K Chay Photography, Dunedin (2026)

05/05/2026

|| Milky Way Photographer of the Year 2026 ||

Dropping in again to announce that I've been included in this year's edition of the Milky Way Photographer of the Year collection by Capture the Atlas, with this shot from the West Coast being selected.

Given how special some of the work is in these collections (with this year's selection being no exception), it's incredible to be part of the increased Kiwi presence this year.

As always- thanks to Dan, Ascen and their team for their efforts in image selection and organisation of this as a whole. It's become a really strong statement for the closeness of the astrophotography community, and I'm proud to be a part of it. Thank you to everyone for being so supportive over the years, and I hope to meet more of you soon.

With all that said, check out the other photographers here (note they're all Instagram usernames):

looten

padron
ph

phimagery

larsen.photography

And here's a link for a full set of images with information/stories on each image: https://capturetheatlas.com/milky-way-photographer-of-the-year/

03/05/2026

|| Pickets : Earth ||

I ended up planning a night of astrophotography during this particular display of the Aurora Australis, but didn't expect there to be such a unique display.

The original plan got rewritten, with a longer drive south than expected. I ended up missing the initial burst of activity, but we managed to set up and shoot here for a few hours, with the pickets making an appearance in a row.

The plan to shoot a Milky Way image was still covered, though, with the pickets lasting long enough to stay around in the panorama. I've been intending to go back and try another shot here for ages, but never really felt the urge to get back here (admittedly, weather was also a bit of a factor), so this was a nice bonus.

Anyway- here's my take. Enjoy!

07/03/2026

|| Lunar Dance : Earth ||

A heavily hyped lunar eclipse and clear weather window had me planning to shoot both the Milky Way core and the eclipse in the same night- entirely doable due to the drop in lunar light during totality.

I unfortunately couldn't run out anywhere too far from home due to a first aid course the next morning- so had to spend a bit of time planning this out relative to local spots. After a bit of procrastination that evening, a rushed dinner and working out how the Milky Way would sit with this abandoned building, I settled on this and set off for a night of shooting.

Setting up the cameras to shoot, I had one camera taking a shot every 10 minutes to use as reference for the positions of the moon phases in the image. The other camera was taking a picture of the moon at the same time, so I could line up the timestamps and make this as accurate as possible.

Upon hitting totality, the drop in light gave way to a beautiful dark sky (albeit with a dropping temperature). That gave me the right conditions to shoot the panorama of the sky needed- but then I realised that I'd been using the wrong cameras with the wrong lenses (after the panorama was shot).

After a quick lens swap, I tried shooting the pano again on the Z7a, but clouds had started to become a bit of a problem- I ended up not using those shots in the end (didn't make much difference to the image, thankfully).

I spent a bit more time shooting until about 2:30am, before spending the night in the car for a few hours of sleep (and thankfully making it back home in time for the course).

This is the first time I've been able to shoot a lunar timelapse image like this and I think it's been great learning. After fighting with the balance between the night sky, foreground and different moon phases (without it looking too "pasted in"), I've settled on this interpretation of the 2026 lunar eclipse.

01/03/2026

|| Divergent Path : Reimagined ||

I've posted this one a few times, but I never quite got it to the point where I was fully happy with it. The last revised edit was just a quick light handed edit for the 2025 NZ Geographic competition- this version's a bit more processed, utilizing the available data better.

This spot was one that I had planned for a while, with it being a popular spot for aurora chasers- I just had never been able to find my way up. My previous trip here years prior resulted in me taking a wrong turn, and somehow ending up stuck on the way up- luckily, it didn't result in anything nasty.

The main issue was figuring out how to get there, although I figured that out pretty quickly once arriving- turns out I'd entirely missed a clear path up somehow. It's a relatively straightforward little walk, although I wouldn't do this if there's been any rain.

Since the forecast was indicating clear skies, it seemed a good time to try it- so up I went with a 20kg backpack for the evening.

Hanging out under the stars is always a healing experience, with that particular trip being one of many that I took last year for the sake of being healthy in body and mind. It definitely helped- although, it's hard to imagine it not doing so with views like these.

02/02/2026

|| Limitless : Earth ||

It's been a minute, but in all honesty- I've felt a bit disconnected from the work I put out over the past year.

It's been a struggle to have that lingering for so long. 2025 was full of high moments and I'm grateful for those- but I've been spending the last little while thinking about how I could return to creating work that was actually fulfilling for myself.

I think the best work I've done has always come from some form of challenge- which was something I just didn't feel I managed to really do last year.

With a clear weather window, this spot was a great choice- 1800m of vertical elevation to make my way up under what was a perfectly sunny day.

On paper it was straight forward- but it's never an adventure for me without some form of self inflicted pain. After accidentally finding some hard patches of snow and clumsily navigating my way up to the summit, I managed to spill boiling water on myself while making dinner.

The next day was full of more mishaps- an earlier than expected sunrise ruined my Milky Way dreams; while some accidental sunburn, more inconveniently placed snow and a few missing objects from my pack (coupled with a lack of sleep) made the morning much more memorable than needed.

In saying all of that- I think I got what I needed out of this trip. Looking forward to being less about the results, and more about having fun outside. Hopefully more soon.

12/12/2025

|| Sleeper : Sutton ||

One of the final shots I managed to piece together for this past Milky Way season, which has been admittedly a lot slower than I'd have liked.

