These Breathtaking Photos Of The Milky Way Will Make You Feel Incredibly Small

One photo takes almost thirty minutes to stitch together.

British photographer Rob Dickinson has captured these absolutely stunning images of the Milky Way, drifting in the New Zealand skies, by stitching together up to 80 photos.

Robert Dickinson / Caters News Agency

Robert Dickinson / Caters News Agency

Dickinson told BuzzFeed News the photos "really push the camera gear."

Robert Dickinson / Caters News Agency

"I use a Cannon 6D," he said, "and I also use a Gigapan Pro... Basically these things help stitch together like 80 shots to make one image. The whole process takes about 30 minutes."

Robert Dickinson / Caters News Agency

The best time to take Milky Way photos is in Winter, says Dickinson. "They're shot in Winter on new moon weekends. You really want new moon, because [as the moon gets larger] it causes light issues."

Caters

Robert Dickinson / Caters News Agency

Robert Dickinson / Caters News Agency

Shots like these are planned up to a year in advance. Rob uses phone apps to determine where the Milky Way and stars will be.

Caters

"The planet and the Milky Way work like clockwork, so you can plan ahead and look for the weekends and days you think are best," he said.

"You really just have to hope it's not cloudy. You're hoping he wind doesn't come out, because it will push clouds into the way."

"You only really get one great shot a day."