Photographing the Milky Way in La Palma: Europe's Ultimate Nightscape Location
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- Опубліковано 5 вер 2024
- I embark on the ultimate nightscape photography adventure I could ever imagine. Together with Martijn Jacobs I set out to photograph the night sky and specifically the milky way on the Spanish island of La Palma. It's isolation in the sea ensures dark bortle 2 skies around, whereas the height of the volcanic ridgeline (Roque de los Muchachos area) at 2400 meters height increases the chances of crisp atmospheric conditions and being above the clouds.
During our first night we attempt various compositions. We do single exposures, stacking for noise reduction and star tracking to get the most out of the milky way. I try to create the best panorama of my life, epic and precarious selfies and capture the brightest zodiacal light I have ever seen. All of this with only 1 hour of sleep and various technical issues on the way. Will we manage? Find out now!
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Wowsa! That pano shot you got at 9:08! So goood! And the little human shot at 15:14 is also marvellous!
Whoa, can't believe Mads watched my video man! 😅. Thanks for the feedback! I learned the 'human element for scale' from your vlogs 👌.
@@StarScaperPhoto Absolutely! Well, sometimes ;) But this one really caught my attention. And great to hear about the scale :D
I loved the foregrounds, so clear, sharp and full of detail. The mini track tracker did a fabulous job, I used to have the first incarnation before my star adventurer 2i.
I will be watching.more.of your clogs now after a fine recommendation by @nightscapejournals an astrophotographer I really admire.
Thanks so much! Martijns Minitrack as well as.my Nomad did a fantastic job tracking the night sky. Love Pauls videos and pics also a lot!
Nice video my friend!
I always get this "I miss this" feeling when I watch people under this nightsky. I hope to come back to this Island soon :^)
CS
Jakob
Thanks so much Jakob! Also for your tips a couple of months ago on the whereabouts of the island. Also really enjoyed you together with Alyn also in the 'fireball video'!
Couldn't have said it better, Jakob :D.
@@StarScaperPhoto 6:36 that was the spot we choose for the night of the peak!
@@jakobsahner check! Can imagine! Good spot, bit of shelter from the wind and a good view!
Beautiful trip Jeroen, the photos from the 1st day are fantastic, I look forward to the photos from the 2nd and 3rd days in the next videos.
Continuation of the good adventure
Thanks Mario! There will be another video coming of the second night.
Great shots! What an amazing spot and that air glow 🤩
It was a lot, right?! Thanks for watching!
Stunning Images mate and an Epic location with amazing compositions.. Hope you managed few more nights before the little fall
Thanks Virat, as is your recent adventure with Greg! I managed to do another night untill the fall. Will begin processing the images and videos soon 👍
This is a sensational video Jeroen of a magnificent location. I'm pleased to see you are using the Z6 and Nomad combination .. works really well. All excellent photos from you both.
Thanks a lot Richard! I agree the Nomad combined with the Z6 as well as the 20mm is excellent.
That panorama is really insane! i love it. Great video again Jeroen (and Martijn ;-) )
Thanks for watching Marcel! Great to hear you liked it! 😃
Really brilliant shots - amazing 😮 Must have been really stunning. Thanks for sharing but first and foremost get well soon!
Thanks so much Markus. I'll get there! :-).
A great astro vlog that we all need! And a nice reminder to come back to this paradise :)
Thank you so much Konstantinos! You live in Greece if I remember correctly? Not too shabby for astro either!
@@StarScaperPhoto correct! We're good yeah, no complains here haha
Great shots! Looks like you had a productive trip.
I did indeed, thanks for watching!
Did you have to walk all the way up there? Wow what an experience! Good work guys!!
Thanks! Our furthest shooting point from where we parked our car was about 30 minutes walk. It's a bit up and down and you have to be really careful but it wasn't too bad.
