Orion over Hereweka

Orion over Hereweka by Paul Le Comte

Orion over Hereweka | Paul Le Comte


Location: Hoopers Inlet, Otago Peninsula, Dunedin | Date: 26/03/2022

A forecast Aurora Australis was underway as I headed to Hoopers Inlet on Otago Peninsula, but sadly, the best of the display had passed before darkness descended over Dunedin. However, more often than not, the shot you were intending to capture isn’t the one you come away with, this was one of those nights.

As I had been playing around with 50mm (lens) astro recently, I thought I’d make a panorama of Orion above Hereweka (Harbour Cone, 315m). The resulting 7 image panorama has a vastly different feel to my usual wide angle panoramas of the night sky. Normally the glow of the nebula and other such objects is lost when shooting at 16mm wide, but the 50mm focal length allows more attention to detail of objects in the night sky, Orion’s Nebula is clearly visible above the summit.

The boat sheds of Hoopers Inlet have provided photographers a focal point for their images for many years. But because Hereweka is often in silhouette due to the light pollution of Dunedin city to the SW, the maunga is often overlooked. Illuminating the foreground, the rising full moon provided the perfect solution to this for me.


Camera Settings

Nikon D750
Nikkor 50mm Lens f/1.8
ISO 800
15 Seconds


Media Details

Dimensions: 70cm x 50cm | Media: Framed Print


Sale Details

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