The Pinnacles

The Pinnacles Desert, Nambung National Park, Western Australia
The Pinnacles are located about 2.5 hours north of Perth. This desert of limestone projections rising out of the sand is a popular attraction by day, but I think it's much more interesting at night under the milky way.

Winter is the best time for the Milky Way in Australia, when most of the arc is high above the horizon during waking hours. Unfortunately, we're now in summer, and this is where it pays to plan your shoot. From a planisphere or star wheel (you can buy or make these), I knew the Milky Way wouldn't be high enough to be visible until at least midnight. So we planned for a long night, and camped out in the dark till then. Sure enough, at midnight, the distinctive streak across the sky became just discernible. As a bonus, a plane flew by at just the right second, making it look like a shooting star.

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