Beautiful pictures! I personally like the non-tracked shot at 8:10 the best. In general I prefer darker forergrounds, because after all it's shot at night and it should show a little. But that's really a matter of taste and only my humble opinion. I have a strong bond with La Palma, my mother used to live there for ten years - until the volcano buried her and her husbands house 😢. They are fine, back in Switzerland and well settled again. Thanks for the video!
@@stefanschneider3681 thank you Stefan! I understand what you mean with darker foregrounds. I normally prefer that also. This time I decided to show just a bit more because I thought it was so beautiful. Sad story about the volcano man, glad they are ok!
@@StarScaperPhoto It's ok with the volcano, it was pure force of nature, impressive in many ways as well. My little Milky Way story: I was in Egypt in April and it was not near as dusty and hazy as it sometimes is. When fooling around with SkyGuide I realised: Damn, of course, after flying south for 4 hours the core of the Milky Way is much higher up! So I got up at 2.30, went to the beach just with the camera, my mighty fifty and light pollution filter, my tripod and an external shutter. A beautiful moment just by itself! But then I really tortured my camera and my McBook Air with almost 200 4-second-lights of the core of the Milky Way and all the calibration shots. But it came out great! Of course it's just the Milky Way, no foreground (which really IS beautiful in your picture!), but I still love it! Then I switched to the 70-300 lens, pointed at the Rho-something-thing, of course only 1-second-exposures possible, but again lots and lots of them and it also worked out. For the frist time I saw these dark streaks of dust clearly in one of my own pictures. There you go!
@stefanschneider3681 nice one! Love those first time astro stories 👍
Awesome shots guys 👌. Like you, I am inspired to visit La Palma one day by Alyn.....and now by yourselves. It looks like you had a great experience
Thank you so much! That's the goal of these videos, to inspire people to have their own adventure under the stars (and maybe get a little souvenir video for myself also 😉)
Wow, crazy results!
Thanks Tom! The magic of dark skies 😎
Nice vlog!!
I’m glad you could enjoy at least one night before the accident. Wish you a soon recovery…
Thanks so much! There will come another vlog of night 2 where we also almost shot a lot!
Fantastic!
Thanks!
Wow man, how great was this vlog and what amazing images you captured...:) Now I want to go to La Palma asap...;)
Thanks Benjamin! Super nice to read. And if you can, you should go! 😀
Wow!! What a brilliant Vlog packing so much bangers into one video! Love your selfies! Great Martijn got so many awesome shots as well! Hope to go there someday as well. ❤ Glad you already got so much great footage before.... Well you know what. 😢
Thanks Jan! Fortunately there will be another video with nice results I think soon... shot on the night before that moment 😶.
Thanks for sharing your adventures :)
My pleasure!
Top video man! Loved it! Such an amazing summer Astro trip!
Thanks mate! Shame we couldn't work out the planning to go together, but glad you had such a good time on Tenerife also! It looks like a summer trip but we seriously had to layer our clothes up there at 2400 meters still 😅.
Awesome images, well done
Thank you!
Amazing photos Jeroen!
Thanks!
Wow - you got some great shots! I love the rock pillar panorama - that one is sick!!!! La Palma is a great island for astro and I was there myself in January to get the Winter Milky Way over the caldera and observatories. It was also the first time I saw the Zodiacal light. A place to return to for sure. Great video Jeroen.
Thanks! It sure is! Great you went there in january. Can imagine you getting the best results there for the winter targets for sure. What's the temperatures like up there in winter?
@@StarScaperPhoto Hi Jeroen, I got away with the same gear you wore on your shoot - maybe about 7 degrees - not even cold enough to fog your breath!!
@gr-astro funny! The same temp as we had in June.
Whoa, the Pano's are insane and with a Tajinaste! Supercrisp. Great work (i need more practice :P )
Thanks Rob! Also compliments on your last shot from there. Practice makes perfect (mine aren't yet ;-)). I did indeed get a tajinaste... unfortunately not what I wanted, you know the rest haha. Will have to come back. Also again supernice to meet you at the airport!
Really glad you got to enjoy some time there and get some shots!
I hope you recover quickly!
