The countryside charity, Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) Sussex is sharing some ‘superpower’ secrets to mark the launch of a new children’s competition, as the charity’s ‘Night Vision’ photographic competition aims to encourage youngsters to explore the night time world on their doorstep and to photograph what they see.
To mark the launch, the charity is offering a free online course which is available to anyone who is interested in learning how to take night time photographs using their own camera or an ordinary smart phone.
“At this time of the year most of us shut our curtains when it gets dark,” says CPRE Sussex director, Kia Trainor, “and yet there is still so much to see outside – from the stars in the sky to the many nocturnal animals living in our gardens. We are encouraging children of all ages to get out into their garden at night, or to watch the night world from their window and to send us photos of what they have seen.”
To help the young photographers to discover their own night vison ‘superpowers’, the charity has created a night photography course which gives simple, easy to follow advice and the course is run by local artist and environmentalist, Steve Geliot, who says exploring the world at night really can give you superpowers.
Your eyes work differently
“When you are outside at night your brain starts working in a completely different way,” he explains. Your eyes, which normally use the “cone” cells in the centre retina to resolve colour and detail in daylight switch to “rod” cells, which are spread right out and just detect light. So your visual perception at night is a bit like putting a wide-angle lens on a camera. Your hearing becomes more acute, too.”
Steve says it is an experience which shouldn’t be missed as “an encounter with the natural night is like opening the stage curtains to the whole universe. We suddenly get a real sense of perspective, of how small we are, and how small our problems are in the grand scheme of things. It is fantastically liberating.”
The ‘Night Vision’ children’s photographic competition which will be judged by Steve Geliot will run until the end of February. There are two categories – age 12 and under, and age 13+. Entries to: info@cpresussex.org.uk. A winner in each category will receive a £35 gift voucher for Herstmonceux science observatory: The Observatory Science Centre.
Steve Geliot’s Night Photography Course can be found here: https://www.cpresussex.org.uk/news/seeing-stars/
For more information please contact – Kia Trainor, CPRE Sussex director: 07964 894333
Steve Geliot, artist and environmentalist: 07721 346591
Source: CPRE Sussex
Image Credits: CPRE Sussex .