Ever since I visited New Zealand for the first time, I have been obsessed with the night sky in the southern hemisphere. This video shows the winning entries in the 2013 The World at Night photo contest.

One of my favorite New Zealand Photographers, Mark Gee, got two honorable mentions, but didn’t win.

So what’s a video of photos of the night sky doing on a blog about marketing and technology? Mostly it’s here because it’s beautiful, and I wanted to share it.

But there is a lot of technology at work in these images — and even more patience and artistry. I hope that we don’t continue polluting the night sky with too many unnecessary lights — and I wish my neighbors in Dallas would turn off the security lights that aren’t needed.

After all, I live in the state known for “the stars at night…are big and bright…” but deep in the heart of Texas, there are all too many places where you can’t see the stars because of the light pollution.

And that makes me sad.

The Southern Cross, as seen from Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand. I stayed up all night trying to get a decent night sky photo, and this is my best effort — which clearly demonstrates why I didn’t enter The World at Night contest! But it makes me smile!

Photo credit: I shot the photo of the Southern Cross with a Nikon D90. ©2009, Deb McAlister-Holland. All rights reserved. Do not repost or reproduce.