Stars over a Kokerboom
The Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds over a Kokerboom or Quiver Tree (Aloidendron dichotomum), a beautiful and unusual tree living only in the deserts betwee...
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The Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds over a Kokerboom or Quiver Tree (Aloidendron dichotomum), a beautiful and unusual tree living only in the deserts between South Africa and Namibia. Here at the Augrabies Falls National Park, South Africa.
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Canon EOS 6D
Aperture f/3.5 ISO 6400 Shutter 20/1 Focal Length 24/1 
Augrabies, Northern Cape, ZA
Jul, 2021Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo at Augrabies Falls National Park, Northern Cape province, South Africa. It is a wonderful protected area close to the border with Namibia, with the Orange (Gariep) river digging deep canyons in the desert, and creating a series of waterfalls.Time
I took the photo at the beginning of Springtime, at 21:00, when the days are still quite short.Lighting
I did not use any artificial lighting, but for the lights coming from some buildings inside the park. In that region the air is so dry and clean that the Milky Way can be clearly detected with the naked eye. Usually I shoot multiple exposures for foreground and background, but in this case there was no need. This is a single exposure.Equipment
Canon EOS 6D, Canon 24-105 at 24mm, Manfrotto tripod, no flash, no filters.Inspiration
A lot of elements inspired me to take this photo: first, I have a passion for nightscapes, so the main reason why I went to NW Souht Africa was to shoot night pictures in the dry and clean area of that region. The other elements are shown in the photo: the tree is a Kokerboom (Afrikaans) or Quiver Tree (Aloidendron dichotomum), which can only be found in the wild in that region between NW South Africa and SW Namibia; the Milky Way is the perfect background for this mysterious tree, that looks like it is coming from another planet; next to the Milky Way, almost in the center of the picture, two smaller galaxies can be seen, the Magellanic Clouds, that is two smaller sisters of our home galaxy. So there is a lot to see in this picture!Editing
I did not do much post-processing. I just used DPP, the software supplied by Canon, to adjust the colors and sharpness, and a bit of Photoshop to enhance the visibility of the galaxies.In my camera bag
Essentially Canon EOS 6D with Canon 24-105 zoom, a polarizer filter, Manfrotto tripod, a flexible trigger, an electric lamp, my smartphone, plus the usual accessories to clean the lens.Feedback
My advice is of course to go there, or to any place with similar weather conditions: above all dry and clean area, and the least possible amount of artificial lighting. This means that you usually have to get around alone at night. The fewest people you have around, the better it is. Check the site during the day first, in order to find the best spots, check the weather conditions and the Photographer's Ephemerids, and make sure that all residents know that you will be going around at night: one night I realized I was being followed by somebody, which was quite scary, until we found face to face and I realized that the man was a security guard who had not been informed about me by the park direction. So that situation ended up in laughs by both of us!
