Milky Way image a global winner

He will get £800 for his photograph Galactic Archway, with the school set to receive £2,000.

Jacques was one of two Guernsey students – the other being Abigail Bran from The Ladies’ College – whose winning entries from the local competition were sent on to the global one.

While Abigail won the local judges’ prize for her acrylic portrait of Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, Jacques was awarded the public vote prize – £400 for himself and £1,000 for the school.

The Guernsey students were up against 14 entries from London, Mauritius, Malta and Gozo, Hong Kong, the Isle of Man, Portugal and Gibraltar.

Jacques’ picture won the judges’ prize, awarded by a jury made up of several professional artists.

His photo of the Milky Way is comprised of nine separate pictures taken in one-minute long exposures.

‘The Milky Way is not actually arched like this, but with this wide field of view either the ground or the Milky Way ends up distorted, creating an arch shape,’ he said.

Jacques was in a physics lesson when he got the news.

‘After the local competition I thought maybe I was in with a chance I might win again, but I wasn’t expecting the judges’ prize,’ he said.

He took the picture with a Sony full-frame mirrorless camera in a field near his Vale home and said he was outside for about an hour-and-a-half before he got the result he wanted.

After that it took several hours’ work in Photoshop to stitch the nine images together.

Jacques has been interested in photography for about three years, but about a year ago he said he became more invested in the idea of astro-photography, largely due to his interest in science and space.

He is now in his first year of A-level studies and photography is one of his subjects.

Hannah Bonner, head of the college’s art department, said he had been able to bring the skills and experience from his hobby into the classroom.

‘We’re absolutely delighted for him,’ she said of Jacques’ win. ‘He’s a very hard-working student and very modest about his talents and his skills.’

He plans to spend his winnings on equipment to enable him to take even better astronomical pictures while Mrs Bonner said the school would be investing its share of the prize money into expanding the equipment available to students interested in photography.

. Prints of Jacques’ photo can be purchased from bit.ly/3wF65rw with the proceeds split between Jacques and SAF Guernsey.