Astrophotography Meets Underwater Photography: How Wioleta Gorecka Creates Impossible Images with Outex

Chasing the Stars Below the Surface: How Astrophotographer Wioleta Gorecka Is Using Outex to Create Images That Seem Impossible

Some photographers chase light. Others chase darkness. When the Milky Way meets the underwater world, creativity begins where most photographers stop.  For internationally recognized astrophotographer Wioleta Gorecka, darkness is where the magic happens.

A million star hotel in New Zealand. Nikon Z6II, Sigma 14mm f/1.4, 30x60s., f/2, iso1600.

Originally from Poland and now based in Iceland for nearly two decades, Wioleta has built a career photographing some of the darkest skies on Earth. As a professional photo guide and workshop leader, she spends countless nights helping photographers capture the Milky Way, northern lights, meteor showers, and celestial events in remote locations far from the glow of city lights.

Her extraordinary work has been featured by National Geographic, NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD), Sky & Telescope, Spaceweather, and many other respected publications—recognition that reflects not only technical excellence but also an unwavering drive to push creative boundaries. Yet for Wioleta, photographing the night sky is only the beginning.

Looking Beyond Traditional Astrophotography

Most astrophotographers spend years perfecting familiar techniques: Finding the darkest skies. Planning around moon phases. Tracking the stars. Creating dramatic foreground compositions.

Wioleta wanted something different. She began asking a simple question: What if the universe didn't stop at the water's surface? That question led to one of her most ambitious creative projects yet—combining astrophotography with underwater photography to produce split-shot images where the Milky Way stretches across the night sky while crystal-clear water reveals another hidden world beneath. The concept is visually striking. The execution is anything but simple.

Two Worlds. One Image.

Creating a compelling astro landscape is already one of photography's greatest technical challenges. Creating an underwater image requires an entirely different skill set. Combining both into a single composition pushes photography into completely new territory. Each photograph demands careful planning long before the camera shutter is pressed. The foreground must be photographed first. The stars are captured separately using a star tracker—a precision device that compensates for Earth's rotation during long exposures. Different focus distances often require focus stacking. Every movement of the camera changes the composition. Normally, a sturdy tripod would make this process manageable. Except...

When Nature Doesn't Cooperate

Wioleta's first underwater astrophotography experiments took place in icy glacial waters surrounded by rugged landscapes. The biggest obstacle wasn't the cold. It wasn't the darkness. It wasn't even photographing underwater. It was finding a stable place to set up a tripod on a slippery, rocky lake bottom. Each attempt caused the camera position to shift slightly. Every adjustment threatened the precise alignment needed to blend multiple exposures together. Eventually, she abandoned the tripod altogether. Instead, she carefully recreated nearly identical compositions entirely by hand—a demanding process requiring patience, precision, and experience. The resulting image became something few photographers have ever attempted.

A perfectly balanced scene where the underwater landscape seamlessly transitions into the Milky Way above. And it represents only the first step. This is Wioleta's first attempt!

Gear: Outex kit + dome, swsa, Nikon Z6II, Sigma 20mm f/1.4. Foreground: f/3.2, ISO 1600, 1/200 s Sky: 60 × 60 s, f/3.5, ISO 400

Bigger Ideas Are Already Taking Shape

For Wioleta, this image isn't the destination. It's the proof of concept. Already, she's imagining future projects that combine underwater perspectives with some of Iceland's most extraordinary natural phenomena. Imagine standing knee-deep in a glacial lagoon while the Northern Lights dance overhead. Or photographing beneath the surface of a volcanic landscape illuminated by stars. These are the kinds of ideas that become possible when technical limitations no longer dictate creative ambition. 

As Wioleta puts it: "This is only my first attempt. I already have many more ideas waiting to be brought to life—with the Northern Lights or even volcanoes... why not?"

Why Outex Became Part of the Workflow

For a photographer whose work regularly takes place in Iceland's unpredictable weather, camera protection makes perfect sense: Rain, snow, glacial water, coastal spray, dramatic waterfalls, etc., are all part of a photographer's routine. It's also ideal for travel.

Every assignment demands equipment capable of performing in harsh environments. Traditional underwater housings are often designed for a single camera body and become impractical for travel-focused landscape photographers. Outex offers a different approach. Its lightweight, modular, universal design allows photographers to carry professional waterproof protection without adding the bulk of traditional hard housings. One Outex Pro Kit fits multiple cameras and lenses - no added weight or bulk. That flexibility makes it especially valuable for creators who constantly move between landscapes, rivers, waterfalls, glacial lagoons, beaches, and mountain environments during a single trip.

Because the Outex system is so lightweight, the ports are made of optical glass - not acrylic or plastic. For photographers like Wioleta, every kilogram matters. But imaging quality is paramount. Using Outex optical glass ports makes a difference - specially for astro and underwater photography.

Every piece of equipment must justify its place in the backpack. Outex expands creative possibilities without slowing the journey.

Creativity Lives Outside the Comfort Zone

Perhaps the most inspiring part of Wioleta's work isn't the technical achievement. It's the mindset behind it. She continually asks: "What hasn't been photographed yet?"

Instead of repeating familiar compositions, she searches for ways to merge environments that rarely appear together. The underwater world. The cosmos. Ice. Mountains. The night sky. Light. Darkness. Water reflections in the open air. The result is photography that immediately invites curiosity. Images that make viewers pause and ask: "How was this even possible?"

Those are the photographs people remember.

The Adventure Is Just Beginning

Although Wioleta's work has already earned international recognition, she views these underwater astrophotography projects as the beginning of a much larger journey.

For Outex, creators like Wioleta embody exactly what the brand was built to support: Photographers who refuse to let environmental conditions define creative limits. Whether you're photographing the Milky Way above Iceland, waterfalls in Patagonia, tropical reefs, Arctic coastlines, or remote mountain lakes, your camera should be ready for the adventure. Your imagination already is.

Join Wioleta's Journey

See more of Wioleta Gorecka's extraordinary astrophotography and follow her latest experiments combining the underwater world with the night sky here, or on Instagram:

@wiola.gorecka

You can also join one of her hands-on workshops in the field, which she co-organizes with Michal Kaluzny.  

We can't wait to see what she creates next.