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Josh McGuigan

@jshmcguigan

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Astrophotographer based in New Zealand 🇳🇿
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Between Worlds ✨

Our galaxy suspended high in the autumn night sky, captured during a brisk Mackenzie Country night. I learnt very quickly just how handy it is to have a second pair of socks in my bag, just in case 😂

A strong display of airglow can be seen, which is oxygen and sodium molecules being excited by the Sun’s UV light in our upper atmosphere. There’s also a small amount of zodiacal light to the right of the frame - something I hope to capture more of this year.

Nikon Z6a / Sigma ART 40mm F1.4 / Nikkor 20mm F1.8 / Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i

#newzealand #nightsky #noaiart #twanight #youresa taken in Lake Tekapo, New Zealand by @jshmcguigan

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5 months ago

Starlight Stream

The galactic core lies above a secluded river in the Southern Alps, during one of my most memorable nights of shooting.

I couldn’t sleep this night, so at 2am I packed up my truck and headed out to this spot. It was a little bit of a race against time to ensure the Milky Way wouldn’t disappear before I got set up, but I made it right on time. After losing a battery, nearly falling in the river, and a lot of caffeine, I made it home with a couple of great images.

I’m thinking about making a few videos to document these adventures, would you watch them?

Nikon Z6a / Sigma ART 40mm F1.4 / Nikkor 20mm F1.8

#astrophotography #nightsky #newzealand #darksky #youresa taken in New Zealand by @jshmcguigan

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4 months ago

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8 months ago

MATARIKI MEETS AORAKI

Pleiades (known as Matariki in NZ), coasts above the Aoraki, NZ’s tallest peak, on the most perfect night I’ve ever spent in the Alps. Thanks to there not being a breath of wind throughout the entire night, the lake was perfectly still, allowing me to capture this reflection in incredible detail!

In Māori culture, the heliacal rising of the Matariki star cluster marks the beginning of the Māori New Year - a time for celebration and reflection on the year passed. It’s a special time of year in Aotearoa when celebrated in early July, always enjoyable.

NO AI was used in the creation of this image. I used standard astrophotography blending techniques to ensure maximum detail and sharpness in the sky + foreground, but the alignment is absolutely real - something I didn’t realise was even possible until I saw it approaching the peak on the night!

Shot on Nikon Z6a + Sigma 40mm F1.4

#astrophotography #space #matariki #newzealand #youresa taken in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park by @jshmcguigan

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2 days ago

ORION OVER AORAKI

An image I have been imagining since just about the beginning of my astrophotography career, finally brought to life.

I wanted to make sure I captured the icebergs in the lake, beneath the snow capped mountains, with the summer night sky. To tick off all of those boxes, there is only a small window every year where an image like this is possible!

Hopefully you like this one as much as I do! ✨

Shot on Nikon Z6 + Sigma 40mm F1.4

#space #newzealand #aoraki #youresa #nikonnz taken in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park by @jshmcguigan

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5 days ago

Southern Lights + Milky Way ✨

Last night we were treated to the best display of the Southern Lights (Aurora Australis) I’ve ever seen. I’ve been lucky enough to see some incredible and much brighter Northern Lights in the past, when I was living just south of the auroral oval throughout solar maximum; but never have I seen beams so prominent from the south.

What made this show even better was the positioning of the Milky Way, low on the horizon as it slowly disappears for the year. I’ve captured it here as it drifts above a classic Mackenzie Basin tarn.

Really happy with how this image turned out, hopefully you all enjoy it as well 😊💫

Nikon Z6a / Nikon 20MM F1.8

#astrophotography #newzealand #auroraaustralis #youresa #nikonnz taken in Lake Tekapo, New Zealand by @jshmcguigan

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13 days ago

The Asterra Z+ is the most exciting innovation in Astrophotography tech I’ve seen lately. It’s simplified my workflow, leaving me with more time to be creative out in the field.

What feature on the Z+ do you want to know more about?

#astrophotography #startracker #asterra taken in New Zealand by @jshmcguigan

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23 days ago

Celestial Cabin 💫

One of my favourite images from a recent 4WD trip into one of the most remote places I’ve ever been. Hours of technical 4x4 driving, following the riverbed down the rocky valley led us to this hut, where we would spend the night.

I think the best part of this trip was waking up in the morning, before the sun. Watching the scene around us come back to life, noticing new peaks and light hitting them in different ways, was truly a special experience.

Without a doubt, the best adventure I’ve had all winter and I’m glad I get to share some of it with you all!

Nikon Z6a / Nikkor 20mm F1.8

#astrophotography #newzealand #youresa taken in New Zealand by @jshmcguigan

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a month ago

Beacon

A historic iron hut sits quietly beneath the stars, on a brisk Mackenzie winter night. Perhaps my favourite time of year to capture our galaxy. This was captured around midnight, when the core of the Milky Way had begun to arch like this.

I feel like this is the best orientation to appreciate our place in this galaxy. You can have an understanding of our general position within in, and when the galactic band spans 180 degrees lying flat, Earth starts to feel a bit like your own spaceship.

Nikon Z6a / Sigma 40mm F1.4 / Nikkor 20mm F1.8

#astrophotography #newzealand #youresa taken in Lake Tekapo, New Zealand by @jshmcguigan

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2 months ago

Celestial

A 360-degree panorama, showcasing a special variety of my favorite night sky phenomena.

Perhaps my favorite of them all, the zodiacal light, is very prominent on the right side of this image. The zodiacal light is a faint, diffuse glow caused by sunlight reflecting off interplanetary dust, suspended within the plane of our solar system. This night in particular, it was incredibly bright - easily visible to the naked eye!

Amongst the zodiacal light, is Venus, as well as the belt of Venus, which is the purple/blue glow on the horizon - only visible because I captured this image before true astronomical dark.

One of my favourite 360 images I’ve ever captured, hopefully you all enjoy it as well! I’ll also put the full photosphere on my story ✨

Nikon Z6a / Nikkor 20mm F1.8

#newzealand #astrophotography #nightsky #360degree #youresa taken in Lake Tekapo, New Zealand by @jshmcguigan

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2 months ago

A reprocess of an image I captured back in April, from the top of Mount John after hours. I wasn’t happy with the original version, and am very pleased with how this new version turned out.

At an elevation over 1000-metres above sea level, and being the heart of the world’s largest gold-tier Dark Sky Reserve, there is no better place to view the cosmos. A great night shooting with friends, made even better by perfect conditions.

Thank you all for the support on my recent posts, it means the world that so many people resonate with my work, and gets me excited for where the next year is going to take me.

Nikon Z6a / Sigma ART 40mm F1.4 / Nikkor 20mm F1.8

#astrophotography #nightsky #newzealand #darksky #youresa taken in New Zealand by @jshmcguigan

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3 months ago

A nicely mixed display of orange airglow + Southern Lights behind the Optical Craftsmen (OC) telescope at Mount John Observatory.

The OC telescope is the oldest of the 4 active research telescopes at this observatory, and has been up here since 1970. Although it wasn’t in use this night, it’s still a great little building to take photos of.

Nikon Z6a / Sigma 28mm / Star Adventurer

#space #nightsky #observatory #newzealand #youresa taken in Mount John University Observatory by @jshmcguigan

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4 months ago