The Magical Milky Way

WOW. The magical Milky Way in all it’s shining glory!

Lizard Island is another amazing island I enjoy working at, and the nights are amazingly dark. Perfect for astrophotography on cloudless nights, where we can really appreciate the magical beauty of the Milky Way.

Teaching classes has been very popular with many of the staff up there. We have also had a number of guests join us for some evening star-gazing and creative-lighting shoots.

Richard really got into it, creating a fun image with apparently, many arms. We shot a long exposure with multiple strobe bursts to illuminate his different arm positions. Of course, the stunning backdrop of the Milky Way really helped complete the image.

I am a strong proponent of using whatever gear you have, and it being about the photographer, not the equipment. However, as good as cellphones have become, this is really a genre of photography that benefits from a camera with a larger sensor and manual exposure functions.

We have experimented with the latest phones, as well as GoPros and compact cameras. Some images were not bad! But the ones from the larger sensor DSLRs were definitely more clear and defined.

Seeing the images revealed on the rear LCD after waiting a minute (which seems like forever to some excited students) was always a fun experience. Often resulting in big ‘Ooohs’ and “Aaahs”… Great Fun!

More classes are scheduled for the upcoming new moons over the next few months, both up at Lizard Island, and here at home on Magnetic.

I look forward to conducting more classes, all of us bathing in the amazing sight of the stars and the Milky Way at night.

Happy snapping..!

Kobie.