Hoopers interlopers

Hoopers interlopers by Paul Le Comte

Hoopers interlopers | Paul Le Comte


Location: Hoopers Inlet, Otago Peninsula | Date: 25/06/2019

The final of my 4 images depicting the International Space Station crossing the skies above New Zealand illustrates how sometimes objects in the sky cross over your field of view, and depending on what you were shooting and how you feel about these objects in the sky, you either see them as fun additions or light pollution.

Here I was set up in Hoopers Inlet on Otago Peninsula, before the storm took out the famous boat shed, hoping to capture a relatively long sunset to aurora timelapse. To do this you choose your location, settings on the camera, lock everything down on a steady tripod and let the camera with it’s intervalometer (internal, or external intervalometer release cable) take images every x number of seconds.

Just after sunset, during blue hour, just as the southern sky started to glow a pale blue of the incoming aurora, in a single 30 second frame, both the International Space Station, and an Iridium Flare happened in the top right hand of the image (the latter would later appear as a quick flash in the timelapse, barely noticeable), I took a quick note of the time and hoped the camera caught these two things. Sure enough the ISS crossed the sky from the middle right to the top of the image, appearing as a strong white line, and the Iridium Flare (light reflecting off the Iridium Satellite as it tumbles in orbit).

A little bit of luck and not the image I was looking for, some would say light pollution, but in this case I think it tells a nice little story of science photo bombing my timelapse.

Shooting the ISS can be fun, it doesn’t need to be technical, and it’s a wonderful reminder of the incredible achievements of humanity and science.


Camera Settings

Nikon D7100
ISO 400
f/5.6
30 seconds


Media Details

Dimensions: 30cm x 21cm | Media: A4 Matted Print


Sale Details

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