Filters for star glow have interested me for a while- primarily because I've never been sure how to get that effect in post. I managed to find out about a nice cheap alternative with some fun "quirks", which is where the experimentation for this shot came in.

I've wanted to revisit this particular place for a while now, since it's been a few years since I'd shot here. I'm still unsure if my shooting is where I want it to be, but we're gradually inching closer to where I want to be.

Overall, kind of happy with the process- but thankfully have found something else to try and replicate this sort of effect with.

Probably the last feed post for 2025 anyway- hope you're all well!

19/11/2025

|| Portal : Earth ||

Lots of excitement was building up for this night, with multiple forecasts and predictions indicating a very big show.

As with all weather related events, it's always a case of taking a chance- which is exactly what I did. I had a friend from the USA visiting for a few days, so what better way to explore NZ than to drive for 3 hours down to one of the few clear patches of sky in NZ on that night. Even better when I managed to rope another couple of friends along!

Arriving at this lighthouse, I was pretty worried about the resident wildlife being a bit of a fight (as was the case from my last visit here), but the presence of local photographers was definitely reassuring. After some careless light spraying from my head torch (sorry team), I managed to settle in with our small group and spent a fun few hours running between cameras, having chats with the enthusiastic group, and laughing at what we had managed to witness.

It made the following week of sleep deprivation well worth it- there's just something incredible about being able to witness such unique phenomena so close to home.

With all that said, here's my take. Enjoy.

01/11/2025

|| Ring of Fire : Earth ||

One of the astro shots that I've been really eager to capture this year is the "double arch"- a single image combining the setting Milky Way core with the "summer Milky Way" (well, at least for the Southern Hemisphere).

With the awful weather windows we've had this spring, it's been borderline impossible to have this work (and the window to make this work at all is remarkably small)- so getting something like this was really a bit of a blessing in what I've felt is a bit of a lean year for me.

The other aspect that I found difficult to figure out was the foreground- I wanted something where there was a degree of symmetry and something interesting within it. This seemed to fit the bill, so went up to this spot a while ago in late August- but unfortunately I didn't get too lucky with sunrise affecting the right hand side of this image.

This is from my second attempt was after Tom Rae and I had tackled an overnight mission up the Remarkables- I'd suggested this and he was keen enough to tag along. We decided that sleeping under the stars was going to be perfectly fine, so I managed to ditch some weight (thankfully)- although it was a tad chilly...

Thankfully, the skies were clear and the views were amazing (as one would expect in this area). With this, I think it's the first "double arch" image that I've seen from New Zealand and I do hope to tackle more- hopefully some better luck next year.

12/10/2025

|| Divinity : Earth ||

This particular beach is one that I've seen a handful of people capture Milky Way panoramas from, and a spot that I've always wanted to get "the shot" from myself.

A large part of the challenge here is the fact that the conditions line up so rarely throughout the year, with the timing of tides being especially crucial to getting out onto this reef- let alone all the terrestrial weather and other circumstances working out. However, I did manage to get the opportunity to pop out here in June to finally take some more photos on the West Coast.

Armed with some local knowledge, I spent my time waiting to see if I'd be able to make it out here. The early part of the night wasn't too promising (with a bit of wind), and even getting out to the spot around the point of low tide didn't feel terribly inspiring. The sky was clear though, so it definitely felt promising.

There was a bit of uhmming and ahhing about jumping over to the reef, but I decided to give it a go anyway. It'd been a while since I'd felt so pressured to execute a shot cleanly, and did have some difficulty with shooting everything all on the reef within the brief hour window. I couldn't really afford to hang around either, as the rapidly rising tide meant that I'd be stranded in the dark for hours if I didn't get off promptly (if I wasn't swept away first).

I ended up compromising a bit and tracking the bottom row of the sky panorama quickly (to reference when aligning the sky to the horizon) before hopping off the reef to finish the remainder of the sky panorama on the beach. I nearly missed the step to get back, but am happy to report that I escaped relatively dry- a proper surprise.

Anyway- all silly decisions aside, happy to get this one unscathed. A real battle to put together, but I'm really pleased to be able to tick this one off my list.

11/09/2025

|| Royal Observatory Greenwich Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2025 ||

So this one's been something I've been waiting to talk about- I can finally say that my piece "Crown of Light" has been awarded as the winner of the "Aurorae" category in the 17th edition of the Royal Observatory Greenwich "Astronomy Photographer of the Year" competition.

It's one of the highest honours to receive as an astrophotographer- only 140 images were selected out of the thousands of entries to be shortlisted across all the categories (let alone being awarded any prize), which makes this a particularly big deal.

It's always awesome to represent New Zealand on the international stage with my photography and this is no exception- especially with an image that's as special to me as this one.

I'm extremely thankful to the judges and the organisers for this, and want to extend a huge congratulations to the other winners and shortlisted photographers.

Hopefully, my work (as well as this collection as a whole) inspires people to get out more and explore the world at night. It's been one of the best things I've ever done for myself, and I really do hope that others find the same peace that I've found under the stars.

I don't have much more to say beyond a "thank you" to everyone for the support. It's been really incredible being a part of the astrophotography community, and I hope that I continue to meet more of you in the future- hopefully under some clear skies!

K Chay Photography

05/05/2026

03/05/2026

07/03/2026

01/03/2026

02/02/2026

12/12/2025

19/11/2025

01/11/2025

12/10/2025

11/09/2025

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