Op-Ed: Is Astrophotography Fine Art?

We went to the state fair this last week and visited the Fine Arts Building to see the entries. I'd been told one astro image had been accepted and particularly wanted to see it.

If you follow the usual flow of people that turns right upon entry into the building and then winds around the pictures, you come to the image just before returning to the entry. Go look!

After you've seen it I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say it's a beauty of a picture, with a gorgeous capturing of the Lagoon Nebula and surroundings. Everything about it is technically excellent. What you might not agree with is my opinion that it doesn't belong in the building.

I haven't always thought this way about AP at the fair. I once entered a decent-quality image for consideration; it was rejected, and rightly so.

So why did my mind change about AP in a display of popular art? Let me begin by showing you the way art entries are judged for acceptance, as described by Google AI, which I think gets it about right. Following each factor I'll include a few comments of my own in italics.

Before I start, let me make a distinction between deep-sky object (DSO) imaging and landscape  photography. A DSO image contains only sky; a landscape image contains sky and element(s) of landscape (landforms, buildings, and perhaps even people). I'm going to talk almost exclusively about DSO imaging, mainly because that's what I do.

And also please note: what I write here is not a knock on the Fine Arts judging rules, how they are implemented, or the judges themselves. I think the entire system works quite well to provide fairgoers with a diverse taste of the local art community.

Factor 1. Individual Definition of Artistic Quality

The Minnesota State Fair explicitly establishes artistic quality as the fundamental criterion for selection. Because "quality" is inherently subjective, the fair empowers each category's specific juror to interpret this based on their own professional expertise. Judges evaluate how successfully the artist has utilized the core elements of art (such as line, shape, color, and value) and the principles of design (such as balance, contrast, and movement) to create a compelling visual statement.

The judges change each year, meaning that the working definition of  "artistic quality" changes as well. The need to utilize the listed core elements is problematic for DSO imaging that attempts to faithfully interpret reality. DSO images have little flexibility regarding line, shape, color and value unless the imager is willing to make a break from reality. 

Factor 2. Mastery of the Medium (Technical Craftsmanship)

Judges look for a rigorous command over the material used. Each of the eight competitive classes demands proof of technical skill:

• Painting, Watercolor, & Drawing (Classes 1, 3, & 4): Mastery over brushwork, blending, color theory, layering, and line precision.
• Sculpture, Ceramics, & Glass (Classes 2 & 6): Structural integrity, spatial awareness, and handling of form or glaze.
• Printmaking & Textiles (Classes 5 & 7): Intricacy of the pattern, clean execution of the print process, and material manipulation.
• Photography (Class 8): Control over lighting, depth of field, exposure, and sharp composition.

AP clearly falls into Class 8, and certainly offers a wealth of options like exposure time, color channels, number of frames, degree of stretching and dynamic range control, composition, etc. Composition is more than simply location and orientation of the field, it also includes the choice of focal length. 

Whether or not the judges are aware of these factors may vary from year to year. This year's accepted AP entry without a doubt demonstrates "Mastery of the Medium."

Factor 3. Originality and Diversity of Expression

The exhibition explicitly seeks a wide diversity of artistic expression within each medium to demonstrate the full breadth of what can be accomplished.

• Uniqueness: Works must be completely original and completed within the designated recent timeframe (e.g., executed since the start of the prior year) without the assistance of an instructor.
• Creative Voice: Copying existing works or relying heavily on tired clichés is often ground for quick elimination. Jurors favor pieces that show a distinct personal narrative, innovative concepts, or an unexpected manipulation of traditional mediums.

Where DSO AP has a serious problem is creative voice. How does one give a distinct personal narrative to, for example, the North American Nebula? Can a traditionally-processed image of the Orion nebula be innovative? The goal of most DSO AP is to follow accepted norms of processing and not indulge in unexpected manipulations. 

To put it harshly, a straight-up DSO image is soulless. It's a fair point to suggest that a beautiful image reveals the intrinsic beauty of the heavens, but is that good enough to take the place of the missing creative voice? I don't know.

Factor 4. The Digital Submission Quality (The "First Impression")

Because the preliminary elimination round occurs entirely online by reviewing submitted digital images, the quality of the digital entry photograph is practically treated as a criterion. Professional artists and past participants note that otherwise excellent art is routinely rejected if the submission image is blurry, poorly lit, incorrectly cropped, or shot at a low resolution.

If AP teaches us anything it's attention to detail. Blurry, poorly cropped low resolution images would not make it past our own desktops. Digital image quality should not be a hurdle for anyone doing high serious DSO imaging.

Factor 5. Physical Presentation & Framing Compliance

Once a piece passes the digital phase, it faces final in-person evaluation for awards. At this stage, professionalism in presentation becomes a harsh filter. The fair enforces strict presentation rules:

I'm going to skip these rules because they don't really differentiate between AP and non-AP entries.

It suffices to say that anyone who is a serious DSO imager already knows to take their images to professional printers and framers.

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What this all comes down to is that the art of imaging -- and it is an art, given the complexities of data acquisition and processing -- is not really what the fair is looking for. The fair wants a personal touch, something of meaning to the imager beyond technical excellence. 

