Corona

Wanaka nights! First bite into a delicious Red Star and my phone alerted me of KP7 on the go. Still tired from "sunset" up Mt Roy, I hastily left Wyndham mission headquarters chomping spicy cajun chicken as I headed for the darkness out west.
Mount Roy across to Treble Cone from Glendhu Bay on 22 April, my first time photographing a proper aurora ie. south of Golden Bay. A fun 15 minutes, loved it.

I committed to a Milky Way mosaic with the Sigma art 50mm before the peak, a very slow and nerve racking process, so when I saw it ramping up I quickly switched to the trusty workhorse Samyang 24mm ƒ1.4 to catch this full 180x180 degree circularity view
It was a pity the lake water level was very low making it hard to get around in the gluggy mud, I had about 20-30 minutes of swampy bog navigation in waders to find this spot. My original planned composition was derelict because the subject was high and dry. Looking at different exposures, I noticed when stitching this mosaic image that the lake level was fluctuating by 20-30mm or so, changing the outlines of the exposed mud 'islands'. Anyway it was an awesome very big fun grand night of astro. I have a few crackers that make my eyes happy from this tour south.
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