AWARDS: ENGLAND / WILTSHIRE / LAKE DISTRICT / WALES / SCOTLAND / COAST OF S.W. ENGLAND / COAST / STORMS / LAKES & MOUNTAINS / WINTER LANDSCAPES / DESERTS / ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY / BRITISH BIRDS 1 / BRITISH BIRDS 2 / BRITISH MAMMALS / BRITISH INSECTS / WORLD BIRDS / WORLD MAMMALS / NATURE
MILKY WAY ARCH OVER START POINT
Milky Way arch over Start Point in Devon around 4am. This proved to be a complex and difficult shot to process due to the brightness of the lighthouse and light from Dartmouth and Brixham in the distance. The image comprises seven stitched panels to encompass the whole extent of the arch, each of which comprises eight stacked frames for the sky at f/2 and ISO 12,800 to reduce noise, each of which was shot at 15 seconds, 4 seconds, 1 second and 0.25 seconds to capture the whole dynamic range, plus the foreground comprises seven frames each of 4 minutes at f/4 and ISO 6400 to get sufficient depth of field for the closer rocks. And having processed all that, the lighthouse beam is still too bright!
F/2, HDR: 0.25, 1, 4 and 15 seconds, ISO 12,800 (sky, stacked), F/4, 4 minutes, ISO 6400 (foreground), stitched panorama of seven stacked panels.
Accepted: Cheltenham 2026
