On a clear and still night last week I headed out for some astrophotography. Driving north I ended up at Paekakariki and parked near the surf club before walking north up the beach. There was a minor issue in that moon was bright in the sky and the light was not helpful when photographing stars but I figured I’d give it a go anyway.
See if you can spot the galactic kiwi in the above photo. For an hour or so I was wandering around the beach taking photos. The moonlight lit up the landscape leading to some interesting foreground illumination. A nearby stream provided some good subject matter with piled up driftwood and logs though the occasional slap of sand collapsing into the water left me a little jumpy.
At times the long exposures rendered the night time landscape looking more like day time with a starry sky. I’ll have to head out again and experiment some more. It will also be good to return with a new moon to see what its like without the brightness of the moon.
