Photographer Mark Gee captured some stunning images of Wellington as part of International Dark Sky Week (IDSW). He has shared some of his shots with us.

A clear and star-spangled night sky is a stunning sight to behold, and you would think that something as vast as the Milky Way – of which we can only see some 0.000003%, or 5,000 to 8,000 stars, from Earth – is easy enough to spot by just looking up. But in reality we can only ever see a fraction of those many stars with the naked eye – and the growing light pollution all around us drowns out many more.

And this week it is light pollution itself that is in the spotlight, with International Dark Sky Week (IDSW) aiming to raise awareness of how poor quality lighting creates light pollution with detrimental effects not just for viewing the night sky, but for the environment and potentially our health.

Working with – or despite – light pollution is a phenomenon that Wellington-based Astrophotographer Mark Gee has first hand experience with. In fact, one of the most frequent questions he gets asked is, ‘How did you manage to capture all those stars in your shot? It must be photoshopped – I’ve never seen stars like that.’

His shots are definitely not photoshopped, Gee says, but instead carefully planned and executed. And even with a high quality DSLR camera, which can capture infinitely more light (and therefore more stars) during a 10 to 30 second exposure than the naked eye is capable of, the conditions still need to be just right to get that great shot. A clear night, little or no wind, and a dark sky far from the light pollution of towns and cities are key, and Gee often travels to the most remote skies all around the country, enjoying the challenge of combining New Zealand’s striking landscapes with the ethereal beauty of the night sky in new, creative ways.

But you don’t need to go that far for a first look at what’s up there. Plenty of stars can still be seen in the sky right here in Wellington, if you know where to look. So in support of IDSW, of which Gee is a participating partner, he put out a call for volunteer observers – Chris from Whitby, and Leanne and James from Paraparaumu – and they went out chasing the night skies in different stargazing spots, to find out what they could see, what the camera could see, and the difference that artificial light makes:

Cnr of Dixon and Taranaki streets

8.10 pm: It’s a busy Wednesday night in town, and while the sky is inky black above, here at street level the glare of lights from passing traffic, street lamps, bars, restaurants and lit office buildings illuminates everything. The stars are up there, but barely visible through the yellow, smog-like haze of artificial light that hangs above the CBD. Chris, a fellow photographer and night sky enthusiast, says he can just about make out the Southern Cross constellation. But James, used to the darker, more visible skies around Paraparaumu, says, ‘It’s incredible how much you just don’t see here in town.’

1st stop as part of the International Dark Sky Week photo project at Courtenay Place. Left to right – Leanne, Chris, and James ready to observe the effects of light pollution on Wellington night skies.

Mt Vic Lookout

8.50 pm: On the drive up to Mt Vic, climbing above the city lights,  there’s immediately a noticeable difference. More stars are becoming visible and by the time everyone’s climbed to the top of the lookout the faint outline of the Milky Way, rising gracefully from East to West, can be seen above. Leanne compares the view to the one she has at home, on three pitch black acres surrounded by pine trees, and says that while the stars are certainly less visible here they are still stunning with the gorgeous backdrop of the city lights below. In his shot, Gee points out a nebula, visible as a whitish blob on the screen. Looking up at the sky, there is nothing but blackness in that same spot, the interstellar cloud of dust and gas still invisible to the naked eye.

2nd stop as part of the International Dark Sky Week photo project at Mount Victoria Lookout. There was a fair bit of haze above the city limiting overall visibility of the night sky, but a lot more stars could be seen than at our first stop in Courtenay Place.

Lyall Bay beach

9.30 pm: It’s a big difference to Mt Vic, James says immediately on arrival at Lyall Bay, even with the city lights still glowing in the distance there’s lots more to see above us. And for the first time tonight, adds Leanne, she can imagine how much more will be visible out at Red Rocks, the groups final destination. Once Gee has taken his shot, with the Milky Way framed by street lights, but still clearly visible, a discussion ensues. So much detail is visible on camera, Chris points out, especially in the lower part of the Milky Way close to the horizon. Leanne and James concur, but note that higher up above the stars are by now much brighter to the naked eye as well.

3rd stop as part of the International Dark Sky Week photo project at Lyall Bay. This was the first time we got a faint glimpse of The Milky Way, although there was still alot of light pollution coming mainly from the airport and street lights.

Princess Bay

10.00 pm: It’s pretty dark at Princess Bay, and a big change from Lyall just a few minutes down the road Chris notes. Gee explains that it takes the human eye some 20 minutes to adjust to darkness and that by then we can actually see quite well without an artificial lights source. If you look closely, you can see the reflection of the stars in water, and in the sky the magellanic clouds (or dwarf galaxies) are now clearly visible to the naked eye. Everyone is silent for a moment, just looking up and taking it all in. A shooting star flits across the sky. ‘This really makes you feel how insignificant earth is,’ Leanne says suddenly, ‘and just what else is out there.’

