Meet July’s BBC Travel Photo Nomad

Dean Hammer, the winner of this month’s BBC Travel photo competition, tells us how he got this starry shot.

Congratulations to Dean Hammer, 34, the winner of BBC Travel’s July photo submission! This month we asked you to show us what ‘unbreakable’ means.

Every month, a new winner will be inducted into our Photo Nomad Hall of Fame. We recently caught up with Hammer to find out how he got this starry shot.

Dean Hammer

My buddy and I were driving from Sydney to Byron Bay on Australia’s east coast to attend a good friend’s wedding. About halfway through our journey we had a little time on our hands, so we decided to break up the drive and go surfing at Crescent Head.

We’d never been there before, so we walked up to the headland to get a feel for the area. It didn’t take long to notice the amazing night sky. This crisp, stunningly beautiful sight is not something we get to enjoy in light-flooded Sydney. I just had to get a shot of it, so I ran back to the car to grab my camera.

I must have stopped and snapped about a dozen times when I finally had my equipment in hand. The stars just made everything look so incredible. I told my mate to walk ahead and stop at the top of the headland because I wanted him to give the picture some scale.

I decided to go for a long exposure photograph, which takes longer to shoot and also takes the camera longer to process than a regular shot. After what felt like an eternity waiting, the little red light on the camera flickered, indicating that the image was ready to view. The anticipation was huge – I didn’t know if a worthwhile image would emerge from the darkness. When it finally arrived, I stood there silent for about a minute, so satisfied at what was on display.

“So, how is it?” my friend called out.

“I think I can see a galaxy!” I replied.

That’s one of the things I love about long exposure photography: even though the view was already amazing, the camera brought it to a new level. It’s almost like the beauty of the universe was just waiting to be discovered.

As told to Richard Conway, BBC Travel contributing editor

Judges remarks

Jared Kohler, New York Times contributing photographer:

I really like the creative approach to this image. Long exposure photography can be a difficult art to master and Hammer seems very skilled. With this photograph, we feel a sense of awe at the vastness of the universe and also a sense of the individual’s connection and place within the immensity. This could be an image from any point in human history, which gives us a sense of an unbroken relationship with time.

Erica Fahr Campbell, former Time photo editor:

I love Hammer’s interpretation of the theme. It’s interesting how the very vastness of the night sky can both remind us how small we are and yet emphasise our connection with it. His use of long exposure creates an image our eye would never see alone, and in that sense it hints at a greater truth.

Richard Conway, BBC Travel contributing editor:

Including his friend in the image might seem like a small thing, but without it this photo would be much less powerful. Hammer has shown us the connection between the very small and the very large and between the personal and the universal in an image that is both beautiful and engrossing.

Next month, we’ll be looking for photographs that best represent the theme of hot and cold. See last month’s finalists and the winner for the theme epic travel selfies.