Spend a night capturing mesmerising star trails for you to create a star trail and a star trail time-lapse! This Masterclass teaching you how to set up your camera, plan your photoshoot, how star trails work, stacking your photographs and editing from start to finish.
David Magro Diaries 2015
I didn't capture my first photograph until mid May when the Milky Way was visible above the horizon at a reasonable hour. Looking back I wish I had ventured out more! I was still learning post processing and trying to find my desired style to create surreal Milky Way images. I photographed personal favourites at the time and also captured the elusive Aurora Australis at the end of the year!
I found this location as a friend asked me to photograph his local beach, Spoon Bay Rocks. After shooting sunrise I planned to visit again at night.
To shoot this photograph I was on the cliffs edge at night putting myself in a hairy situation to compose the photograph. There is still much to improve on this image and I would like to go back when there are no ships on the horizon.
This year I entered the Exposure Photographer of Year with "Tree of Life" and "Colossal".
It was a great experience being among local talented artists and chatting to others who share the same passion for photography as I do.
I had only been photographing the night sky for two years but picked up my first camera in 2011. There were many amazing images but there was one other photograph of the night sky which I was excited to see. Glad I wasn't the only one!
Milky Way Panorama over Spoon Bay consisting of 14 images.
I love photographing panoramas of the Milky Way. I captured a series of panoramas over the Central Coast with Spoon Bay being a favourite. I had discovered with night photography you can bring life to unknown locations. Searching for new compositions became the most fun aspect as when all the elements align it feels great having the photograph as the reward.
Night photography was still very new with few people photographing the stars.
I had not tested the boundaries of where to shoot the Milky Way until a lady asked me to capture her property in Wamberal. Instinctively I said yes as I knew I would make it work regardless of light pollution.
The property was stunning and I wanted to capture the beauty of the surrounds. The focus was on the lone standing tree and star reflections in the pond. I spent a whole night capturing various compositions and when I got home I realised most images were ruined due to the fog on my lens. I returned days later and captured more and chose the one above to print and frame.
Before I shot this location in Wamberal, I imagined the light pollution would be too heavy. Instead, the light pollution nearby adds colour to a dark sky, an aspect of night photography too many people worry about. If used correctly it can add depth to an image.
On a trip to New Zealand I hoped to capture the auroras from the top of Roys Peak. My best friends and I climbed in the dark for 3 hours to reach the top. It was a breath taking sight to see with the sun casting light and shadows over the mountains. This was the only photograph I captured in New Zealand.
I captured the Aurora Australis north of Sydney at Terrigal after many attempts.
On December 17th, major solar activity occurred prompting me to attempt the auroras from Terrigal once again. On December 21st at 9pm I arrived to photograph the auroras. At 2:24am the following morning the auroras were visible in camera along with bioluiminous plankton after 5 and a half hours waiting.
Once posted online, the BBC interviewed me for a story they wanted to publish with my image as the front page. There are amazing images from Tasmania which are also in the article.