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stellar performance

on Aug 09, 2013

There are few things more beautiful than looking up at the night sky and seeing the Milky Way stretching across the sky. The absolute abyss of the universe dwarfs us into something so small that it is inconceivable to understand all that is.

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I have been driving a photographic group for a few days and we decided that we were going to try and capture the stars as best as possible. Tripods all set up, focus set and nothing but the night sounds to keep us company we started to click away, but tonight was not to be the night. Just as we had started taking photos, a dense cloud cover pulled in over us leaving us no choice but to pack up and try again the next evening.

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So the next evening came and we had stopped for sundowners and taking photos of the sunset when we decided to wait for an opportunity to photograph the stars as the clouds had started to clear again. Again we set up the tripods, set our focus and waited. But again some clouds tried to interrupt our party but we carried on. The light from the setting sun allowed us to get some beautiful red hues coming through as we left our shutters open to capture the beauty of the scene.

Stellar Performance

We eventually retreated back to the lodge for some dinner but couldn’t resist doing it all over again. After dinner we set out to find a new spot and try to capture the stars movements over a half an hour. The results were breath taking and to add to it all, as we sat watching the sky as the cameras worked to capture the star trails the roars of lions echoed across the bush. The roars kept on coming closer and closer as the time wore on leaving my guests and myself huddled close to the car, in the pitch black African night listening to hear how close they would be on the next roar. With our shutters open we couldn’t even shine a torch around to see if anything was nearby and then decided that it would be best to wait in the vehicle for the shutters to close. What an experience!

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  • BY: RICHARD DE GOUVEIA (LITTLE BUSH CAMP RANGER)
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