Lightning has struck twice! During last weeks night sky photography workshop at Cradle Mountain the Aurora australis came out to play (admittedly it was a somewhat weak aurora but nevertheless it was there…)

The aurora australis and an entire universe of stars… Viewed over a completely still Dove Lake at Cradle Mountain. ISO 3200 and 30 seconds of exposure.

The reason I say lightning has struck twice is because in March 2013, during the seven day Tasmanian photography workshop I run with Michael Snedic, we were treated to this magnificent aurora at Coles Bay. I have photographed the aurora at Cradle Mountain previously, but never with the sky as perfectly clear as this. With an intensely still lake in front of us there were literally stars above us and below us – it was like standing at the edge of the universe looking in… a very other worldly experience.

Startrails and an aurora at Cradle Mountain during last weeks night sky photography workshop – could we have asked for anything more???

The image above is 50 minutes worth of star trails on the night of Sept 23. The image below is a combination of two 150 second exposures utilising the astrotracing function of my Pentax K-3 (see previous article) taken on the night of Sept 22.

Cradle Mountain and aurora with the southern cross

I run regular workshops to Cradle Mountain. Although the night sky is not always a part of the itinerary, if the weather co-operates then it is always an optional extra. My upcoming Cradle Mountain photography workshops are listed below.

Cradle Mountain Boatshed at Sunset. HDR processing.

Cradle Mountain 3 days: November 16~18, 2015. 3 day workshop including sunrises and sunsets at Dove Lake, as well as wildlife, macro and rainforest sessions during the day.

Cradle Mountain & Freycinet: November 13~19, 2016. 7 day workshop with myself and Michael Snedic. 3 nights at Cradle Mt and 3 nights on the Freycinet (east) coast. Deluxe workshop including wonderful accommodation and meals and expert tuition from two photographers. Max 10 participants.

Contact me for more information.