Meet Sandy (and Husband!) from Devonport Astrophotography

When did you begin making and where did you get your inspiration

My husband has been taking these photographs for the last four or five years. The purchase of his first telescope quickly led to him combining astronomy with his existing hobby of photography and has led to astrophotography captivating him and his gorgeous art captivating me :-)

I had one of his early moon photos put on to a canvas (semi-sneakily) as a present for his birthday. It was so gorgeous and admired by many visitors to the house, that we thought others might like them too.

What do you make

My husband takes the stunning photographs of the moon and deep space - hours and hours in the cold and dark followed by the hours and hours of processing done after the fact - layering image upon image upon image, colour adjusting, noise reducing and lots of other technical stuff. Hours and hours in front of the computer. (He estimates about 20+ person hours for each finished image of processing and that's not even including the time outside actually taking the photos).

I then have the photos printed onto canvas, t-shirts, notebooks, ceramic pendants and fabric (which I then make into cushions).

What inspires you?

The beauty of the night sky is what inspires us. The moon is a real place - looking through a telescope and seeing moon craters or the rings of Saturn for the first time is breath-taking - it is actually real and out there - and can be photographed! Then when you start to see the photographs of the deep space nebula - it justs blows me away!

What is your favourite book

I'm not sure I actually have one favourite - I love the books I can't put down. I do love the children's book The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams.

and your favourite Food?

My Mum's cottage pie - not my own - I don't get it the same!

Where do you get your online inspiration from?

I like to watch Aotearoa Astrophotography and the Stardome websites. In my quilting life I tend to hang out on quilting and fabric websites as well.

When you are not at the Devonport Craft Market, where can people find your work?

I have a website at moonphotos.co.nz and I'm on Facebook at facebook.com/moonphotos. I also sell online on felt.co.nz

What handmade possession do you treasure the most?

For me it's the two gorgeous cross stitch birth samplers that my dear girlfriend made for each of my sons when they were born.

My husband says the astronomy quilt I made him to use while outside in the cold and dark is his favourite (it contains his own photos printed onto fabric interspersed with commercial astronomy fabric).

What music do you have on high rotate on your ipod at the moment?

The only place I usually get to listen to music is the car and at the moment it's playing Bad Jelly (or maybe it's "Cars" - the movie - not the band) - sad but true.