A tribute to Alyn Wallace

This March witnessed the sorrowful passing of astrophotographer Alyn Wallace. I initially connected with Alyn in 2018 via Instagram, and since then, I've cherished staying in touch through social media and following his YouTube channel for inspiration and motivation in my own photography journey. His monthly series, "What's in the Night Skies," became a cornerstone of my astro planning routine, and Alyn's YouTube channel was both entertaining with his astro adventures and educational on a personal level.

His dedication to connecting with people and supporting the astro community through his products and educational content was truly inspiring. Although I wasn't closely acquainted with Alyn, his passing has had a profound impact on me, as it has on many others. While I find it difficult to find the words to pay a fitting tribute to Alyn, I simply want to express my gratitude to him for the inspiration and positive energy he shared.

Below, I've included some of my favorite images captured by Alyn, along with links to his websites for those interested in learning more about this remarkable individual.

Youtube Channel
Instagram
Website

Last Astrophotography Trip of 2023

The latter part of the year afforded me only one chance for astrophotography, but what an incredible trip it turned out to be! Venturing into North Devon, I was treated to moonless skies, a spectacular moonrise, and even a display of the Northern Lights, alongside a wonderful catch-up with a photography friend.

My initial composition of the night captured this viewpoint overlooking Broardsand Bay, which I had scouted weeks earlier during a day trip to this coastal area. The moon was expected to rise, giving me a brief window of moonless, dark skies. I aimed to photograph this scene with Orion ascending to the top right. Although the alignment wasn't perfect, I'm still pleased with the outcome of this image.

Moments later, a bank of cloud began to roll over the scene. Just on cue, the moon rose, creating this beautiful moonlit scene.

I then wandered to the car and took the short drive to Sandy Cove. By the time I arrived, the moon was climbing high and casting beautiful light over the scene. I decided to attempt a star trail capture while waiting to see if any Northern Lights activity would occur.

The clouds ebbed and flowed throughout the night, adding intriguing and varied conditions. This image is actually a still from a timelapse I was running simultaneously.

At last, the clouds parted, and the Aurora graced us with its presence! The moon's intensity subdued some of the sky's details, yet I find the subtlety of the aurora and the beautiful sidelight on the scene rather captivating.

The concluding image of the night captured in my lens showcased a delicate blend of a faint Aurora alongside Ursa Major, creating a starry background. It served as a fitting farewell to 2023!

September Astrophotography 2023

Traditionally, September is the busiest time of the year for me relating to my maths teaching. So, photography often takes a back foot. However, this month, I managed two exciting trips.

The first shoot involved camping for the first time on Dartmoor with my brother Ryan. I have spent many nights enjoying Dartmoor but have never slept on Dartmoor previously. We hiked from Meldon Reservoir to one of the remotest tors on Dartmoor - Fur Tor. After setting up camp, I took a few images. The moon was bright, casting some light on the scene. I took a star trail and a composition featuring Ursa Major.

Fur Tor - Dartmoor

Fur Tor - Dartmoor

My second shoot of September was a real adventure and one of my favourite trips of the year. I left home at 1 a.m. to explore the coastline between Sidmouth & Ladram Bay on the South Coast of Devon. This part of the coast is only accessible at low tide, and the rocky terrain made for an exciting scramble along the coast. It was worth it to discover some fantastic rock stacks, caves and rocky bays to feature in my photographs.

August Astrophotography 2023

I didn’t venture on any shoots through June & July, but August involved an exciting trip to Peru and Dartmoor. I spent two weeks exploring Peru with Cait; four of those days involved walking the Inca trail and two days in the Amazon Jungle, where we experienced the clear skies of the southern hemisphere. Here are a few of my favourite astro pictures from Peru.

Camp location for night one of the Inca Trail.

Camp location for the second night of the Inca trail.

Overhead Milkyway Core.

Amazon Jungle.

Eco Lodge - Amazon Jungle

Eco Lodge Amazon Jungle.

A few days after Peru, I decided to spend a few hours on Dartmoor around the Belston Area to ease the holiday blues. Skies were clear, with the Milky Way looking good to the south. I visited a stone circle and explored a few compositions around the Rocky Tors.

Belstone Stone Circle

Belstone Stone Circle.

