Elan Valley

Arriving at the dam, we quickly donned warmer clothes as the temperature had dropped significantly. We set up our tripods to start taking photos of the stars over the dam. The weather was clear, and after a discussion about camera settings and flash light etiquette we set to work on creating our masterpieces.

Experimenting with light painting, we were able to get some images with stars and the dam in the foreground. We had to experiment with how long the light needed to shine on the dam we needed before it became too overexposed. The results were mixed but once we had the knack we had some great results.

As time went on, we noticed clouds starting to appear. At first we were still able to get some stars, but over time we had to abandon our hopes of capturing the milky way. We did try other areas, but we abandoned the hope and started to pack away our equipment.

We agreed it was time to head home, but decided a warm cuppa was in order. While chatting and have a cup of tea with a snack, we found that the stars had started to appear directly above us. Queue in a rush to get our equipment set back up. Our teacher for the night, Rob, came up with the right area for a pleasing picture with landscapes and stars, so we set to work getting some more photos. We did several photos of the stars in the sky, before then setting our sights onto the landscape. Where we did a long exposure of over 2 minutes to get enough light into the foreground so that we could combine our images. These will be processed into Sequator at a later date.

Once more the clouds started to cover the stars, so we were all in agreement to pack away and start the journey home. By now the ground had frozen and the roads were icy. But we made it back in good time (before midnight).

An enjoyable experience, pity the clouds appeared. But we learnt the basics thanks to Rob. So we can take that knowledge for another time when we find ourselves in dark skies.Read more