Awesome photo works you have here! I also shoot my images in RAW to give me maximum flexibility when I edit my photographs later. It starts around 8 minutes in here: https://youtu.be/BZD8KxkITw0. 2020 Milky Way Calendar To nail down the best hours for photographing the Milky Way , I recommend using a specific 2020 Milky Way calendar for your location. This article is now fully available for you, Please verify your e-mail to read this subscriber-only article in full. Hi mark,

If you want really dark, then anywhere around Mount Ruapehu and the Tongariro National Park in the central North Island is great. I’ve been asked a lot about when exactly the milky way is visible. The gift link for this subscriber-only article has expired. Hi Hannah – this was Ocean Beach near Napier, New Zealand. Your photos are amazing! Unfortunately it looks like a third quarter moon, so not sure we will get to see much anyway.

there’s a few in Welly I’d like to try shooting. Subscribe to entries First I wanted to say how stunning your photos are, it’a really anazing. I may have missed this, but do you have a video or guide on how to use these apps? Late July from 27th-31st. A general rule would be to set your aperture to f/2.8, ISO to 6400 and shutter speed to 30 seconds. Thanks again Mark for sharing tips so willingly! Stunning New Zealand's night sky is renowned as the world's darkest sky abundantly embedded with glittering stars. The two I have personally chosen in New Zealand is the Women's Refuge New Zealand, and the children's charity, Variety New Zealand. I hope many sunny days.

I am going to be in New Zealand during Christmas Holidays, in the south part o the South Island, and I wanted to ask where I could get the best views of the night sky and if I will be able to see the milky way in this period.

Thank you! Hope this helps.

It would be great to have some answer from you! Daylight Saving Time also affects the times that are shown on the infographic. I hope i’ll be able to take photos like this one day. The times can be used as a rough estimate, but they can vary based on your latitude and whether you are located in the middle or edge of a time zone. During the months of June and July, the Matariki star cluster reappears above the horizon, ushering in a new year according to the Māori lunar calendar. The Milky Way may be seen in Zealandia Ecosanctuary just outside Wellington. We’d really love to see a sky full of stars! Do you think buying those condensation prevention is necessary for a cold dry night in June? My personal favourite is an app called Star Walk 2, which is available on both iOS ($3.98) and Android ($3.62). Thank you Mark, This far north there are essentially two milky way seasons, interrupted by the weeks around the summer solstice in which the sky never gets dark enough. I’m not sure how much they go into the photography side of things, but definitely worth enquiring about.

Is that a good time? – You mentioned you sometimes run star photography sessions, and I checked your facebook page and was devo to see you don’t have any scheduled until October. We have daylight saving and depending where you are in New Zealand, it doesn’t get dark until after 10pm, and you then have about an hour before the galactic centre (the brightest part) of the Milky Way sets. Winter is somewhat unpredictable with the weather, but if you do get a southerly storm come through, you’re pretty much guaranteed amazing weather for a few days once it goes through. As I’m travelling halfway across the globe for this its best go where I have the best chance of capturing milkyway.

Is there any website/app which gives the milky way rise time and setting times in newzealand. Your results may vary depending on how bright or dark your scene is.
https://500px.com/photo/86512725/nature-s-balance-by-mark-gee.

Hi Dominic, I haven’t really, but the principles are still the same as astro. Shooting the Milky Way requires some of the darkest skies possible.

Since you will be shooting at shutter speeds close to 30 seconds, a good sturdy tripod is essential. Hi sir.. Hi Marcella, you will have a much better chance of seeing the Milky Way during your Mount Cook visit, as it will be visible just after 7pm and the moon won’t rise until 9.30pm on the 10th. Have traveled before to USA-Nevada/Arizon and now am planing to visit NZ-North & South Island from 3rd week November for a 4 weeks self drive vacation with family and of course for my photographic interest…, I do understands that for shooting star trails at Northern hemisphere the POV direction will be the Polaris-Northern star to get a full-circle star trails, however since NZ is southern hemisphere, does it means that the POV direction should be facing South?

