Hi friends, this is the fourth edition of our User Story series.
Today we're featuring the work of Harufumi Haga (IG @ruizu3).

Milky Way Panorama Above Scenic Rim, Australia

The Scenic Rim, located just over 1.5 hours from Brisbane, Australia, is one of my favourite astrophotography destinations, with exceptionally dark Bortle 2–3 skies.

In the Southern Hemisphere, we can observe two distinct Milky Way arch orientations throughout the year.

The first peaks towards the south and is visible from around February to July, while the second peaks towards the west and can be seen from May to October.

As the season for the southern arch was coming to an end, I headed to the Scenic Rim to capture it while also testing a newly acquired clip-in filter.

For this image, I captured an eight-panel tracked panorama using the Move Shoot Move Nomad.

Each panel consisted of three stacked exposures, resulting in a total of 24 tracked images for the sky.

The foreground was photographed separately after moonrise as a nine-panel panorama.

After processing the images, I was impressed by how much H-alpha emission the filter revealed despite using a non-astro-modded camera.

The red emission nebulae stood out beautifully, while subtle green and orange airglow added colour and atmosphere to the scene. Together, they helped showcase the scale and beauty of the Southern Hemisphere Milky Way arch.

Tips:

1. Use the correct rotation point for panoramas

When shooting panoramas, it’s important to rotate around the lens’s entrance pupil (often referred to as the nodal point) rather than the camera body itself. Otherwise, nearby foreground elements may not stitch correctly due to parallax.

A positioning bracket makes this easy to achieve and also allows the camera to be rotated between landscape and portrait orientations.

I find it incredibly useful for both landscape astrophotography and deep-sky imaging.

2. Levelling is critical

3. Achieving accurate focus

The MSM Star Focus Filter is a handy tool for achieving precise focus on stars. With lenses around 20mm or longer, it provides a clear indication of whether focus has been nailed, helping maximise detail in both stars and nebulae.

4. Alternative options for a wedge

If you already own a 2-way tilt head or a 3-way geared head, they can often be used as an alternative to a dedicated wedge.

In my setup, I use a panning base beneath the wedge. However, because it can interfere with the tripod’s levelling bowl and restrict access to the panning knob, I added a spacer between them to provide sufficient clearance.

Gear List

• Sony α6400 (non-astro-modded)
• Tamron 11–20mm F2.8
• MSM Star Focus Filter
• STC Multispectra Clip-in Filter
• Star Glow Filter
• INNOREL RT80C Tripod with Levelling Bowl
• NiSi Positioning Bracket
• MSM Ball Head
• Fittest DH-55H Panorama Indexing Rotator
• MSM V Mount
• Move Shoot Move Nomad
• MSM Wedge+ Panning Base