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Fourteen years chasing the stars

Milky Way landscape photography, and the tours that take people into Australia’s darkest country.

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TASMANIA · 27 APRIL–3 MAY 2027

Star Chaser IV

Wineglass Bay at Freycinet, Dove Lake beneath Cradle Mountain, the Tessellated Pavement on the Tasman Peninsula, and the boat sheds people put on their walls. Seven days under some of the darkest skies in the world.

$6,450 · $1,500 Deposit · 1 Spot Left

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SOUTHERN NSW · 19–24 SEPTEMBER 2027

Star Chaser II

Canola fields at Young in full gold, a cave behind Paddy’s River Falls, and the NASA Deep Space Communication Complex — the dishes that talk to the Voyager probes — with the Milky Way stars behind them.

$5,550 · $1,500 Deposit · 2 Spots Left

THE 2027 STAR CHASER TOURS

More than a photography tour. Spend six or seven unforgettable days exploring Australia's darkest skies with just six photographers, combining spectacular locations, daily editing sessions and lifelong memories beneath the stars.

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WINTON WETLANDS · 28–31ST MAY 2027

Victoria

Photograph towering river red gums beneath star-filled skies in one of Victoria's most unique landscapes.

$3,250 · $1,000 Deposit · 3 Spots Left

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MID-NORTH NSW · 24–27 JUNE 2027

Nambucca Heads

Photograph the Milky Way stars above dramatic headlands, pristine beaches and dark coastal skies.

$3,250 · $1,000 Deposit · 4 Spots Left

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SOUTHERN NSW · 19 – 24 

Canola Fields

Experience one of Australia's most spectacular seasonal landscapes, where golden canola fields meet the Milky Way.

$3,250 · $1,000 Deposit · 4 Spots Left

THE 2027 ADVANCED MASTERCLASS

Take the next step beyond the Milky Way Masterclass with four immersive days dedicated to panoramas, star trails, timelapses and optional deep sky astrophotography. Limited to just six photographers, with daily classroom editing sessions to refine your images and build lasting skills.

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DAVID MAGRO

I grew up in Glen Innes, where the night sky was simply part of everyday life. Years later, while teaching English in Nanjing, China, I realised I'd stopped looking up. It took seeing a photograph of the Milky Way on a computer screen to remind me what I'd been missing.

When I returned home, I photographed the Milky Way for the first time. Six months before completing a science degree, I made the decision to leave university and chase the stars instead.

One image became an obsession: a lone tree beneath the Milky Way in a golden canola field. It took three years for the canola, the Moon, the Milky Way and the weather to align. That photograph changed my life and opened doors I never expected.

Since 2017, more than 5,000 photographers have joined me beneath the stars. While I still love creating images, what matters most now are the experiences we share. Watching someone see the Milky Way for the first time, capture an image they never thought possible, or simply stop and appreciate the night sky reminds me why I started.

Photography is just the reason we're there. The real reward is reconnecting with something we've all too easily forgotten to look at.

2017 Exposure Photographer of the Year  ·  2018 Australian Ambassador, SanDisk & Western Digital  ·  2019 Australian Emerging Photographer of the Year (2nd)  ·  2021 ‘Startrails’ acquired by Snoop Dogg for the NFT Medici Collection  ·  2022 Academic publication 'Book of Henoch' Photographer  ·  2023 Taught 5000+ Students Milky Way Photography in-person  ·  2024 Album cover, Years of Light  ·  2026 10-Years of Milky Way Masterclasses Across Australia

FEATURED IN

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IN DEVELOPMENT

When we stopped looking up

For most of human history, the night sky was part of daily life—marking time, guiding people across land and sea, and gathering us beneath it.

 

Only four generations ago, darkness was widely accessible. Today, many of us must leave cities and artificial light behind to experience what once appeared above us every night. The stars are still there. What has changed is how far we must go to see them.

 

When We Stopped Looking Up follows people beyond city lights as they make time for a rare modern luxury: an unhurried night beneath the stars, where doing almost nothing is the entire point.

THE COLLECTORS SERIES

A limited series of the images that mean the most to me, printed on museum-grade
materials and made to hang for decades.

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Interior design and commercial enquiries (PDF)

Overall this was probably the best week of photography I have ever had. The highlight for me was an aurora at Wineglass Bay that wasn’t in the forecast.

RHONDA D.

Star Chaser IV, Tasmania

FROM PEOPLE WHO'VE COME WITH ME

David was very organised, from pick up at the airport, to great accommodation and food. But the best part was every night we were out among the stars. A very satisfying and enjoyable week, from standing in the dark to the final images.

SHEILA P.

Star Chaser III

Read more from past students

Just do it, you won’t be disappointed. Don’t ever think you won’t be good enough. When I booked my first Star Chaser Tour in 2023 I knew it wouldn’t be my last.

BRAD D.

Star Chaser I, III & IV

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THE MILKY WAY MASTERCLASS

One evening, from nothing to your first real photograph of the galaxy. More than
five thousand people have done it, most of them having never taken their camera
off automatic. It’s where nearly everyone on the tours above started. Beginners and enthusiasts welcome to join as I guide you through the entire night.


After ten years and every state in the country, last dates are in Queensland from September 29th - October 8th. 

THE EDITING MASTERCLASS

One day, and you'll never look at your Milky Way images the same way again. Learn the complete editing workflow I've refined over more than a decade of photographing the night sky. Beginners and experienced photographers are both welcome, with just six participants per class.

 

Final Editing Masterclasses for 2026 are in Melbourne (October 11) and Brisbane (October 18).

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