Can a DSO image convey an emotion? I don't know, but it's an interesting thing to ponder.

Can you think of some way to add feelings or thoughtfulness to an image? 

For myself, I might consider creating artistic overlays for images had I any talent of that sort.

While writing this post I thought of a way to add my own personal spin on the state of imaging. As it turns out others have had the same idea; I'm also hardly alone in thinking about acting on the idea. But I will, because I think it will be fun and possibly even be thought provoking for the viewer. 

Skies willing I'll have an entry for the 2027 state fair, and I'll find out if they agree it's worth acknowledging with acceptance.

Your comments are invited.

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It's almost time to make reservations at Lac Qui Parle!

No Luck With the State Fair; Weather Update

Just a quick update--my entry into the Fine Arts competition was not accepted. That means I get to keep my nicely framed picture, although I'll probably make it a gift to someone.

Unfortunately the judges don't give explanations for their decisions. I'm going to speculate that it was seen as lacking a sufficient element of artistic merit. If that's their reasoning, I can certainly understand it.

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The long-term forecast for conditions during the Jeffers star party suggests that the very cool weather we've been experiencing will come to an end just before the party begins. Temperatures will climb into the low 90s with dew points in the low 70s. Typical steamy Jeffers weather, and if it persists into the following week and the Nebraska Star Party, there may be some big bad thunderstorms to deal with.

Framed and Registered

The print of M31 I talked about last time has now been framed, and I've registered it for the Fine Arts competition at the State Fair.  Here's what it looks like framed:

This is a snap using an inexpensive digital camera, and I think it went blue-heavy, but you get the idea. The matte and frame are blacker than this shows. I chose anti-reflection glass, too, which lends a very slight blue tinge, much like it can do when viewed on a lens.

In a fit of optimism I decided to put a for-sale price on it. My cost, disregarding time and travel is $14 for the print and $261 for the framing, for a total of $275. The fair takes 20% of the sale price, so that becomes  $330. I set the price at $350, which means I'll have a "profit" of $20. 

Two things about that. It would be nice to have the costs taken care of, and it would be a great pleasure to know someone was willing to pay for one of my images. Seeing it hanging in the Fine Arts building with a "sold" sticker would be a blast. 

One thing at a time, though, and I won't find out what its status is until July 14-15. If it's accepted, I'll take all the mounting hardware off, and my wife will deliver it to the Judges (I'll be at the Nebraska Star Party).

This week I should really finish my Binocular mount project. The Jeffers Stargaze and NSP are going to arrive quicker than I know.

Getting an Image Ready for the Fair

I'm a fan of our state fair, which I've attended almost every year since I was a child. In recent years I've been entering baked bread in the baking competitions with some success. My wife usually enters some of her craft work, too. And my mother, now 91 years of age, enters both stitched and baked goods.

The first day of the fair is usually dedicated to visiting the buildings where our entries are on display and seeing what ribbons we've won (most years at least one of us gets a ribbon, some years, all three). After that it's on to the Education building, the 4H building, Fine Arts Building, and then to wherever time permits. It's not unusual to attend on a couple of days, as there's a great deal to see.

One of my uncles was a painter (as I hope to be some day) and managed to get his work displayed in the Fine Arts building on a couple of occasions. He never won a prize or mention, though, which I think irritated him a little. To carry on with his tradition I'm going to submit an astrophoto this year.

In the past there's been some astronomy presence in the building. A local painter has entered her impressions of astronomical objects, and there's usually at least one picture of the Moon. Last year was a particularly fruitful year, with these on display:

At top are two star trail images, lower left is an aurora, and bottom right is art with a fairly realistic depiction of the northern sky (note the big and little dippers). Obviously my pictures don't do justice to the works!

Seeing these got me thinking that the judges might be receptive to other examples of astrophotography. So I'm submitting my M31 image from the South Dakota Star Party:

While I'm not suggesting that it's great astrophotography, it's one of my best to date, and I like it. I've had a test print made using the services of National Camera Exchange in Burnsville. It looked good and faithfully reproduced the image I submitted, but for the full-sized print (11x14 inches) I changed the yellow-blue balance a little, which nicely brought up the blue. I'm also going to print it on metallic paper, which is said to enhance the vibrancy of the color. The print will be ready next week, and then it's off to the framing shop.

The Fair requires that the image be framed with a glass or plastic cover, and I'll go with glass. Registration requires submitting an image of the art that is about 1,000 pixels on the short side. 

Judging takes place in several phases; Phase 1 is where they cull the entries based on the submitted image and is completed by July 13. Phase 2 is where the jurors do the hard work and decide what will be displayed and how awards will be allocated.

Between now and the end of registration on July 7 I need to decide if I will offer the print for sale. The price would be set by the cost of printing (a modest $14) and framing (probably not as modest) plus 20% to cover the Fair's cut and a few bucks so I can say I came out ahead on the whole thing. 

There are cash prizes awarded, and the dream would be to land one of those, sell the print, and do this over again next year with a better image. At this point reality says: Let's just see if I can get past Phase 1.

I'll post more about this as the process rolls on.