Astro

The stars and the Milky Way are a serene and stunning sight to behold.

The western end of Horseshoe Bay is largely devoid of man-made light; perfect for astro photography. Although Maggie is not far from the mainland, the far end of the bay is hidden well enough behind Mt Cook to be too badly impacted by light pollution from any of the villages or Townsville.

Cool winter nights on a new moon are the best time to shoot. There’s a much better chance of clear skies, and with no moon-glow, the stars and the Milky Way shine that much more brightly.

As well as long-exposure landscape images to capture the shape and colours of the Milky Way as it stretches overhead, star-trail images are a time-consuming but very rewarding and visually stunning way to shoot the nights sky as well. Some new cameras can shoot it in-camera, compiling the scene as it shoots. Whilst the time-tested method of image stacking is another way, and one I enjoy as often as possible.