Belstone tor

Belstone Tor

Belstone Tor

May Astrophotography 2023

I experienced a magical shoot in mid-May at Cox/Staple Tor. I drove down at dusk and was initially concerned about the mist that appeared to be lingering around the country lanes as I headed to the car park. Once I had walked up to the Tor and my shooting location, the mist had dropped into the dip between Cox and Staple Tor, forming the most amazing cloud inversion.

I knew the conditions could change rapidly, so despite it not being fully dark, I captured my first composition featuring the inversion, myself, and the brightest stars fighting the dwindling twilight.

Cox Tor looking over towards Great Mist Tor.

Shortly after I took this image, thick fog engulfed the tor, and I wondered if that was the end of the night shoot. Thankfully it settled down again, and I visited my second location as the darkness of night arrived. This view looks towards Bodmin, and you can see Brent Tor pocking out from the fog. Venus shined brilliantly bright, making a striking feature to the image.

Venus & Brent Tor as seen from Cox Tor.

Person in the scape to add perspective.

Conditions like this, don’t happen often on Dartmoor so I was determined to create as many compositions as possible. So I walked across to Great Staple Tor and created these three additional composition before calling it a night.

May continued to deliver some stunning dark, clear skies. My location for this shoot took me to Dartmoor's Bowen's Nose. This night's forecast hinted at a chance of Aurora, so I made a few north-facing compositions to try my luck. The Aurora didn't pay a visit, but it was a pleasant night.

My final May shoot took me to Bude, where I met up with a few other astrophotographers to capture some coastal scenes. The moon was up for part of the night, splashing wonderful light over the landscape. I did some star trails and worked to feature the coastal flowers scattered across the coastline. It was a fantastic night to end my May astrophotography adventures!

April Astrophotography 2023

The months of February and March were bleak for my astrophotography. They were opportunities, but commitments prevented me from making the most of them!

However, April provided fresh motivation, starting with an Exeter Quay trip. Now when I say a trip, I am talking about a 3-minute walk from where I live in Exeter to this riverside location. I knew being in the city, light pollution would be a challenge, but with a big moon splashing plenty of lovely light over the scene, I saw an opportunity for an interesting star trail image.

Star trails over boats at Exeter Quay.

A few days later, my second shot of April saw me travel to Dartmoor to photograph around Cox Tor and embrace the full moon. My first idea was to shoot the full moon rising over Great Staple Tor. I used my 100-400mm lens to squeeze the perspective with support from the PhotoPills app to position myself in the correct alignment.

While awaiting the moon to rise, a stubborn bank of cloud lingered overhead, threatening to obscure the horizon and moonrise. Thankfully it didn't and instead provided some atmospheric conditions to the scene.

Moonrise over Great Staple Tor.

With astro shoots being more sparse this year, I wanted to make the most of the clear conditions despite full moon star photography not being my favorite type. So I walked to Great Staple Tor to see what images I could make. Interestingly Orion, Mars, and the constellation of Taurus all aligned nicely with this part of the tor, making my final image of this night.

Great Staple Tor in Moonlight.

January Astrophotography 2023

Hi everyone, I hope we are all doing well! Life for me has been busy since I last posted. Mainly through teaching mathematics at Cornwall College, I haven’t been able to update my blog as often as I would have liked. I have been keeping up to date with my social media, so if you are interested in my astrophotography from last year, please take a look by clicking the social media symbols at the bottom of the page.

For now, I will start a new blog for 2023, starting with January astrophotography!

Beer Beach - Devon

My only shoot of January was a visit to Beer Beach and Pounds Pool Beach on the south Devon coast. This shoot was a year in the planning as the tides and conditions had to be just right.

Cliffs between Beer and Pound Beach.

Being a big low tide allowed me to explore the impressive cliffs. Lots of photo opportunities with Orion positioned nicely to the southwest.

Cave at Pound Pools Beach.

One of the things that drew me to Pound Pools Beach is the dramatic caves on the beach's north side. This was one of my favourite images from the night. I love how a cave can frame a scene!

Pounds Pool Beach.

I was also impressed with how dramatic the foreshore was and got down low to this interesting rock for a foreground to compliment the sky and overall scene.

Pounds Pool Beach.

My final image of this night was this scene where I included a foreground cliff to add some balance and depth. A fantastic night on the south Devon coast to sign of January.

