I had been meaning to do some astrophotography for a few months. I had given it a try in June when I was in Christchurch - I had gone on a drive to Lake Tekapo - but unfortunately the night was completely cloudy ( I had ignored the weather forecast) and there was also the year's biggest Full Moon around, which turned the night into a day. So yesterday, when the sky clear and with a New Moon - no where to be seen - I decided to head off down to Taupo. So before I headed off I did the customary check of my equipment, camera, tripod, lenses, and mainly my blanket and pillow to sleep in the car during the surprisingly chilly spring night. As usual, I had forgotten to the appropriate shutter release cable for my Canon 5D Mark III and only had the cable for my Canon 60D, for which my battery dead. So I quickly reassessed my ambitions and decided that the trip would be a scouting mission for sites that I could later come back to make a time lapse. So at 10:30 pm on Saturday night I left home and as drove off I realized the fuel was a bit low. So I filled up and at 10:40 pm I departed for Taupo.
I quickly Google Mapped the route to Taupo and with 3 and half hours drive ahead of me started playing some Radio tunes from my phone. I arrived on the outskirts of Gordonton to take my first picture. I parked my car on the side of the read and after a first few failed efforts, As time passed and I got the hang of things , I managed to get couple of shots, helped along by the driving motorists. Sleepily I drove towards Taupo and as I got lost a couple of times in the starry darkness of night I decided to head to Rotorua instead. Taupo had to wait for some other time.
Twenty minutes from Rotorua, and the fog quickly catching up, I decided to take a back country road and thus began 'catch me if you can'play between me and the rapidly approaching fog. I managed to get a few shots from looking towards Rotorua before the fog and the clouds well and truly set in.
Photos taken at: 30 sec exposure, f2.8, ISO 1600 on Canon 5D Mark III with Tokina 11-16 mm f2.8
