NZPhotographer Issue 33, July 2020

out of the tent before the alarm went off to find
complete fog, not even the lake was visible despite
us being less than 10 metres from the shore so back
to bed I went, resetting the alarm for 4.30am since
I didn’t think the fog had any chance of clearing
earlier.
4.30am came around and I opened the frozen tent
door and looked up to find trillions of stars shining
brightly – it was amazing! I closed the tent door
again and over the next 30 minutes built up the
courage to get out of my warm sleeping bag to
shoot a big panorama of the milkyway arched over
the hut.
Once up and out of the tent I just stood looking in
awe for a few minutes before setting up my camera
for the 40minute photo session – To see this creation
in a completely dark sky was overwhelming, beyond
words, it was almost like I felt a spiritual connection
to the heavens.
This was my first time using my Nikon D850 in a
dark sky area and to say I was impressed is an
understatement. I set the camera close enough
to the hut to be able to photograph in portrait
orientation for easier stitching on the computer
when I got home. Once I had finished this, I had
a look around to see what else I could shoot and
thought why not try the composition I wanted but
with the Milkyway Core rising in it just to see what it
looked like. It looked pretty good, not perfect (I’ll
have to revisit for that shot with my sea kayak) but
I was happy enough with what I’d caught on my first
trip post lockdown.
So, photos completed it was time to get back into
the tent and sleeping bag to get warm again.
I slept through sunrise but I wasn’t too bothered as
I had captured some epic shots I didn’t dream were
going to happen when we arrived and left feeling
ready to face life and the real world once more.
3 TIPS FOR WINTER LAKE PHOTOGRAPHY
• Always look around you – Sometimes, what you
are shooting is good but behind you, something
even better is going on.
• If you’re seeking perfect reflections but the wind
is sending ripples along the water, use a long
exposure of 10–20 seconds to blur the water and
get your almost perfect reflection that way.
• A tripod is your best friend for long exposure
shots and you should always remember to use
a cable release to remove that camera shake.
However, if you don’t have one, you can make
do by placing your camera on a big rock and
using the timer.
MUSTERS ASTRO
F3.2, 25s, ISO10000
July 2020 9