I've had an interesting in getting into night sky / astro photography for some time, but this image was from the first time I gave it a solid go.We joined a night sky tour at the Mt John Observatory near Tekapo on New Zealand's South Island.The night sky was wonderful and although we were a little early in the year for the Milky Way, I am pretty happy with this first image.The night sky is amazing—you have to have a sense of awe in having the realisation of the immenseness of the universe. Night sky photography is something I will continue to play around with, and hopefully get better at!
Precisely one year ago we visited Cape Otway on Victoria's Great Ocean Road, staying at the Cape Otway Lightstation for a milestone birthday treat. There are three or four cottages or studios in historical buildings in which you can stay at the Lightstation. On this occasion, we are pretty sure we were the only guests staying overnight, and given the staff don't stay on site, we had this incredible piece of history to ourselves overnight. I haven't done a lot of night sky photography, but with a clear night and a new moon in a remote location I had to take the opportunity. Staying overnight provides the opportunity to scout out compositions before dusk, and the use of the PhotoPills app allowed me to plan the time of night when the milky way would be aligned above the lighthouse. While I am sure that there is a lot of room for improvement, I am very happy with this image. Not only it is a decent image of the magnificent night sky, it brings forth great memories and wonderful imaginings. Photography is a medium for story telling. This image provokes thoughts of the vastness of the universe, it is a reminder of the danger of navigation along a treacherous coastline. These threads combine—for me—into thoughts of exploration and journey.
One of the great things about living in Canberra is the ready access to beautiful night sky locations away from the city lights. This image of the Milky Way, clearly showing the *Emu in the Sky*, was created by the side of Naas Road in the southern part of the Australian Capital Territory. This image was one of the last created with my old Micro Four-Thirds (M43) camera, before shifting to Fujifilm.
NAIDOC Week is an important annual celebration of the culture, history and achievements of indigenous Australians. Normally held in July, NAIDOC Week 2020 was deferred to November as a result of COVID-19. One key aspect of NAIDOC Week in Canberra is the illumination of the National Carillon with a display of indigenous designs. It is a magnificent display, well worth a visit.
Winton is a birthplace of Qantas, Australia’s national airline. In 1920, Winton was then, as it is today, a frontier town in outback Queensland and the birth of air travel connected it to the world. Winton is also connected to the universe as the home of the Jump Up, Australia’s first International Dark Sky Sanctuary.
The Gondwana Observatory is a feature of the Australian Age of Dinosaurs near Winton, Qld, and one of a handful of certified Dark Sky places in Australia.
Winton in Outback Queensland is a great place for nightscape images. The obvious place to shoot is the Jump Up at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs, but there are a number of places you can shoot right on the edge of the town. This image was captured in a park at the south-western edge of town. The biggest challenge was timing captures between trucks travelling on Landsborough Highway—some of the ambient light can be seen behind the tractor.
Winton in Outback Queensland is a great place for nightscape images. The obvious place to shoot is the *Jump Up* at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs, but there are a number of places you can shoot right on the edge of the town. This image was captured in a park at the south-western edge of town. The biggest challenge was timing captures between trucks travelling on Landsborough Highway.
This oft-photographed tree lies on the southern outskirts of Canberra. With the city lights behind you, and a clear view to the south, this can be a great spot for shooting the Milky Way, star trails and perhaps aurora australis.
Ready Cut Cottage is a great place to stay under the dark skies of Namadgi National Park.
On a relatively cloudless night on the southern side of Canberra, the Large Magellanic Cloud and Small Magellanic Cloud were prominent in the night sky. With the double star Canopus also clearly visible, these celestial features were features in the south.
The old Tangmangaroo Church is located in an isolated spot along the Lachlan Valley Way between Yass and Boorowa, NSW. A Bortle Class 2 location, this old church and graveyard have a south-westerly aspect making for a great Milky Way shoot late in the MW Core season.
This past weekend provided an interesting night sky opportunity with clear summer skies and a chance of spotting some aurora australis. So I headed to Williamsdale Road south of Canberra . This image is a single image star trail shot for about 27 minutes.
This past weekend provided an interesting night sky opportunity with clear summer skies and a chance of spotting some aurora australis. So I headed to Williamsdale Road south of Canberra . This image is a blend of two images shot consecutively—a tracked sky image, and a non-tracked foreground image.
A KP4 night seemed to provide a great opportunity for some astro.
