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Michael Austin's picture

My first...

I was on the island of Rarotonga recently, while the Milky Way was directly overhead at midnight. I tried for days to set up and get a nice long exposure shot, but it was usually very cloudy. I went out late one night and happened to notice a break in the clouds. I quickly messed with the camera settings and realized my tripod was locked in the car! Not wanting to miss the shot, I set the camera on the deck or our accommodations with a delay timer and hoped I got the shot! I had a flashlight with me that I forgot to turn off, so I inadvertently light painted the coconut tree; but I like it since it does have some tropical island representation to the shot!

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6 Comments

That's a nice shot. Looking straight up at the center of the Galaxy. From where I am that part of the sky is way down on the Southern horizon, at it's best.

Thank you Kevin! I lucked out - just happened to be in the Cook's at the right time of year when it was straight overhead. Don't think I could have pulled it off at home in Texas! Well maybe... but the center of the galaxy does seem to hide at times!

Very nice the contras it pretty good on there. When you do get further north you should take a trip to a dark sky location and see how much fun it is to line up with foreground elements. The planning is the best part!

What a great story to go with a killer composition.

Wow! That;s stunning!

Thanks! Sometimes when you set up a shot like this the camera ends up seeing more stars and stuff then the eye. Because the air was so clear on Rarotonga and also very dark the Milky Way really, really looked like this to the naked eye!