Thank you so much for putting together a detailed guide about setting up the camera for shooting astrophotography. No equatorial mount is required if only shooting 30 seconds, as you don’t get any noticeable star trailing when shooting with a wide angle lens – I mostly use a 14mm lens. We are headed to the South Island mid-April and will be in Queenstown / Mt Cook / Lake Tepako from 17th – 20th April.

Unfortunately by around the 20 Nov the galactic center of the Milky Way goes below the horizon for a few month, but this shot shows it on Nov 12: https://500px.com/photo/89438301/night-on-the-ridge-by-mark-gee During December the Milky Way is still in the night sky, you just see a different part of it like this shot: https://500px.com/photo/130729623/raw-by-mark-gee. Thank you so much for your answer.

Required fields are marked *. Since I will be taking a long expose time lapse, one session will require about 2 to 3 hours of shooting. SPH Digital News / Copyright © 2020 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Regn. Thanks for your suggestions! Date wise, it will be getting close to the end of our Milky Way season, but once it gets dark, you will be able to see the Milky Way parallel about the western horizon. I’m from the UK and planning a trip for some Milkyway photos next winter (2017) to southern hemisphere. Hi Marklin, in my opinion, October is one of the best months to shoot epic Milky Way shots as it lays horizontal to the horizon. Best direction to look at that time of year is to the east. Can you tell me on what time would be the best to shoot Milky way. Both celestial bodies are always right next to each other. Instead, it will already be up by the time the sky gets dark enough. Anywhere from June to September is great as far as the night sky, and the South Island is the pick of locations at that time of year. 2. It will be hard to get all of those elements in one – sun will set to the west and the best part of the Milky Way will be in the south which is behind the church looking up away from the lake. You also might want to check out places like Lake Matheson, the Franz Josef and Fox Glacier area, Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki, and any other landmark locations with little light pollution. I’m hoping to come to New Zealand around 8th – 22nd November 2017, what sort of time during that period do you think |I’d be most likely to get a clear night sky? Your help is must appreciated. Vixen polaris) to keep minimum star trail when taking still photos ? Cheers.

Very helpful for my planning! Do you think I can still film milky way? Starting in early-mid August, the milky way will no longer be at it’s highest point when astronomical twilight ends and the night begins. A 14mm lens is ideal for this, although to capture the complete arch of the Milky Way, usually a panorama is needed. You won’t be able to see that part mid-December, but it will be still stunning. From the start of the season until early May, the milky way will be at it’s highest point just before astronomical twilight begins and the night comes to an end. 198402868E.

I am planning to visit the south island some time in Nov/Dec this year.
The milky way doesn’t make it far above the horizon in February. From locations further south the dates and times don’t vary significantly. Is there any place you’d recommend, like the Aoraki Mackenzie reserve? We also have a night around the Mount Cook area on Sep 10 – which is half moon – would you advise us to go stargazing at the Mount Aoraki reserve instead? It really depends on what result you are going for. If you want something closer to Wellington, the Wairarapa is great, and a visit to Castlepoint at night is always stunning. Hope you get some great weather while you are here! By carefully checking the time of moonset, I was able to capture the galaxy starting at 1AM. I read it was somewhere between 2am and 4am, but I can’t find anything more definitive. As the moon approaches its full moon phase, getting a decent shot of the Milky Way will get much tougher. Towards the end of your stay, as soon as it gets dark and before the moon rises will be your best opportunity – just make sure you’re in a rural area away from city lights for the best chance. It’s highly appreciated to suggest few hot spot location in both islands. Hi Mark

If these are 30 second exposures how do you avoid movement? It was a constant struggle against the cold, which went from a high of 12 deg C in the day to a low of -3 deg C at night. Hello Mark, I’m super excited to have found your page here, your pictures are amazing! Have a look at this for more details on exposure times etc: http://theartofnight.com/2014/06/the-art-of-astrophotography-tutorial/. Your email address will not be published. About half the time the milky way is actually up at night, it will not be easy to see because the moon is too bright and washes it out. You can have everything from blizzard conditions to perfectly clear skies, so I would suggest staying a few extra days, but break your time up between Mount Cook and Tekapo (about 50 min drive away). Hi Mark!