June Astrophotography 2021

May was a lacklustre month for astrophotography for me, so I was eager to make up for that with plenty of Astro trips through June. The first of which was a trip to the north coast of Cornwall to explore the coast around Duckpool. The first feature that grabbed my attention where these wonderful satellite dishes.

I then hiked to the water’s edge and found this small stream curving through the peddles to the ocean. The Milkyway was in a nice position, this late in the night, and provided a nice background element top with this peaceful scene.

Duckpool.

Later in the month, I ventured close to home to a familiar beach close to Downderry. An interesting feature of this location is this might sea stack which I thought looked fantastic with a Milkyway backdrop.

After a few hours at the beach, the glow of dawn was slowly illuminating the northeastern skies, so I took a short journey to Mountedgcombe. This ruined is a well well-known landmark here and looked fantastic with the backdrop of Plymouth and some Nortulencent Cloud.

April Astrophotography 2021

April involved four Astro shoots (which was much less than I would have liked). Sometimes you have to make compromises with your time. However, some of the photographs I took, were my favourite of the year.

My first location was west Cornwall’s Kynance cove. I have visited this beach many times and never get tired of this wonderful location. The winter sky was the prominent feature this night and despite shooting the Milkyway core here before, this was my first time shooting the winter sky. I remember arriving in Blue Hour and making a timelapse as the sky darken and stars began to show. I didn’t have much of a plan regarding compositions but knew I wanted to shoot in the westerly direct to feature the setting winter sky and the Zodiacal lights.

Winter sky and Zodiacal Light over Kynance Cove.

After my first composition, a dash to the other side of the cover to capture this view along the cliffs.

My second shoot of April was at Hound Tor, on Dartmoor. This was an after work dash to my favourite Dartmoor Tor. The rocks are impressively rugged, weathered and stand dark and tall over the area. There are endless compositions too, depending on the time of year. This particular view is high on an opposing stack looking northeast. I remember clambering up carefully to this viewpoint only to be greeted by the cold northerly wind howling face on. I stayed long enough to capture this composition before retreating.

Hound Tor - Dartmoor

A stone throws away from Hound Tor is this most recognisable Dartmoor Tor, Bowen’s Nose. A unique weathered stack of rocks unlike any of others on Dartmoor. This was my third trip through April, the second trip (which was also to Bowen’s Nose) was a disaster. I misjudge a lay-by and stranded my car when attempting a three-point turn. To cut a long story short I needed to arrange a 4 by 4 to recover my car the following day. So it was nice to re-visit this location without any drama. In my opinion, the best composition faces northerly, so I opted for this star trail capture. Was also fortunate to capture a car trail, adding a bit more interest to the scene.

Bowen’s Nose - Dartmoor

For my fourth trip, I fancied visiting the coast. With a low tide and moonless sky, I thought it a good opportunity to attempt a new location, Holywell Bay. This wonderful beach has plenty of striking features. The first feature I stumbled across was this amazing cave framing the pair of small islands. Just looked fantastic under the starry sky.

Hollywell Bay - Cornwall

My second composition from the night was looking down this rocky stream.

Hollywell Bay - Cornwall

My final shoot of April was a fantastic all night affair down West Cornwall. My first location of the night was at Gurnard’s Head. The moon was still up at this stage of the night, casting a wonderful light over the landscape and headland. I found this group of flowers, which I got low down to wish my wide-angle lens to create this composition.

My second location this night took me west to Porthgwarra. A quaint little cove nestled amount rugged granite headlands. Met up with fellow photographer Jen Rogers for this part of the shoot. My first time glancing at the Milkyway Core this year, and what an amazing dark sky location to watch it. We spend the rest of the night making a few different compositions around the cove until the light of dawn arrived.

March Astrophotography 2021

March proved to be a fantastic month for clear skies and provided a variety of moorland and coastal opportunities for pictures. My first location of the month was Brent Tor. A stunning tor on Dartmoor which has a church on the top. I have visited here a few times previously, and always feel humbled shooting at this location.

Brent Tor - Dartmoor

My second trip took me back onto Dartmoor. I explored the northern part of the moor this night around Taw Marsh. I couldn’t believe my luck to stumble upon this striking U-bend in the river which complimented the sweeping views of the moors I thought.

Taw Marsh - Dartmoor

Not wanting to miss out on the favourable conditions, I then drove north to Millook Heaven. A peddle beach not too far from Crackington Haven. I gained familiarity of this stretch off the coast from my surfing days. This quirky old boat made an interesting focal point I thought to this wonderful view looking north up to Bude.