Thanks man! I definately enjoyed 2 awesome nights with great results. Hope to come back there sometime.
@StarScaperPhoto I'd love to go with if you do!
Your best images man! Great work! I hope to go there n3xt year 😅
Thanks! I hope you will be able to.
Awesome, have a speedy recovery mate!
Thanks, will do!
Super cool video man and great results! The video footage match well with how you see Bortle 2 with the naked eye. Immediately reminded me of Death Valley. Would like to go back there and also visit La Palma somewhere in the future 🤩🌌
Thanks Mark! Also for confirming the naked eye visibility. Hope to get to Death Valley sometime also. Although I'd probably hate the temperatures there man 😅
Great shots, that panorama was beautiful!
Thanks! I think the pano was also my favorite from the night.
Looks great
Thx!
Wow, what an amazing location, brilliant vlog and awesome images!! Your excitement at being there was palpable, and the images looked so clean and crisp - love it! So pleased you got some quality shooting time there - and thanks for sharing it with us.
Thanks Paul! It was really a dream come true being there. Will not be the only time I guess also! Thanks again for watching and commenting, always appreciated!
Toffe video Jeroen en mooie foto’s! Was leuk je daar te zien. Hoop dat het snel weer wat beter gaat 🙏
Thanks Jens! Zeker leuk jullie daar te ontmoeten. Mooie platen ook uit jullie club zag ik hoor 👌. Qua mobiliteit begin ik door creativiteit beetje bij beetje terug winnen 😅.
Hey Jeroen, I hope you're doing better. Great vlog, nice composition and such a clean edit on every image.
Thanks Kevin! We had such a blast. Although it will take time to fully recover I can do stuff now already which I never have thought possible 3 weeks ago :-).
@@StarScaperPhoto get well soon
Too sad we missed us, we need to make an appointment next time at La Palma 🙂
That would be great man! Also thanks again so much for offering your help after what happened next. That really meant a lot to me 👍.
Hell yeah! What a vlog my friend! And what a location of course... congratulations on capturing your best images so far and for creating the best vlog so far too :D.
Thanks Matej! Hearing that from you means a lot!
Great video! I was in LaPalma at a similar time as you, nice to see familiar places :)
That's great! La Palma is the best place I've ben until now for astro. What an experience. Hope you also got some good pics!
@@StarScaperPhoto Yes, LaPalma is an amazing place, so I've been here 6 times already. My photos can be seen vitalis vasylius photography
@@vitalisvasylius7390 beautiful stuff man! You have a new follower.
Ik heb hier geen woorden meer voor 😱!! Damn jullie hebben ongelooflijk prachtige shots gemaakt waar menig astrofotograaf alleen van kan dromen.
Je hebt me echt wel getriggerd om er heen te gaan! Thanks voor de geweldige video maat 👍👌🙏
Dankjewel, tof om te horen! Het begint bij dromen. In mijn geval was dit ongeveer 3 jasr geleden.
What an amazing trip, and some epic shots! Loved seeing the excitement leading up to nightfall. Makes me want to be there! 👏🏻
Thanks Jay! We were so excited indeed. And fortunately it didn't disappoint in any way.
Wow, what a great video of your trip and of course, what a fabulous location and your photos are awesome . What time of year did you go - it looks ideal?
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! We went here beginning of june during new moon.
One word Jeroen…. Epiiiiic! Amazing adventure you both grabbed so many great shots, my favourites were the rock towers with the flowers and obviously the panoramic shots well done Martijn and Jeroen.👏👏👏
Thanks Carl, glad you enjoyed it! These were probably also our favorite shots!
Wow, those images are stunning Jeroen - you maintain such stunning detail in the foreground as well. Interesting to hear early in the vlog you mentioned shooting at ISO 3200 for the tracked shots and 6400 (foreground) I think. These are much higher ISO than I usually go for but it obviously works really well 👌.
Hope you are recovering well.
