Learn to Photograph the Night Sky Under the Wairarapa Dark Skies

Discover the art and science of night-sky photography from Wairarapa’s ultra-dark skies, recognised as one of the world’s most extraordinary stargazing destinations. This immersive, expert-led workshop will teach you how to capture the Milky Way, constellations, star fields, nebulae, and deep-sky objects using DSLR or mirrorless cameras.

Whether you’ve never photographed the night sky before, or you’ve tried and struggled, this session gives you all the techniques you need — and real images to take home.

What you’ll learn

• Focusing at infinity

• Best ISO, exposure and f-stop settings

• Field composition under the Milky Way

• RAW shooting, file handling, and framing

• Noise control, calibration frames and image clarity

• How to choose lenses for the night sky

• Tripod technique and stability

• Aligning for star-trails or deep-sky capture

• Southern-sky targets (Carina, Crux, Orion, etc.)

You’ll photograph actual star fields in real time — and leave with images you can be proud of.

Perfect for beginners & intermediate photographers

No astronomy knowledge required.

No prior night-sky experience needed.

Just bring your curiosity, and a camera (and a tripod) if you have one.

We’ll provide:

• telescopic feeds

• guidance

• composition scaffolds

• recommended targets

• camera setting templates

If you don’t have a camera, you can still attend and learn through shared telescope and screen feeds.

Why Wairarapa?

Our observatory sits within Aotearoa’s celebrated dark-sky landscapes, where the Milky Way arches overhead in summer. If you’ve ever wanted to try astrophotography, this is the place to do it.

And yes — you’re learning under the same southern skies featured internationally by Lonely Planet as one of the top stargazing experiences in the world.

• Expert-led instruction from an experienced astro-educator

• Capture the Milky Way under a dark southern sky

• Small group experience

• Telescope-linked imaging feeds

• Learn camera settings, focus, composition and exposure strategy

• Take home real astrophotography images

• Held only four times this summer

• Ideal for beginners to intermediate photographers

• One of the world’s top stargazing destinations (Lonely Planet)