Stargazing exhibition opens featuring breathtaking images of the Northumberland night sky
An exhibition showcasing gorgeous photographs of the night sky is set to open.
Photographer Wil Cheung, founder of Twice Brewed Stargazing in Northumberland, is displaying some of his work.
Infinite Skies will open at the Queen’s Hall Arts Centre in Hexham on 29 July and will include stunning photographs of aurora borealis, the Milky Way, meteors, the moon, Andromeda Galaxy, shooting stars and comets.
Mr Cheung said: “I’m extremely excited to have my work featured at the Queens Hall and have really enjoyed selecting the photographs for my first solo exhibition.”
Mr Cheung was inspired to learn photography eight years ago after experiencing a strong aurora storm in Iceland.
He added: “I started photography with the aim of showing people the beauty of the night sky and having an exhibition will hopefully inspire others to look up and enjoy the beauty of the universe.
“We’re so sort of busy aren’t we. We are always looking down at what’s going in our own lives, often we forget to look up.
“There’s so many beautiful things.
“It’s not just looking at stars there’s thing like the northern lights, comets, shooting stars all sorts of things which are in nature."
Mr Cheung runs regular workshops at The Twice Brewed observatory on Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, which boasts some of the darkest skies in England.
He said: "At Twice Brewed Inn, we have stargazing events. We have photography workshops as well and I would hope that my work is about inspiring people to look up more."
Mr Cheung said he can't believe an organisation like Queen's Hall would invest in having his work printed and exhibited.
He added: "When I look at my photographs, I don’t get them printed, I’m literally looking, maybe at the back of my screen or at the back of my monitor.
"So when I went to the exhibition and there’s a huge print, it’s like 5metres and 3 metres, honestly it was pretty emotional. I couldn’t believe it.
"It was really special.”
Katy Taylor, Queen’s Hall artistic director and chief executive, said: “We’re delighted to be showcasing Wil’s work at Queen’s Hall this summer.
“Wil has a huge following online and it’s great to be able to offer him a physical space for his first large-scale professional exhibition - which we know visitors from Hexham and beyond will be in awe of.”
Infinite Skies is a free exhibition and will run from 29 July to 16 September.
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