My next location was closer to home. This local beach is on the South Coast of Cornwall. The winter sky was looking incredible this night and I love these types of beaches that are just full of mood and character.

From the same shoot, I decided to add some scale by jumping into the scene. I can easily let my imagination get lost in the sea stars.

My final composition of March featured this beautiful coastal waterfall in the most peaceful corner of South Cornwall. It is so rewarding to experience places like this. Hidden Cornish gems.

February Astrophotography 2021

Astrophotography through February was again still a bit sparse for me. I embarked on four trips. The first being Rame Head featuring the winter sky. Been here many times and also enjoy visiting.

Rame Head - Cornwall

A few days later, I journeyed to the coast by Downderry to rock stack which again looked fantastic with the swirling swell and hint of air glow.

Downderry - Cornwall

The following day I journeyed to the small harbour of Portwrinkle. Only being a 20 minute drive, this was an ideal place to visit while feeling astro hungover from the previous night. I searched around the harbour for a focal point and came across this interesting foreground rock with a few lines of quartz cutting through. The winter sky as a backdrop really added to the scene too.

One of my favourite shoots of February, and possibility of the year thus far, was a full moon lit hike to Rocky Valley by Bossiney. It’s tragic to say that I have never hiked the coast under a full moon before and it was a spectacular experience. The atmosphere and mood of the landscape under the light of the moon was magical and complimented this cascading waterfall deep within the valley.

January Astrophotography 2021

My first outing of 2021 saw me visiting a familiar location, the Cheesewrings. A wonderful area on Bodmin Moor packed with rocky stacks, quarries and character. This particular night was plagued with cloud but the early part of the night had some great starry skies.

December Astrophotography 2020

Through December, I embarked on three astro shoots. The first was a visit to south Dartmoor, the second a trip to the South Devon coast, with the final venture to Exmoor National part. Sitting here typing this blog post, there is a feeling of frustration for Decembers photography, as many clear nights where missed due to work commitments but each of my December shoots where unique, dramatic and without a doubt, worth while ventures!

So the first shoot in early December, involved my friend Lee and I travelling to Leather Tor for a night of shooting the winter sky over Sharpitor and Leather Tor. The conditions were clear as nightfall fell, but the wind was howling and clouds where occasionally rolling over. The elements were certainly testing our resilience. I had scouted a few possible locations around Sharpitor a few days previously, so had a good idea of a few compositions from the top of Sharpitor looking down towards Leather Tor. For this photo, I remember huddling against a rock sheltering from the cold howling northerlies. It was bitterly cold but I think the trip was worth it as I was really happy with this composition!

Sharpitor - Dartmoor

The following night, myself and my girlfriend Cait travelled down to Ladram Bay to enjoy a few hours of moonless clear skies. The conditions where perfect and after a few hundred meters of walking we arrived at our shooting location at the beach. The bay is well know for it’s dramatic rocky stacks and steep peddled beach. The coastal features here looked fantastic against the winter skies. I took a few different compositions featuring the stacks and delighted with how they came out. The photos where a bonus as it was one of those magical nights where time seemed to stand still and it you wouldn’t have noticed the whole night drifting by while enjoying the stars!

Ladram Bay - Devon

Ladram Bay - Devon

My final shoot of 2020 was on Christmas Eve. Keeping with tradition, I was eager to venture somewhere and with an opportunity of clear skies I took a journey to the Valley of the Rocks on Exmoor. This is a stunning stretch of rugged coast with tall cliffs and rocky hills tops. When I arrived the moon was setting, so I opted to make that the feature of my first picture and with some high level cloud, moonset was very dramatic visually.

Once the moon had set, I took another picture with myself in the frame with a flash. Shortly after this, cloud rolled over and the stars disappeared. I spent the next hour exploring the cliffs and found a few more awesome locations I can’t wait to shoot again next time. A great way to sign of a fantastic year of astrophotography! Thank you all for the support this year!

Valley of the Rocks - Exmoor National Park

Valley of the Rocks - Exmoor National Park

November Astrophotography 2020

I didn’t manage to get a single shoot done in October, but I did get opportunities through November to venture out twice. On the first night, I opted to sneak out to Dartmoor’s Hound Tor, after work, to make the most of the darker winter evenings. There was only a short window of opportunity this mild, humid night, with moonrise due an hour after the arrival of night. There was cloud bubbling about, but it cleared for long enough for me to capture this composition as the first rays of moonlight kissed the tor as the Milkyway core dipped below the horizon.

