Elan Valley

Newest first

Trip start
January 19, 2020
Elan Valley Traveler
Elan Valley Visitor Centre
January 19, 2020 in Wales ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C
After driving 2 hours, we arrive at the Elan Valley Visitor Centre to use the facilities and to grab hot drink and food before it closes.

The aim tonight it to get some practise in Astrophotography, hopefully including the Milky Way.

Sunset is at around 4.40pm, so we are aiming to get some nice landscapes before looking above at the stars. Clear skies are predicted tonight, and the weather is clear here. Temperatures are hopefully above 0c tonight.Read more
0 likes
Elan Valley Traveler
Claerwen Dam
January 19, 2020 in Wales ⋅ 🌙 1 °C
Arriving at the dam before sunset, we quickly set up our camera equipment as the clouds were already turning red. Due to the clear skies, the sunset wasn't as spectacular as it could be. But there was pleasing light on the clouds in the distance behind some lovely hills. Also the reflections on the water were beautiful.

After moving around the various parts near the dam, the skies got darker and the cold started to set in. The first light in the skies was our neighbour Venus. Shining brightly in the distance. Our teacher for evening, Rob, gave us a breakdown of what our settings would be for the upcoming astrophotography sessions at Craig Goch Dam. Before setting off there, we starting to focus our lens before it became to dark.

As more stars started to arrive, Rob gave us a lesson on how to find the polar star. As well as learning a few other star constellations that various members of the group knew.Read more
1 like
Elan Valley Traveler
Craig Goch Dam
January 19, 2020 in Wales ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C
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
0 likes

Trip end
January 19, 2020

Elan Valley Visitor Centre

Claerwen Dam

Craig Goch Dam