Sydney based photographer Yan Zochowski chats to us about stars, clouds, and composition. He uses a Nikon D3300 to capture the cosmos.

I get my inspiration from my curiosity about stars.

I’ve always been fascinated by the cosmos and have looked up to the skies. I’ve never been able to capture their motion and beauty until now.

I just look for spots where there is something that can add movement to the shot or a nice foreground.

Finding a nice foreground at night can be very challenging unless you do some light painting with a torch to expose something. Otherwise you’ll just end up with some black stuff.

The biggest challenge I find when shooting the night sky is composing the image so there is still a central focus, as well as clouds.

Clouds can be your best friend or worst enemy.

If they sweep through in small patches they add a unique dynamic and bring life to the images if you make a film through their movement.

Or they can just block out everything.

I took these shots in New South Wales, near Glenoire, on the way to Palm Beach Lighthouse, on Peats Ferry Bridge, Hawkesbury, and near the Pacific Highway. Skirting around the edges of Sydney.

Yan is a recently graduated university student from Sydney, who loves nature and the contrast it brings with the hustle and bustle of urban life. Check out his Instagram for more snaps.

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