Ever wanted to learn how to take stunning, professional-looking photos of the night sky?

A free astrophotography lesson at the Mount this Friday will be a must-attend event for aspiring photographers interested in capturing the heavens.

Local photographers Jack Burden and Amit Kamble will be running the free workshop after finding a perfect spot around the other side of the Mount base track.

'We went around the Mount one Monday night and we thought it was absolutely beautiful,” says Amit.

'We'd been thinking about conducting these workshops for a while, but we haven't found any suitable places around Tauranga for wintertime. But as you go round the base track, the Mount hides the light pollution from the city.”

Another example of astrophotography. Photo: Amit Kamble Photography.

Jack agrees, saying they didn't expect to see too much, but were quite surprised by how much there was visible.

'There's more going on in the night sky during winter as well, even though it would be warmer and more appealing to go out in summer.”

Both of them run social media pages – Jack Burden Images and Amit Kamble Photography – and say they always receive questions from followers about how to take great photos.

'We wanted to give back,” says Jack. 'We get a lot of questions asking what gear to use and how you go about getting these photos. So it's a bit of a thank you to our followers.”

Another view from the Mount base track. Photo: Jack Burden Images.

So far, the interest has been phenomenal, with more than 300 people showing interest in Facebook event.

'The interest has been amazing. It should be a really good night –we're just hoping for clear skies now,” says Jack.

Part of the appeal of doing the workshop now will be the chance for photographers to capture the Milky Way rising in the east, which both Jack and Amit have done before.

Although the event is free, people are being encouraged to bring a donation for the Tauranga Foodbank.

'We read that the Tauranga Foodbank was having a bit of a crisis earlier this year, so we decided to collect donations for them,” says Amit.

Attendees for the free lesson should meet at the Mount Maunganui Surf Club at 7pm on June 2. For more information check out the event page on Facebook.