Guided night landscape photography tour

Five hours of night with an AstroLaPalma photographer who knows the island's landscapes, to go out under the La Palma sky and, if conditions cooperate, the Milky Way, over a landscape in your own camera. It is for those who already have equipment and can handle it by day and want to learn to use it at night: you don't need to know astronomy, and you don't look through a telescope or enter the observatory.

From Los Cancajos to wherever the sky says

You meet at the AstroLaPalma office in Los Cancajos, at Travesía de Los Cancajos 2, unit B1, in Breña Baja, at least ten minutes before your ticket's time, which changes with the season because the tour leaves according to sunset. From there you follow the guide in your car or a hire car: transport is not included. The place is decided according to the weather and the photo conditions, sometimes shortly before leaving, and a few scattered clouds are not enough to cancel. The tour starts on time and anyone arriving late loses it without a refund.

What you learn in front of the tripod

At the site, the guide explains how to compose a night landscape and how to set the camera in low light: ISO, aperture and exposure time. They also tell you the basic astronomy useful for planning a photo and how the weather affects night photography. Groups are three to six people, in Spanish or English depending on availability.

Manual camera, wide angle and tripod

A camera with manual mode, preferably a reflex or mirrorless, that goes up to ISO 3200 or more and makes exposures of up to 30 seconds; a wide angle of 14 to 24 mm, or a 24, 35 or 50 mm; a fast lens (f/2.8 or f/1.4) if you have one, and a tripod, which the company can rent out if you ask beforehand. A red-light torch or headlamp, warm clothing and firm footwear, which is what the company asks for.

€49 and 72 hours to cancel

€49 per adult; the website gives no price for children or minimum age, and asks for basic photography knowledge. Tickets are named, for the date and time marked. You cancel by email up to 72 hours ahead with a 20% charge; after that there is no refund. If the company cancels because of the weather, it offers another date or refunds the money. Outside office hours, the emergency contact is a text message to 622 805 618.

To sleep nearby

You get back late and the departure is in Los Cancajos: the Parador de La Palma and the Casa Rural Carlota are a few minutes away. If you first want to see the sky through a telescope, the same company does stargazing sessions from the same office.