Please note that all workshops under the PSNZ Workshop Series are only available to PSNZ Members. If you wish to attend a workshop, but are not a member of PSNZ, you can join us by completing our online application form.
Please remember to read our Cancellation Policy, below.
Astrophotography
10 May @ 12:00 PM – 12 May @ 5:00 PM
Unfortunately, due to low registration numbers, this event has been cancelled.
Invest in yourself by trying your hand at this exciting facet of photography or polish your current photography skillset by adding Astrophotography to your repertoire.
Learn secrets of photographing the night sky with the personal guidance of Mackenzie Local, professional Astrophotographer & Astronomy guide, Joseph Pooley.
There is no better place in the world to learn Astrophotography than Lake Tekapo in the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.
Together we will spend two (2) nights of concentrated tuition in the field, optimising your cameras manual settings for night time imaging, as well as identifying and framing up some of the most captivating regions of the night sky.
This workshop is ideal for anyone interested in Astrophotography, whether you are a beginner wanting to get started, or you are already experienced in Astrophotography and wanting to expand or refine your skill set.
The workshop content can be steered by the requirements of attendees, so it will be directly beneficial for everyone involved.
The workshop will include the following:
- A comprehensive PowerPoint presentation on Astrophotography fundamentals.
- Discussion on camera equipment, settings, composition and night sky targets.
- Discussion about location planning, weather, safety & etiquette.
- Fundamental Astrophotography tuition in the field.
- Tuition of more advanced techniques such as stacking or panorama.
- Insights to equatorial tracking and deep sky Astrophotography
- Post processing using Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop and free stacking software.
- Attendees will be given an informative document for future referral after the workshop.
During the course of the weekend, we will visit two or three locations for shooting Astro images including the world famous Church of the Good Shepherd.
During May, the Milky Way core can be seen rising in the East, so we will try to position ourselves to shoot in this direction.
There will be an optional group dinner on the second night at the Blue Lake Bar & Eatery (at your own cost).
In the event of bad weather we will spend time learning in more depth about finer points of planning, capture and processing Astro images such as star trails, stacking and stitching panoramas.
We can provide image files to practice on.
In addition there are some great options for shooting landscapes during the day such as the flanks of Lake Tekapo, Lake Alexandrina, Lake Pukaki, or Aoraki Mt. Cook (if you fancy a day trip).
Please note shared accommodation (2 people per room) at the Tekapo Ski Lodge is included in the registration fee. The registration fee does not include any food. Food for the lodge is BYO.
PSNZ Cancellation Policy
Due to the nature of the PSNZ Workshop Series and that the workshops are generally for small groups and often over-subscribed, cancellations can have a significant financial and attendance effect on the workshop, as well as creating a lot of further administration work.
Although we do everything possible to ensure our workshops proceed, sometimes there are things beyond our control.
- PSNZ reserves the right to postpone or cancel a workshop due unforeseen circumstances e.g. covid level affects, facilitator illness, venue access issues, etc. In the event we do cancel a planned workshop, we will attempt to inform attendees as soon as possible and in most cases you will be given an alternative date to attend or provided with a full refund of the workshop costs.
- If a workshop is postponed, the first right of refusal will be given to those who were already booked on that workshop for the rescheduled workshop.
- Should a workshop fail to attract a required minimum number of attendees to make it viable to run, PSNZ reserves the right to cancel the workshop.
- PSNZ will not accept responsibility for travel and accommodation costs incurred by attendees.
- In the event that an attendee booked for the workshop does not turn up, no refund will be given.
- If an attendee cancels between 30 – 15 days prior to the workshop, PSNZ will refund 50% of the workshop fee (less admin fee of $20). If another person on the waiting list can their place, then the attendee will be refunded the total fee paid less the $20 admin fee.
- No refund will be given if an attendee cancels within 14 days of the workshop date unless another person on the waiting list can take their place at short notice. A small administration fee of $20 will apply and be deducted from any refund.
- PSNZ may give a full refund if there are exceptional circumstances involved in a person not being able to attend.