An Art & Design student from Stratford-upon-Avon College is quite literally reaching for the stars, creating awe-inspiring images of galaxies and stars using a telescope and a passion for Photography.
Liam Mancini, 17, is currently studying on the Level 2 Art & Design course and is taking us where no student has gone before, using his unique creations for his final space-inspired project.
Liam has long had a passion for Photography and started the Level 2 Art & Design course at college with a goal of progressing up onto Level 3 Photography. His first focus had been macro photography – an extreme style which makes tiny objects appear life-sized. But his discovery of telescopes took his photography ambitions on to another scale completely.
When Liam got his first telescope, he was disappointed in the quality of what he could see. So he saved his money and purchased a much more advanced product, which opened up a new realm of photographic possibilities.
Liam loves this new way of creating with his favourite aspect being discovery: “I like looking up and being surprised about what we can’t see but the telescope can.”
Here are just some of the stunning shots Liam has taken with his telescope including the moon, the Rosette Nebula, the Heart Nebula and the Whirlpool Galaxy.
A challenge Liam has faced is living with visual impairment since the age of 4, which did impact his macro-photography. However, he has found that his work with astrophotography has not been affected.
He hopes to continue studying Photography and eventually work his way to work professionally being an Astrophotographer, even working for NASA.
Art & Design Lecturer, Sarah Bagshaw, is delighted by Liam’s creativity and stunning snaps of the stars and details how encouraging individual passions are key to the course: “Liam is making amazing photographs that explore astronomy using his telescope at home. It’s even more interesting that he’s doing this at a time when we are sending humans further into space than ever before. The Level 2 Art & Design course allows students to explore subject matter and ideas that are of personal significance to them, and we are excited to see what they create.”
