Kritika & Sam
When Kritika first emailed us back in April she was planning a special surprise for her partner Sam, who had already proposed to her. She came to realise that during that proposal she was the centre of attention and given this is 2022 she wanted to make him the centre of attention and uphold the tradition of their culture that couples exchange rings rather than the classic western man to woman proposal.
As she was planning their upcoming trip to Queenstown, she came across our Starry Nights Tour and thought it sounded like the perfect way to surprise him with her own proposal. They both have a love of the stars. and have even adopted a star. As part of her initial inquiry she had a few questions and was over the moon that we were able to provide a wide range of options for them both.
Not only could we transport them from their accommodation, guide them around the night sky - getting a closer look through binoculars and a telescope, but we could also photograph them creating the most beautiful record of this celebration of their love.
Emma absolutely loves planning trips like this and she got to work answering Kritika’s questions and offering up lots of options for them, from a selection of locations we could visit right through to what kind of outfits would be suitable.
Simon got very excited about the fact they had adopted a star and went in search to check if we would be able to find it for them when they were planning to visit.
One of the advantages that we have is the wide range of skills we have at our disposal, and it soon became apparent that we could have a sunset couple shoot by Lake Wakatipu and then head up into the mountains for some star gazing. There was no need to find an extra photographer, transport and astro guide, we can provide it all. This was music to Kritika’s ears.
Once we found out that Kritika & Sam were staying at an Air BnB in Jacks Point, Kelvin Heights immediately jumped to the top of the list of destinations for our lakeside shoot.
As we often find, couples are usually really nervous about having their photographs taken, it’s a big deal and does feel kinda weird. We get that, and we know that it’s our job to ensure that it’s fun and enjoyable for everyone. That really is the best way to create a beautiful set of photographs.
It didn’t take Kritika & Sam long at all to become extremely relaxed, and the love between them was so beautiful to see. The both of them oozed style which meant incredible photographs just kept on appearing, what an absolute treat.
The sky started to turn the most beautiful cotton candy pink as the sun dropped below the horizon, illuminating the mountains and lake magically.
Whilst those clouds were a gift for a sunset shoot, they don’t always bode so well for a Starry Night Tour. This is the Wakatipu though, the weather has its own agenda and rules. It’s also the place where we live and as such, we keep a very keen eye upon what the weather patterns produce ini relation to the many weather forecasts we have available to us.
To the untrained eye, it didn’t look so promising, however we were very sure the clouds were going to mostly clear once the sun dropped below the horizon brining the temperature down with it.
Kritika Sam were staying in an Air BnB in Jacks Point, very close to where we held the sunset shoot, so we dropped them back to get changed and have half an hour to themselves before we picked them up and continued our adventures in the alpine environment.
As we predicted, the clouds mostly disappeared, certainly enough to allow some very beautiful viewing of the night sky.
On our Starry Night Tours we help our clients view the night sky in a few different ways. We start using just our eyes, and a licensed laser pointer to point out some of the more prominent stars and constellations. In almost no time at all, you’ll be able to figure out where the cardinal points are - North South, East and West.
We then start to zoom in a little using our binoculars, it’s such a simple way to see deeper into space and start to reveal some features most people have no idea exist. What you think is a fairly dull star turns out to be the globular cluster Omega Centuri, comprising of 100,000 to 400,000 stars.
We connect our camera to our iPad allowing us to show the colours of the Milky Way which our eyes just cannot do.
Then we really zoom in, using our 8” Dobsonian Telescope. What we can see using this beautifully simple telescope is life changing. You can see so many more stars. Clouds of gas which form deep space nebulas as well as an array of different coloured stars clustered together.
It then became time to move onto the main event of the evening. Kritika was going to honour her culture and propose to Sam completing the exchange of rings. We’d worked with her so this moment naturally flowed, creating the most memorable moment in their lives.
Our skills and knowledge about photographing the night sky allow us to capture a series of breathtaking photographs which will help them remember this experience for decades to come.
“Thank you so much for your kind words. The photos are a dream come true. This will be a forever memory for us. I was pleasantly surprised as Sam enjoyed the photoshoot as much as he enjoyed the star gazing experience. We are so grateful to you and Simon. You are both magic makers.
Right from our first email exchange through to today the experience has been amazing and so wholesome. Your passion and skills could be seen through your emails and meeting you both in person enhanced it even further. We were instantly at ease and so very comfortable. We never felt that we were meeting you for the very first time. Thank you for dedicating your time and effort in crafting something so special for us.”