Hound Tor in Moonlight.

Looking over my shoulder, the moonrise looked striking so for my second composition from this location, I spun the camera 180 degrees around to capture this moonlit view.

Moonrise over Hound Tor.

Keeping with the Dartmoor theme, my second and final shoot of November took me to Haytor. The forecast this night suggested a chance of a cloud inversion, and the opportunity to capture this under a starry sky was a strong motivation to give this location a try. The cloud invention wasn’t as intense as I had hoped but still added an interesting element to the composition, and the stars looked fantastic!

Haytor - Dartmoor.

September Astrophotography 2020

I didn’t manage to do a single shoot through October but the start of September I decided to travel locally to Rame Head and managed to capture this image of the headland chapel and Milkyway core covered in the moonlight. My initial plan was to travel locally to try out a new Star Glow filter although unfortunately I was initially given a dud filter. However, it was nice to get an improved composition of this iconic Southeast Cornwall location.

Rame Head with a hint of moonlight.

For my second shoot of September, I journeyed to East Prawle. A striking part of the south Devon coast. I have previously explored the coastal path towards Start Point but haven’t been in the other direction. It was particularly nice to wander the coast under such crisp clear skies. This was my first composition from Gammon Head. This cove nestled within the cliffs, jumped out to me immediately once I had approached it from the coastal path. A few lucky campers were enjoying the stars from the beach, so I opted to get this elevated composition from the coastal path with the Milkyway, Jupiter and Saturn acting as a splendid backdrop.

Gammon Head.

While venturing around for my astrophotography, I am always keeping an eye open for interesting foregrounds. While walking back to the car this night, I struck gold and stumbled across these interesting Parasol mushrooms. I committed the last few hours of the night making them a focal point for a few more compositions before heading home content on a good nights work.

Parasole Mushrooms - South Devon

The spell of good astro conditions continued with another coastal trip to Ayrmer Cove. This is an interesting Devon beach which has this shark fin like rock to the west side of the bay. The Milkyway was looking great this night so I got low to the ground to use these foreground rocks as a leading line into the prominent rock stack and milky way.

Ayrmer Cove - Devon

My final shoot of September took me to Bodmin for a mild all-night shoot around Kilmer and Sharp Tor. I had no real expectation from this shoot aside from taking a good night walk and seeing what grabbed my eye. This composition was my first taken on the night and features an outcrop on Sharp Tor looking towards the Milkyway. I decided to position myself in the composition to add scale to this Tor. What sticks in my mind about this trip is how still and quiet everything was. I could even hear the flapping of bats wings as they flew around me hunted insects.

Sharp Tor - Bodmin Moor

My walk then took me a mile west to Kilmer Tor, which is unique in the sense that it is a long narrow ridge with steep rocky sides. Along this ridge is this interesting rock stack that appears to be defying gravity leaning over to one side. I thought this view of the stack would look great with a Milkyway backdrop.

Kilmar Tor - Bodmin

My third and final location this nigh took me to this water-filled quarry. I like to achieve three compositions on a night shoot and this composition was one of my targets after a day scout a few days previous. It was nice to get a shot of the northern skies too and to sign off a great month off astrophotography.

Minions Quarry - Bodmin

July Astrophotography 2020

July provided one of the most epic months for astrophotography for me. Mostly due to a visit to our skies of comet Neowise. A magical comet that surprised and amazed stargazers across the globe. My first sighting came from a trip to Botallack Mines on the wild west coast of Cornwall. This location is famous for a pair of engines houses perched on cliffside close to the water’s edge. I travelled down with a few companions, and we set off to make the most of the clear conditions. My first image from the night was actually looking the opposite way of the comet towards the Milkyway.

Botallack Mines and the Milkyway

Shortly after this composition, I walked along the coastal path to a northerly viewpoint for the comet. It was difficult finding a good composition but I stumbled across this quaint cottage which lined up with the comet which was now high in the sky. I didn’t quite realise the moment at the time but reflecting back, I probably won’t see a sight like this for another 10-15 years!

Comet Neowise.

