Photographer Lachlan Manley's night-long sky watch paid off on Sunday night with spectacular images of the aurora australis, or southern lights, in the sky over Queenscliff.

While most Victorians snoozed, Mr Manley was up until 4am capturing the colours from the interaction of particles from the sun with the earth's magnetic field.

The first image was taken from the beach behind Queenscliff ferry terminal at 10.30pm on Sunday, and a second, taking in Point Lonsdale lighthouse, was snapped at 2am on Monday.

Mr Manley, from Point Lonsdale, exposed each shot for up to 25 seconds, using a high-ISO (sensitivity) reading on his Canon 6D camera to get as much light in as possible.