4th stop as part of the International Dark Sky Week photo project at Princess Bay. It was quite dark out here and the night sky was really stunning. We were able to see the most stars of all the stops so far, although there was still a bit of light pollution from the surrounding suburbs.

Red Rocks

10.50 pm: A 10 minute drive from the entrance to the reserve (and a mere 10 kms from the CBD), just past the proverbial red rocks, and it’s pitch black out there. Not quite as pitch black as back home in Paraparaumu, James and Leanne think, but the brilliance of the stars is similar. Down on the beach there’s the perfect rock for everyone to pose on, it’s the memento shot with everyone silhouetted in front of a bright and majestic Milky Way. It’s really nice, Chris reckons, and definitely worth the trip, so much so that he wants to come back out and shoot some star trails of his own. As everyone piles into the car for the ride back to town Leanne sums up the night beautifully: ‘People take so much for granted and often don’t appreciate the amazing things up there. We are very lucky, here in New Zealand, to have skies like that.’

5th stop as part of the International Dark Sky Week photo project at Red Rocks. After a 10 minute ride in the 4WD out towards Red Rocks, we all emerged from the car in awe of just what we could see in the night sky. The Milky Way was clearly visible and towering above us. There was still a glow from the lights of Wellington city in the distance, but this was by far the best of the star gazing spots.

There were numerous factors I had to consider and get right to capture the footage. The weather, moon phases and  finding a suitable location where I could actually get the moon rising directly over the lookout. Finally it all came together – I found the perfect location, and the weather in Wellington was amazing! Luckily there were people watching the moon rise from the Mount Victoria Lookout. I didn’t know what to expect with the performance of everyone up there, but I couldn’t have directed it better myself, even though they had no idea I was filming them. I shot 8 minutes of footage between 9.14pm and 9.22pm and the finished edit shows about the first 3 minutes of that.

Technically, getting the shot was quite difficult. I was 2.1km away from my subject, and there was no room for error. I only had one chance of getting the shot right on the night. Thankfully it all came together, and what I ended up with was this wonderful performance of total strangers silhouetted against the full moon as it rose above the lookout.

This image was taken almost a month after I originally shot Full Moon Silhouettes. I was a similar distance (2.1km) away from the same lookout and it shows a similar framing of the original video footage.

Technical details – The footage was shot with a Canon 1D MkIV in video mode, with a Canon EF 500mm f/4 lens and a Canon 2x Extender, giving me the equivalent of a 1300mm focal length when taking into account Canon 1D MkIV’s 1.3x crop factor with the APS-H sensor. The camera was mounted on a Sachtler tripod with a Sachtler FSB 6 head.

Music – I’ve also had a lot of comment on the music I’ve used. The music is a royalty free track which I licensed for this short. It’s Tenderness by Dan Phillipson, and you can find it here: http://premiumbeat.com/royalty_free_music/songs/tenderness

So is it real? – I’ve had some wonderful and amazing comments and support, but as expected you do get your skeptics that say this is a fake. I assure you this was shot all in camera and not fake – I guess that’s the biggest compliment of all!

So how is the moon so big and people so small?  – Well it’s all about optics and distance from the subject. I shot this video on a DLSR camera with a super telephoto lens, so it’s just like looking at the moon with binoculars or through a small telescope.  The people in front of the moon are small in comparison because I was 2.1kms away from them. I couldn’t see them with my own eyes as they were so far away, but when looking through the camera, they look exactly as they are in the film. If I was to move closer to the subjects, say only 1km away, they would have looked twice as big. The moon would have still been the same size in frame, but because the people look larger and you can use them as a point of scale reference, then the moon would have looked smaller in scale, even though it’s not. It’s the same concept as in the ‘moon illusion’ – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_illusion

This image was taken almost a month after I shot Full Moon Silhouettes, but it gives you an idea of what the moon looked like through the viewfinder and to the naked eye off in the distance.

Hang on a minute…the moon is upside down and rising in the wrong direction? - Well to us in the Southern Hemisphere, this is exactly what we see when we watch a moon rise. But if you happen to live in the Northern Hemisphere, the moon in the film will look upside down and rising to the left, rather than rising to the right. This link explains it a little better: http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/time/moon/hemispheres.html

Has the rising of the moon been sped up? – I can certainly explain the optical aspects of the shot and why the moon appears so big, but I’ve also had comments that the moon is moving way to quick to be real…well this is real time and hasn’t been sped up at all, but apart from my simple reply of you guys should go watch the moon rise sometime – astronomer, lecturer, and author, Phil Plait the creator of the Bad Astronomy website, has a pretty solid scientific explanation of how fast the moon is moving in Full Moon Silhouettes. Go check out his blog about my video on the Bad Astronomy website.

