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Milky Way Panorama
MasterClass

3 Night/2 Day Workshop

When:                        15th - 18th August 2025
Where:                       Riverstone House | West Coast
Group Size:                Minimum 2, maximum 3
Photography level:     Intermediate +
Cost:                          $2200.00 | 10% deposit required

Overview

​On this adventure we'll focusing on what I do best - panoramas.
Our nights will consist of shooting the western setting Milky Way arch from 10pm and our days be spent back at home base learning how to stitch and edit the panoramas we captured.
You will need a good understanding of your camera and settings, and should already be confident in capturing single exposed images of the Milky Way to participate on this particular workshop.
 

We will be visiting some of my very favourite spots to shoot on the West Coast, all within an hours drive from our base at Riverstone House, which is situated on the banks of the Taramakau River halfway  between Greymouth and Hokitika, owned and operated by yours truly.

You'll have your own private king or queen bedroom with access to a full kitchen stocked with all the essentials, including continental breakfast provisions that you can help yourself to.

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The workshop commences at 3.00pm Friday 15th and concludes Monday 18th of August at 11.00am.​​

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The exact schedule will be determined according to the weather, therefore I keep a flexible itinerary to accommodate this, to find the best dark skies possible for you.

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Places we may explore include the beautiful beaches, sea stacks, rivers and lagoons of The Great Coast Road which is consistently rated among the top drives in the world and the tranquil bays and jetty's of Lake Brunner and Lake Kaniere which are both a photographers dream with their epic reflections on a still night. 

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​​​​     What you can learn

  • Manual camera settings including aperture (f stop), ISO, exposure times and white balance best suited to your gear

  • Composition, including the use of planning apps such as Photopills to determine the position of the Milky Way

  • South celestial pole alignment if you have a tracker.

  • How to shoot a wide field astro panorama using correct overlap of individual images

  • Long exposure foregrounds for cleaner, more dynamic results

  • Stitching your nightscapes using PTGui (recommended), Lightroom or Photoshop

  • Blending long exposed foreground panos with separate sky panos in Photoshop

  • Post processing your nightscapes to obtain a clean, sharp and dynamic image using Lightroom and/or Photoshop

  • File management and export setting for web and print

  • Night photography safety and etiquette

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What to bring

  • Mirrorless or DSLR camera

  • A tracker if you have one. I use the Sky Watcher 2i

  • Ideal lenses: 
    -A fast and     wide prime lens for astro; f/1.4 through to f/2.8 or 16mm through to 24mm for the best results, although up to f/4 is ok if your camera has high ISO capabilities. Please ask if you wish to borrow a Canon lens.

  • Spare camera batteries and SD cards

  • Sturdy tripod 

  • Indexing rotator - not essential, but extremely helpful to obtain correct overlap. I use the Nodal Ninja.

  • Lens heater - not essential but helpful if you have a bulbous lens that is prone to fogging up at night

  • Remote shutter or intervalometer if not in-built in your camera body

  • Laptop or desktop with Lightroom Classic and/or Photoshop installed.

  • PTGui installed on your laptop or desktop - not essential but it is the best stitching software on the market 

  • Thermal base layers 

  • Warm jacket*

  • Gloves

  • Sturdy and warm footwear

  • Hat, hood or beanie

  • Head torch with a red light or low light setting

  • 2-3 lens cloths*

  • Water bottle

  • Snacks

    *The high humidity on the Coast causes dew. If bringing a puffer jacket, please bring a waterproof jacket to go over top. This also is why we need plenty of lens cloths in case your lens starts fogging up at night.

Physical Difficulty

A reasonable level of fitness is necessary to enjoy this workshop as we will be standing for long periods at night, in the cold. All locations we shoot will be within a short walk along bush tracks or the coastline. These are sometimes uphill, over uneven, icy ground, or rocky beaches and you will be responsible for carrying your own equipment. There may be a couple of longer walks (30-45 min one way) depending on the whole group fitness level. If your fitness or mobility is an issue please let me know in your application form as we can usually work around it.

Whats Included

  • 3 nights of astrophotography tuition in the field 

  • Accommodation at Riverstone House with your own private king or queen bedroom

  • 2 post processing tuition session to make your images pop

  • Travel during the workshop in a comfortable 4WD 

  • Daily continental breakfast provisions to help yourself to, including freshly baked bread, milk of your choice, yoghurt, seasonal fruit, cereals, fresh free range eggs, butter, spreads, plunger coffee and tea.

  • Full kitchen with all the essentials to cook and prepare your own meals for the nights we may dine in

  • DOC concession fees

  • Comprehensive Safety Management Plan

  • Pick up/drop off at Hokitika airport

  • Digital workflow sheet spilling all my secrets on how I plan, shoot and edit an image from start to finish

Whats not Included

  • Flights

  • Visas

  • Personal, travel and equipment insurance

  • Lunch, dinner and snacks

  • Alcohol

Terms & Conditions

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