As the season comes to a close, I find myself taking a few moments to reflect on the year. How events have unfolded, the friendships made, the bonds strengthened and the connections lost. Every step I take forward brings me further from where I've been, but closer to where I want to be. Never in my life would I have expected to pursue the fine art of astrophotography. A city boy from Singapore, where the skies are dominated by high-rise buildings and light pollution. On a good night, we might have a clear view of the moon and nothing more. Upon moving to Australia, I was taken by the big skies and wide open vistas by day and humbled by the crystal clear view of the Milky Way by night. This, along with the uniquely serene landscapes of Western Australia, change my life and worldly view. Astrophotography is my love letter to my adopted home. I love Australia. ------------------------------------------------------ This is a 360 degree photosphere of my latest image "Still Waters" taken at the Pink Salt Lake of Port Gregory in Western Australia. There are several Pink Lakes scattered across Western Australia and are caused by the presence of carotenoid-producing algae, giving it a Pink hue which can be exaggerated by stirring up the sediment on the lake bed. (which is exactly what I did before capturing this image). ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nerd talk: I received shipment of a Nikon 20mm f1.8G lens moments before I took the long 6 hour drive up to the Pink Lake from Perth. This was the first image I captured with this new lens without and prior testing. It was surprisingly easy to use due to its extremely light weight and fantastic weather sealing. The Nano Crystal coating produced punchy and saturated images straight out of the camera. This image is a combination of 48 individual frames shot in a 8 x 6 grid pattern in landscape mode with the following settings: ISO800 (raised to ISO3200 by way of ISO Invariance) 20 second shutter speed F2.2 I paid particular attention to keeping the waters as calm as possible to bring out the reflections of the stars.