Trails on the sky from the stars, several aeroplanes, a satellite and a couple of meteors are underscored by the light-trail of a train passing through the crossing level crossing at Toolijooa, New South Wales, Australia.

Star trails created in StarStax for Mac, from 78 original frames, each shot with Canon EOS 6D, Samyang 14mm @ f/4.0, 15 sec @ ISO 3200.

I can't get enough of photographing the Milky Way in different settings, and including a waterway of some kind is one of my favourite compositions. Broughton Creek near Nowra, Australia, is a feeder tributary of the Shoalhaven River. When I visited on this night in 2015 the water’s surface was amazingly flat despite the movement of the tide.

This panoramic image is made up from 16 single frames, each shot with Canon EOS 6D, Samyang 14mm @ f/4.0, 20 sec @ ISO 6400. Stitched together with the application AutoPano Pro.

It's not as astronomical as my usual photos, but I figured it was worth posting. After all, I was out shooting the stars when the train zipped through this crossing at Toolijooa, New South Wales, Australia.

Canon EOS 6D, Samyang 14mm @ f/8.0, 20 sec @ ISO 6400.

The All Saints Anglican Church in Bodalla, Australia, was officially opened in 1902 and is a well-known landmark in the area. It provided a wonderful foreground to set the Milky Way against for this single-frame image when I visited the dark skies of the area in June of 2015.

In September of that year, I entered this photo into a competition that is run each year from Paris, France. It’s an understatement to say that I was excited when the photo placed fifth out of 400 entries from 50 countries!

Canon EOS 6D, Samyang 14mm f/4.0, 20 sec @ ISO 6400.

A waxing gibbous moon hanging in the dark sky with the Eiffel Tower glowing in the foreground. I shot this photo in December of 2015, while visiting Paris to see one of my photos featured in an exhibition.

Canon EOS 6D camera, a Sigma 50-500mm f/5.6 lens @ 191mm @ f/10.0, using an exposure time of 1/13 seconds @ ISO 200.

If you’ve read even a few of the blurbs that go with my photos you’ve probably seen me mention Tuross Head. Over forty years ago my family inherited a small holiday shack at this coastal township. My siblings, and our own families, still visit as often as we can.

When I was learning about astronomy in my teen years I’d often spend hours outside staring up at the lovely dark skies while visiting Tuross. Although the area is a little more populated now than in the 70s the skies are still much darker than back in the city.

The disused, heritage-protected church on this land near the town has featured in many of my nightscape photos. This vertical panoramic shot shows the Milky Way and its dust and gas “lanes” ruling this part of the sky. Not too far above the church you can see the Coalsack Dark Nebula, with the Southern Cross immediately to its lower right. Between the Coalsack and the church is a pinkish patch that includes the Eta Carinae nebula.

I created this image from fourteen single images that were shot to overlap and form a vertical panorama. The shots were stitched together using Autopano Pro software. The final image was too big to fit on Instagram so I’ve had to crop some of the Milky Way from the top. Each frame was shot with Canon EOS 6D, Samyang 14mm @ f/4.0, 20 sec @ ISO 6400.

I shot this back in July of 2015 at Tuross Head, New South Wales. It’s a vertical panorama from seven images, capturing the Milky Way seeming to emanate from the dead tree. The green tint to the sky towards the bottom is from atmospheric airglow.

Seven images, each shot with a Canon EOS 6D, Samyang 14mm @ f/4.0, 25 sec @ ISO 6400.

This photo uses a “vertorama” (vertical panorama) of 13 images stitched together to show the view from horizon to horizon, with the Milky Way and its Galactic Core bridging between the two worlds. Rotate your phone through 180 degrees for a different perspective.

Data for the 13 images: Canon EOS 6D, Samyang 14mm lens @ f/4.0, 8 second exposure at ISO 6400. Stitched in Autopano Pro for Mac. Edited in Lightroom CC.