APOLLO 11 ASTRONAUT, BUZZ ALDRIN SEE POST HERE SHARED BY EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY BRITISH ASTRONAUT, TIM PEAKE: SEE POST HERE FEATURED BY THE SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL, NATURE SEE POST HERE SHORTLISTED | SKYSCAPES | ASTRONOMY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2023 OVERALL WINNER | HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2023 WHERE YOU MAY HAVE SEEN MY WORK... BRAND PARTNERS SIGMA PARTNERSHIP I choose Sigma for the quality of their wide-angle lenses and the advancements being made to correct lens distortion and chromattic aberration when shooting at wide focal lengths to preserve details in my astro images. BENRO PARTNERSHIP I have been long-term supporter of Benro since choosing some of my earliest tripods. They design products that are rigid, high-quality and affordable, which is why I am more than delighted to review their products. NISI PARTNERSHIP I am a purveyor of Nisi's products; to aid in the battle against light pollution. With Nisi's Starsoft and Natural Night Filters, these will revolutionise the way you take astrophotos in capturing images of our window to the universe. BBC THE ONE SHOW - JOSH DURY INTERVIEW WITH DAME DR. MAGGIE ADERIN-POCOCK: 1720110 "JOSH DURY | STARMAN" R.A, DEC: 5H 46M 24.33S 8' 8' 31.94" JOSH TALK AT THE PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW NEC, BIRMINGHAM | 2024: 1/2 REVIVAL | THE 2024 CALENDAR: £14.99 GBP Tax Included. ADD TO CART ONE ASPIRATION. TO HEIGHTEN PUBLIC AWARENESS THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY OF OUR EVER CHANGING VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE. SUBSCRIBE TO THE MAILING LIST: Subscribe to the mailing list for insider news, product launches, and more. ➡ Thank you for subscribing to the mailing list.Shortly you should begin to receive the latest news and more! FIND OUT MORE To find out more about working with me or arranging a workshop, follow the link below. WORK WITH ME Josh Dury Josh Dury | Television Josh Dury | Radio Josh Dury | Writer Donate / Become a Patron Legal & Shipping Search Contact Information Privacy Policy Refund Policy Become a Patron! Become a patron and support Josh's Photography while also getting rewarded with access to exclusive content. Terms o f Service