Night Falls over Banks Lake

In my previous blog post, I hinted that I would be sharing quite a few more images from Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. This week’s blog post continues on to a peaceful evening at the lake, featuring a little bit of astrophotography. The last two photos are star trail images: compilations of tens or hundreds of images of the night sky, merged together to show the movement of the stars over time. With a clear and unpolluted sky, you can really see how the milky way shifts around across the frames. In this particular place, the brightest stars are also reflected in the still waters, creating mirrored star trails on the surface of the lake.

New Plymouth

New Plymouth is the home of the famous Mount Taranaki. On a clear day, it can be seen from most parts of the city. We decided to make the short hike up from Lake Mangamahoe, where we could photograph it from the land and air.

That evening, we also went to the Festival of Lights in Pukekura Park, which happens every Summer between December and February. It's a really lovely walk around the small park, which is completely transformed at night by all the colourful lights.