A night of stargazing or a trip to the planetarium can put things in perspective, reminding us of our place in the universe. But for Travis Novitsky, photography is an outlet for connection with the cosmos.
Novitsky is a self-taught astrophotographer and a lifelong resident of the Grand Portage Anishinaabe Nation in northeast Minnesota. For over 35 years, he’s captured breathtaking images of the Northern Lights, the Milky Way, star trails and more.
In recent years, Novitsky has also highlighted the significance of the cosmos for Indigenous traditions. In 2022, he served as co-producer and narrator for the award-winning PBS documentary Northern Nights, Starry Skies, and his work is featured in the 2023 book Spirits Dancing: The Night Sky, Indigenous Knowledge, and Living Connections to the Cosmos.
“It’s really been a very powerful thing to me to discover the star knowledge that has been a part of my culture, but really has been largely unknown to me until my adult years,” he says.
Novitsky will share his work during event at UW-Milwaukee's Manfred Olson Planetarium on Friday, Nov. 7. Ahead of that, Novitsky and planetarium director Jean Creighton spoke with Lake Effect’s Audrey Nowakowski.
“This is the stuff of dreams for people who live in cities — people who’ve never seen the Milky Way, never mind the Northern Lights,” Creighton says. “So, I feel like for some people it will be the beginning of a journey.”
Novitsky adds that one of the most rewarding aspects of traveling and sharing his work with others is the stories people share with him. "Everybody has either a connection to the sky and a story they want to share, or, they have a desire to form a connection and to get stories of their own," he explains. "And that to me has been such a powerful thing because it just resonates with everybody I've come across. It's an honor to be that inspiration in some way for people."
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