Why does the moon look soft and out of focus? – The moon is actually in focus, as the focus on the lens was set to infinity, but looks soft due to the effect of atmospheric refraction – you can see the edges and the details on the moon shimmer as it’s rising. Once the moon gets higher in the sky, the details become sharper due to the lesser influence of atmospheric refraction. In fact, I shot a photo of the moon a little later that night. It was much higher in the sky, and I used the exact same focus settings as I shot the film with, and the details on the moon were tack sharp. This is why if you want a really sharp image of the moon, you should shoot it when it’s higher in the sky.

Watch the film below, and feel free to share and leave comments further down the page. Maybe one of these silhouetted strangers will even recognise themselves!

Full Moon Silhouettes from Mark Gee on Vimeo.

Have you ever wanted to have one of my night sky images in your own home or office? Well now you can.

Astrophotography is a spectacular form of photography that has captured my imagination and interest. I often ventures out to the darkest, most remote skies all around the country, enjoying the challenge of combining New Zealand’s striking landscapes with the ethereal beauty of the night sky in new, creative ways.

These fine art prints are a selection of my favorite images, which I’ve captured from the night skies all around New Zealand and beyond. They look stunning on any wall, and while they can be printed on basic archival paper, these particular images truly shine when printed on metallic paper.

I’ll be adding more to this collection of fine art prints as I capture more amazing images of the night sky, so check back from time to time for updates.

Fine Art Prints – Astrophotography – Images by Mark Gee

Two of my limited edition framed prints, Under the Milky Way and Heavens Above Palliser.

The 2012 New Zealand Art Show opens tomorrow, Friday 3rd August and runs until Sunday 5th August. This is my first year of exhibiting at the art show, getting a spot in the general exhibition after making it through the selection process.

Each framed print is signed and numbered on the back of the frame by me.

I’ll be exhibiting 5 framed photographic prints. These prints are each one of a limited edition of only 15, and they are signed and numbered by me. They are all printed on metallic photographic paper and framed to a very high standard. You can buy these prints directly from the art show and take them home on the day. And if you miss out – don’t worry, you can order one directly from me after the art show has finished.

First Light and Hole in the Rock, another two of my prints I’ll be exhibiting at the 2012 New Zealand Art Show.

So if you are in Wellington and are looking for something to do this weekend, then why not come and see us and the work of other talented New Zealand artists at the 2012 New Zealand Art Show – TSB Bank Arena, Queens Wharf, Wellington.

3am at the Gap has been a very popular print of mine, and you can own a limited edition of this print available at the 2012 New Zealand Art Show

A cold and crisp winters night as the Milky Way rises high above the glow of the capital city, Wellington in New Zealand – this is my hero shot, the shot I set out to capture that night.

I’ve been waiting for the right conditions to attempt a photo like this for a while now, and finally, this weekend I had that opportunity to do so.

It was freezing that night, the air so clear and crisp, the temperature was hovering close to 0 deg c, and even less on the top of the mountain. The hike up in the dark was certainly challenging, especially with around 20kg of camera gear on my back. There were far too many steps along the steep inclines, and deep muddy tracks in certain areas. But with all of that, I was rewarded once I got to the top after an hours climb.

The view was amazing! I could see close to a 270 degree view of Wellington New Zealand, and the surrounding area. I arrived at the top close to 11.30pm, unpacked my gear and setup for the night of photographing ahead. The moon was getting low as it was setting in the west. I had to wait until that had set until I attempted my hero shot, but did manage to get a few good shots of the moon while it was setting.

I had to wait for the moon to set before I got my hero shot, but that didn’t stop me from photographing the moon as well.

The moon set was quite spectacular, but that was not what I set out to capture that night. As the moon slipped below the mountains of New Zealand’s South Island, I changed my lens on my Canon 5d MkIII down to a Canon 14mm f/2.8, and began my test shots. I’ve shot a lot of stars and night time shots before, but this was definitely the most technical and challenging I’ve been faced with. I wasn’t even sure if I could achieve the shot I wanted due to the intense light pollution coming from Wellington city. But fortunately, the mass of the Milky Way was off to the right of the city, and that gave me more of a chance to capture it. I used a graduated ND filter to suppress the city lights, but I still had to get the exposure of the city below and sky above pretty much perfect to pull the shot off. Finally after shooting until 4am, I made my way back down the mountain and went off home to get some much needed sleep.

The final shot consists of 7 images, all shot with just one exposure, stitched together to give you an almost 180 degree view of the city and the sky above. You can find a higher resolution image of the Milky Way above Wellington, New Zealand panorama here.

Due to an overwhelming response – The Milky Way Above Wellington, is now available as a print in various sizes and paper finishes. Just follow this link and click on BUY IMAGE above the photo for the various print options.

“Sunset Conversation” – my contribution to Southern Exposure, which features as a double page spread in the book on pages 8 and 9.