Believe it or not, the night still wasn’t over. We wanted more from the night, so wandered the short distance to Pendeen Lighthouse, where not only did we capture the comet over the lighthouse, but we were also treated to a fantastic and rare display of noctilucent clouds. This was an award-winning image from the Alyn Wallace Instagram contest and a mind-blowing experience.

Pendeen Lighthouse.

My second shoot of July arrived a few days later and kept with the lighthouse theme with a trip to Trevose Headland. Cornwall and Devon's weather is unreliable at best and with this amazing and rare visitor in comet Neowise, I felt it important to make the most any clear conditions. This location worked well compositionally with the position of the comet I thought.

Trevose Lighthouse and Comet Neowise.

Later the same night, I travelled down the coast to Bedruthan Steps for my second locations. I have shot this composition before and thought I would try again with the added feature of Neowise. The skies are incredibly dark on this part of the coast, and the tail of the comet looked fantastic.

Bedruthan Steps and Comet Neowise.

Comet Neowise over Bedruthan steps.

My third shoot of July took me to south Devon’s Termite Bay. A beautiful beach nestled in the shadow of Start Point. I was delivering a workshop this night but took a few pictures after the sessions.

Great Mattiscombe Beach.

Milkyway over Mattiscombe.

For my final shoot of July, I travelled to Crackington Haven. A location on the north coast of Cornwall which I have explored on many occasions. The Milkyway core is westerly in the sky this time of year and lines up nicely to the headland. I placed myself in the scene too, to add some scale to this epic viewpoint. A good way to sign off an awesome month of Astrophotography.

June Astrophotography 2020

Through June, I visited Cape Cornwall, Start Point and Dartmoor. All three shoots where all-night affairs with quality astrophotography conditions. The first trip was an hours journey to the rugged, dramatic coast of West Cornwall. The cold granite cliffs and hidden coves make it a magical place to shoot under the stars. Our desired shooting location was a rocky headland towering over Porth Ledden, about a 30-minute hike along the coastal path from the car. The skies were starry, striking and surreal with only a hum of a teenage rave on the cliffs breaking the silence.

The Milkyway, Jupiter and Saturn over Cape Cornwall.

After a few hours on the headland, we hiked to Kenidjack Castle as our second location. This is an interesting ruin highly elevated which looked amazing with the Milkyway Backdrop. This night being the summer aquanauts meant the hours of darkness were short and we had to rush to make the most of this second location. Soon enough, the light of dawn would be upon us.

Kenidjack Castle.

To finish off this night, we where treated to a magical display of Noctilucent Cloud glistening like spiders silk on the northern horizon. The display intensified as dawn approached, my third ever sighting of this striking phenomenon.

My second jaunt took me and my friend to Dartmoor. We ventured to a remote part of the west Moors travelling over Brat Tor to a remote ruin. Skies looked unbelievably clear and dark. I love the concept of ruins, time and stars and felt this scene fitted in well to that. Didn’t take many photos this night but it was great to chill under the stars on this warm clear night wondering on the story to this place.

Brat Tor Ruin under t he watch of the Milkyway.

My concluding shoot of June took place on the south Devon coast to an amazing beach I’ve nicked named termite bay. This is a sentimental place for my and my partner Cait and ranks in my top three Cornwall and Devon beaches. This cove is nestled along side Start Point and this night the skies where breathtakingly salient, clear and striking.

A few beach campers enjoying the starry skies with Jupiter and the Milkyway.

After capturing a few images from the cliff, I wandered down to the beach to photograph some waters edge details. My final image of the night and a fantastic way to sign of a good month of Astrophotography

Mattiscombe Beach.

May Astrophotography 2020

Astrophotography through May featured five trips. Mostly around the Moors but also one venture to the coast. My first trip featured Leather Tor and Nun’s Cross Farmhouse. This was a peaceful, calming warm summers night with crystal clear skies.

My initial plan was to shoot the rocky outcrop close to this tent, but after literally tripping over a couple who where ‘star gazing’ amongst the rocks and giving them a fright, I thought it wise to give them some space and shoot from Leather Tor instead. Not a bad alternative view looking over Burrator Reservoir.

Leather Tor, Sharpitor and Peek Hill.

Once all was settled with the campers, I wandered back down to the original viewpoint and stumbled across this wonderful view looking back towards Sharpitor.

