Astrophotographer rappels 330ft (100m) into "otherworldly" cave to shoot award-winning photo – and he got the whole thing on camera

DarkSky Worldwide, the nonprofit advocating for diminished gentle air pollution, not too long ago wrapped up the newest version of Seize the Darkish, its annual photograph contest.

At this 12 months’s occasion, there was one photograph particularly that amazed me, not solely due to the implausible composition, however due to the adventurous, daring story behind it.

Glow worms illuminate chasm. — The image is a blend of tracked sky and extremely long exposure foreground. Shot with a Nikon Z8, Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8, Sigma 28mm f/1.4 Artwork, and an iOptron SkyGuider Professional star tracker. (Picture credit score: Tom Rae (courtesy of DarkSky Worldwide))

It takes a second to determine what you’re taking a look at. Nevertheless, within the scene, shot by Tom Rae, an astrophotographer and information from New Zealand, we see the towering partitions of a deep cave system on the North Island illuminated by glow worms under the shimmering stars of the Southern Cross constellation.

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Shot on a Nikon Z8, this picture took first place within the “Creatures of the Night time” class on the Capture the Dark contest. However to get it, he did one thing unbelievable: rappelling roughly 330 toes (100 m) into the ethereal cave. And he recorded the whole lot for us to see.

Above: watch astrophotographer Tom Rae drop 330ft (100m) into an ethereal cave to snap his award-winning photograph

“The cavern was alive at night time with glow worms and fragile ecosystems, an otherworldly present hidden deep in a panorama formed over hundreds of thousands of years,” Tom commented within the Instagram put up showcasing the feat.

Already an excessive feat of images, the nighttime circumstances made taking photos throughout the cave much more troublesome. In the identical Instagram put up, Tom defined how the dense humidity, delicate gentle from the glow worms and lengthy exposures pushed his expertise “to the restrict.”

Nevertheless, the multi-award-winning astrophotographer dealt with what he known as an “excessive problem,” in the end producing a set of composite panoramas with tracked skies, which included the profitable scene.

What an superior photograph, however what an much more fascinating story behind it. Generally, to create standout photographs, you could do one thing unbelievable.