Southern Exposure – A year in New Zealand by New Zealanders, is a book which presents an original, democratic view of New Zealand. I was fortunate enough to have one on my images, Sunset Conversation, feature in this book as a double page spread.

The way this book came together was quite unique. It was put together by New Zealand Geographic, and the images were chosen from 25,000 images by more than 1,500 photographers on the New Zealand Geographic Flickr group. This publication marks the first known time in New Zealand that a book has been produced from content entirely from social media.

The book “Southern Exposure – A year in New Zealand by New Zealanders” Image courtesy of New Zealand Geographic.

Southern Exposure goes on sale to the public on the 23 July 2012, and will be only available from the New Zealand Geographic website. You can order you copy of the book and browse through the pages online here.

The book consists of 130 high quality images from around New Zealand. These were chosen from 25,000 images by more than 1,500 photographers. Image courtesy of New Zealand Geographic.

The clarity in the sky last night was nothing but spectacular! Try counting the stars…

After a failed attempt of getting on the road Friday night, I finally made it out to Cape Palliser, a few hours drive from Wellington, New Zealand for a night of astrophotography & hopefully a surf first thing in the morning.

The surf never eventuated, but boy what a night. By the time I finished up it was close to 4am, & there was still a heap of things I wanted to shoot. It’s an incredible & at times freaky feeling being out in the middle of no where by yourself, with this amazing vast sky of stars above you. Between a stand off with a seal & the early 3am 250 plus stair climb up to the Cape Palliser lighthouse, this ended up as my most successful night of chasing stars…highly addictive I tell you!

On arrival to Cape Palliser, this was the very first frame I shot. I knew it was going to be a great night of photography after that…

I shot many photos that night which I am still going through, but check out the slideshow of the photos below that I thought summed up the night…

Star Chasing | Cape Palliser | 17 March 2012 – Images by Mark Gee

Keahi De Aboitiz punting here there & everywhere…

Cabrinha kitesurfing team riders,  Keahi De Aboitiz, Jamie Barrow & Geoffrey “Chuck” Waterson, stopped by Wellington yesterday on their 2011 Cabrinha TOUR of DUTY road trip from Christchurch to Auckland in New Zealand.

First stop was the new WildWinds store in the city for a meet & greet before heading out to check out some of the beaches in the Wellington area. After checking out Plimmerton, the Cabrinha crew settled on Titahi Bay just over the hill. They we greeted with 20-25 knot wind & an increasing 2-3 foot surf. The boys rigged up the latest Cabrinha kites & hit the surf, swapping between twin tips & surfboards throughout the session.

Jamie Barrow getting some height & grabbing the nose.

Keahi & Jamie were getting some major height boosting off the waves on their twin tips & Geoffrey “Chuck” Waterson was seriously throwing water, slashing any faces he came across with his board. Keahi then came in & grabbed the surfboard and was punting off any lip he found, pulling off a heap of strapless airs and a few air reverses too. The boys are back on the road again now heading north to Auckland – I hope they score a heap more wind & waves along the way.

You can check out the photos from the session below, or go directly to the gallery here to see them higher res.

Cabrinha Tour of Duty 2011 | Wellington | New Zealand – Images by Mark Gee

I Love Balian…

Balian is a village situated on the west coast of Bali around 2 hours drive north of Denpasar. It reminds me of the old Bali, before the thousands of tourists and developments around Kuta and the surrounding areas. I stayed at the Pondok Pitaya Surfer Hotel right on the beach at Balian and had a great time. There’s fantastic food, massage, surfing, exploring and kitesurfing right at your door. And as far as I was concerned, the best time of the day there was right around sunset.

The west coast of Bali is renowned for it’s sunsets – you certainly won’t be disappointed in Balian.

If you’re ever in Bali, go check out Balian for yourself. You can get there from the Kuta/Denpasar area with a driver. At the time of writing, this it cost me around $50 US one way. Or better still you can book a complete package of accommodation airport pickup through the guys at Bali Retreats in Australia.

Want to see more of my images from Balian? Well either check out the slideshow below or click here to see the full gallery.

Pondok Pitaya – Balian | Bali | Indonesia – Images by Mark Gee

I headed into Wellington late afternoon before the South Africa vs Fiji game with the camera to capture some of the street action. It was a beautiful day with a heap of things going on. The waterfront was hopping with live music & what seemed like an endless flow of South African supporters.

It wasn’t until I headed back up towards Courtney Place where I really found something of interest to photograph. A large crowd had gathered around a live performance that was a mixture of funky beats & rap dancing. The boys in the band were pumping out a heap of funky fusion beats while the guys busted the moves on the makeshift dance floor in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

Check out the frames I shot in the slideshow below, or click here to view the full gallery.

Street Beats | 2011 Rugby World Cup Street Photography – Images by Mark Gee