I then wondered a few miles to my second locations, Nun’s Cross Farmhouse. A quirky and photographic building deep into the open Moor. By this time, the early hours of the morning were upon us. I worked quickly to get two compositions, but the challenge was the most favourable view of the Farmhouse didn’t match the most favourable composition of the sky. However, I was pleased with how these shots came out.

The Milkyway arching over Nun’s Cross Farmhouse.

The “classic” composition of this well photographed farmhouse.

I travelled to the south coast and Gribbon Head for my second shoot of May. This stretch of the coast has plenty of meaning and memories for me. With clear moonless skies forecasted my hopes were to capture a few compositions featuring the Milkyway above the dramatic coastline here.

On my way back to the car, the first light of Nautical twilight was fast approaching but I was eager to get a final composition. By this time of the night, Jupiter was low on the horizon and reflecting wonderfully over the ocean. This panorama was probably my favourite shot of the night.

Polridmouth

April Astrophotography 2020

April involved three astrophotography adventures. The first was at a part of the North Cornwall coast called The Strangles. This stretch of coastline is dramatic, rugged and expansive. It reminds me a little of the landscape in Jurassic Park with the terrain and vegetation. It is a beautiful secluded place and looked wonderful under crisp starry skies this night. My first image form the evening was taken from the steep narrow winding path that took you to the beach. I like to achieve some elevation in my compositions and this viewpoint looked great with Venus shining brightly over the turbulent ocean.

I then wondered to the waters edge and took this final image of the night.

My second shoot of the month was locally in my home town of Saltash. Light pollution was terrible but it was nice to venture out closer to home.

Church Town Far - Saltash

My final shoot was a substantial night hike across Dartmoor exploring the valley and tor’s around Tavy Cleave. A place I am familiar with but appears different and new every time. This night was magical with the darkest skies I have seem so far this year. My aim was to capture some photographs of the waterfall and then climb up to the summit of the valley for an elevation view.

Tavy Cleave Waterfall - Dartmoor

After spending an hour or so getting different compositions of the river I climbed up the valley for a different viewpoint. By the time the Milkyway Core was beginning to rise and made a great sky backdrop.

Tavy Cleave Valley - Dartmoor

February & March Astrophotography 2020

The skies and conditions through February weren't amazing, but I did manage to venture out one clear night to the coast of Devon to photograph the coastline at Thurlstone.

Orion and Venus looking spectacular over Thurlstone Beach.

Thurlstone rocky foreshore.

Thurlstone Beach.

Unlike February, March provided some amazing clear skies but also the beginnings of the pandemic. With a cloak of uncertainly over normal life, astrophotography through March became an important outlet for me to maintain an area of normality amongst all the change. My next location was Hartland Quay on the north Devon Coast. A beautiful stretch of coastline with no shortage of photogenic coastal viewpoints.

Upright Cliff Waterfall and Orion.

This night was particularly windy and with a lapse of concentration, my tripod toppled shortly after this shot was taken, breaking my trusted Samyang lens into two. Wanting to savage the night, I continued up the cliff looking for a second compositions and found this viewpoint which ended up becoming an award winning image.

Looking along the North Devon coastal path towards Hartland.

My next trip saw me travel to North Devon’s Westward Ho in search of this striking shipwreck. This was a risk, as the shifting sands often covered the wreck so there was no guarantee we would see it. Fortunately, after a bit of searching, we were treated to this spectacular view.

Westward Ho Ship Wreck.

On the journey back home from Westward Ho, I decided to stop off a Brent Tor Church on the western side of Dartmoor to capture an early morning Milky Way photo. I also find this a humbling place to visit, especially in the peaceful hours of the early morning.

Brent Tor Church and the Milkyway.

My third night of astro this month saw me visit the coast again, but this time at my local beach Downderry. I didn't have a lot of free time this evening, so this was a quick grab and dash type of shoot. However, it is always amazing to spend time under the stars, if only for an hour or two.

The dramatic rocks of Downderry Beach always make for some interesting waters edge compositions.

My final shoot of March involved travelling down to Lizard Point to photograph the last of the winter skies before the summer constellation started dominating the skies again. I decided to spend the night at the Lizard boat ramp. Skies where the clearest I had seen this year. Incredible to see such dark and starry skies and a nice way to end a month of good astrophotography.

Old lifeboat ramp at Lizard Point.