Thanks Greg! Getting a bit better day by day 👍. The iso was also higher than I would normally use. I did that to speed the shooting process up a bit because we were not the only ones that night. I figured the Z6 could handle it. And it did! For the foregrounds at 6400 I ran denoise in LR which worked very well because there was enough detail to properly work with. The sky I just had to do some minor manual noise reduction in PS camera raw.
@@StarScaperPhoto Well the LR noise reduction certainly did its job, as does the Nikon Z6 😍. I've just ordered the Nomad as well, glad to hear you're getting good results with yours.
Beautiful pictures! Alyn Wallace sparked the interest for you. You sparked the interest for me. I look forward to making my first milkyway shot. Thanks!
By the way, are all these pictures taken with a standard or modded camera?
Thank you Tim! That's the biggest compliment possible 🙏. These were all shot with a modded cam, although I wouldn't worry too much if you're shooting the milky way core region for now. You'll be amazed!
16:54 is an absolute banger! These all look so good!
Thank you man! We were also blown away by the dark skies and stunning landscapes.
I could feel the excitement in this one, awesome video and some of the best milkyway shots ive ever seen. I have acquired a nomad tracker and am visiting tenerife soon but was worried about taking the laser polar finder, could i ask did you take it in hand luggage or baggage it really is easier than alignment using my phone. 😊
Thanks Steve. Hope you will have a brilliant time in Tenerife! I also brought the polar scope to be sure but had no problems traveling with the laser in my baggage (battery in hand luggage).
Great video, what a fantastic trip, lovely images.
Thank you Bill!
Fantastic vlog! I’m curious for the selfies, when you mention very high ISO and short shutter speeds, what examples of settings should one think about trying?
Hi, thank you for watching! For the selfies I used settings varying from 10s, f/1.8, iso 16000 to 2s, f/1.8, iso 25600. Make sure to do lots of noise reduction on yourself before blending in. I liked the shorter exposure over the longer one better because it's easier to keep yourself sharp in the frame.
Amazing Video und i like the kind you can explain the thinks! Wow!
Can you tell me where this nice rock formation exactly is? I was there two years ago and i did not see this nice formation.
Thank you! Take the path right from Andenes. About half an hours walk. Can't miss.
Great shots! Super jealous of that location.
Do you have issues with the V platform when you use it?
I have experienced that it came loose and spun around ( and stopped my heart ) it was tightened but it has happened twice to me now. I may have put it just a bit off center and then the weight got it.
Just curious if you have had the same issue using it since we both got the V and Nomad.
Hope you get well soon, love your Vlogs! 🔥 You truly have a gift when it comes to compositions for your images and your vlogs. I really enjoy watching.
Thanks a bunch Steve! Funny you mention the v plate issue. On the second night I had exactly the same. I also noticed the little screw in the base of the Nomad came loose, which I've put back in by hand on location. I've had contact with the MSM about this, and that little screw was specifically designed to tighten a v/z plate or ballhead. Check that screw I'd say, as I will do soon :-).
Do you feel that you could see the Dark Horse Nebula with you eyes? Knowing where it is, I felt that I could make it out from The Bahama last year. Great video and images. CS, Tim
Thanks Tim! We could definately make out the dark horse!
1 word : amazing
Haha, thanks!
Hebben jullie de Melkweg met het blote oog kunnen waarnemen? Ikzelf ben begin juni naar Tenerife gegaan en aan het solarium heb ik prachtige melkweg foto’s kunnen nemen. De camera kon alles perfect waarnemen maar met het blote oog was dit niet mogelijk spijtig genoeg. Ik had de trip gepland met een nieuwe maan om zo een donker mogelijke hemel te hebben.
Dat was hier zeker mogelijk. Op Tenerife op de donkere plekken zou dat ook zeker moeten lukken lijkt me. Om een idee te krijgen, we zagen het met blote oog ongeveer zoals je in de video ziet.
Bro please try to capture Andromeda galaxy 🌌
@@Priyanshu369up I probably will again in the future as I've done in the past. I am more into nightscapes than deep sky at the moment though.