A BIDDADDABA resident has gained social media attention after her astrophotography was shared on twitter by ABC’s stargazing television show.
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Former professional photographer Kate Wall said she was overwhelmed by the positive feedback she received online.
“The show invited people to share their photos and I picked four of my favourite astrophotos to send in and it just went ballistic,” she said.
“I have good responses on my other social media accounts but I wasn’t expecting a response like that on Twitter like that, it was quite a shock.”
Despite moving on from portrait photography to become a teacher’s aid, Ms Wall said she would never stop taking pictures.
“I’ve always had a camera in my hand and that was always my outlet,” she said.
She said she “dabbled” with different types of photography over the years until her passion turned towards landscaping and shooting stars.
Ms Wall said for those who wanted to try their hand at astrophotography, April to September is the best time to do it.
“Astro-season has just started and at the moment, the milky way is rising about 11pm to 1am so winter is probably the best time to go,” she said.
Ms Wall said half the fun was scouting locations to take her images and sometimes she would not reveal the places on her social media accounts.
“I drive through the back roads and if I see a windmill or a tree, that’s where I come back at night to shoot, you have to go out and find it,” she said.
Ms Wall, who is also one of the founders of the Scenic Rim Instagram photography group, said she wanted to educate people on how to take good shots and answer any questions.
“I think it’s extremely important at the moment to get shooting and sharing more so we can get people to come out here, especially after the floods that we’ve had,” she said.
Ms Wall said she believed people did not realise how much Scenic Rim towns offered.
“The beauty with astrophotography is that people can enjoy the time during the day and explore and at night, they can stick around and see the beautiful sceneries in the sky,” she said.
Ms Wall said every time she posted a photo of a location in the region, she would receive comments from people reminiscing over certain areas.
“I’m using social media to be proactive and I love it when people say they came out to Moogerah Dam one weekend because they saw my photos,” she said.
“That’s the reaction I want and I’m going to keep doing it.”
Jocelyn Garcia
Jocelyn is a journalist at the Redland City Bulletin, covering education issues and school stories. She was a former journalist at Beaudesert Times, reporting about crime, schools and agriculture.
Jocelyn is a journalist at the Redland City Bulletin, covering education issues and school stories. She was a former journalist at Beaudesert Times, reporting about crime, schools and agriculture.
