A little bit about me...

Hailing from New Zealand’s beautiful West Coast of the South Island, I’m a proud mum to my young daughters, owner operator of Riverstone House and an astrophotographer, tutor and guide.

Being obsessed with astronomy since childhood and having a keen interest in photography later in life, I happened upon a few landscape astro images on social media back in 2016 by some of NZ’s leading Astrophotographers of the time. It was then and there the flame was ignited and I decided that I could and would become an Astrophotographer myself….and a good one.

Being predominantly self-taught, I would use the very little free time I had learning about camera functions and the different techniques of shooting images in the field such as stacking, long exposures and multi row panoramas.

I would spend hours under the stars despite how tired I was, often failing miserably, then spend even more hours in front of the computer. When I hit a wall with my learning, I booked into a workshop which was one of the best things I could've done for my photography to evolve. Once armed with the new skills I learned, I finally knew what to do with the files I’d captured and I mastered how to stitch, blend, mask and edit them to a high standard in the pursuit of producing epic results such as those I aspired to.

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Astro is not for the faint of heart. It takes dedication, passion and patience, and my journey has been no easy feat whilst carrying and raising my daughters along with the day to day running of my accommodation business.

But determination and perseverance are key for something you love as much as I love Astro.
The bright and bold images that I'm known for have now been featured both nationally and internationally in various publications and exhibitions, including Milky Way Photographer of the Year in 2022 and 2024 and I am a proud ambassador for Sky Watcher Australia.

I tutor photography workshops and private tours throughout the South Island, sharing my knowledge and obsession with creative like minds, of which I am so very grateful.

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I am committed to capturing the celestial wonders of our night sky with clarity and depth, inspiring a sense of wonder and curiosity in all those who view my work or choose to invest in their photography and join me on an epic adventure under the stars.

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-Rachel