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La Palma Photo Adventure

August – September 2024
  • RobCowell
Many people do not know where the island of La Palma is, or that it is one of the darkest places on Earth, a night sky observers dream location. There are also extinct volcanoes too, so follow me to discover this magical land where sleep is optional. Read more
  • RobCowell

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  • Spain Spain
  • England England
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Photography, Solo travel, Vacation
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  • 19footprints
  • 8days
  • 89photos
  • 42likes
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  • RobCowellTravelerLa Palma Photo Adventure
    Plenty of time for a bite to eat and a coffeeI thought the clouds looked nice as we climbed above themIf you zoom in you can see Poole harbour and how large an area it coversWe approach La Palma - not liking the cloud but at least the tops of mountains are clearA quick pizza before driving to my apartment

    It Starts at an Airport

    August 29, 2024 in England ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Not all adventures start at an airport, but this one does and it is Gatwick North Terminal this time. I'll let you guess the airline. 😄

    My adventures in La Palma are night-time based so I'm hoping for clear skies. This means late nights, aka early mornings, and becoming nocturnal for a week. There will be photography too so you can pretty much guess that stars and a galaxy will be involved throughout. The skies are beautifully dark and there are extinct and not so extinct volcanoes here too.

    The journey to Gatwick was easy, as was check-in and security and now you don't have to fetch things out of your bags for the scanner. Laptops and everything can be left inside, but you still have to empty your pockets though, and walk through the body scanner with your trousers around your ankles ... belts in the tray please.

    The only hiccup was the flight delay, but it wasn't horrendous and didn't affect things for my arrival in La Palma. I still had time for a quick supermarket shop and a meal before the 45 minute drive to my apartment.    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerLa Palma Photo Adventure
    Such a brilliant view
    A slightly wider shot than the first one

    Apartment with a View

    August 30, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Having got to sleep a lot later than I expected, it was a slightly later breakfast whilst admiring the view from my balcony, or maybe it's a patio really. But why was I so late to bed?

    I arrived much later than expected last night, due to the delayed flight, then once I unloaded the car and sorted myself out it was even later. I didn't just want to go to sleep though, because from my patio the sky was pretty clear. There were a few scattered clouds but the Milky Way shone brightly, so I set up a tripod, grabbed a camera and poured a coffee. What else could I do? It was therefore much later for sleep time than expected.

    As you can see, today is bright and sunny so I am hopeful it stays that way for the rest of my time here. That's not the forecast however ... not rainy or horrid though, just varied levels of cloud.

    The photos are of my apartment view, as if you can't guess, and I'm surrounded by bananas. Yep, you read that correctly. 😄

    (I'll post the photo I took when I can)    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerLa Palma Photo Adventure
    Zoom in to see the black 'river'
    Tazacorte is very close so residents must have been worriedThe lave covered a large areaThe new volcano dominates the landscape nowNot a brilliant photo from the phone but you get the idea

    A Changing Landscape

    August 30, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    The lead photo of this footprint makes you think it's just another shot from the patio. Almost, it's taken from the end of mine looking across the patio of apartment 2. It is more than a patio shot though, as the other photos show. It's a great view though and prominently you can see two old volcanic cones which were created a long time ago. If you zoom in and look around them you will see what looks like a black 'river' flowing between them. That is no river, however, it is black solidified lava from La Palma's most recent Tajagaite eruption ... in September 2021. There was an eruption in 1971, 20 km from this one, so the Earth is still active here.

    As you scroll though the photos, take time to zoom in and look at the extent of what happened here. It was clearly a major event with houses lost, people displaced and roads buried.

    You can see the main town of Tazacorte, which isn't all that far away from the destruction, so the residents must have been very worried. During the eruption the view from this apartment would have been spectacular. The edge of the lava field is only a ten minute drive from here and that's not very far at all.    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerLa Palma Photo Adventure

    Mirador el Time

    August 30, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    The day so far has been at a gentle pace. I drove down to the port and beach and strolled around the village there. It's not big enough to call it a town but there are restaurants, shops and parking is free. I forgot to take photos here so maybe I'll get some later in the week. I just explored a bit aimlessly if I'm honest, but I knew I would be up late tonight so I wanted to pace myself.

    My destination this evening is a 50km (31 mile) drive along winding roads with hairpin bends galore, which translates to a 1hr 20m drive not including this stop, Mirador el Time, which is a viewpoint with a stunning view about 15 minutes into the journey.

    There's plenty to see, including where I'm staying hidden amongst the bananas and that means you can't actually see the building. It's there of course so I've marked the location with arrows.

    The first and last photos once again clearly show how the new volcano dominates the scene. Note those clouds too which roll over the mountains from the east. The east side of the island receives the prevailing wind, the clouds form then build up, spilling over the mountain ridge and continuing west ... over me! This means the west side of La Palma is typically the sunniest.    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerLa Palma Photo Adventure
    The Visitor's Centre with a backdrop of cloud
    There are quite a few observations hereSome are quite differentThe MAGIC telescope - I like this one

    Top of the Island

    August 30, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    The real climb to the top of La Palma lies ahead and, currently, starts by negotiating major roadworks where the speed limit is 20kph, about 12mph. After that it is up, up, up, driving along roads where straight bits are a relief. Thank goodness my car is automatic because that takes the strain and leaves me to concentrate on negotiating some very tight and steep hairpin bends, particularly in the final run up to the top. As I drove up through the clouds there was fine rain for a while, but at the top brilliant sunshine and a clear sky was the reward. The drive up was completely worth it, except later I must drive down of course!

    As you can see, the sky is so blue and when you reach the top, travelling from the east, the first view is of the observatories there. Actually, the first building is the Visitor's Centre with a turning a little further on where you drive past the observatories to get to the highest point, the Roque de Los Muchachos. I didn't go there because soon the barrier would close - you are not allowed to drive that road at night because car headlights would be a nuisance.

    The last photo is of the MAGIC telescope: Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov (Telescope). There are two of these next to each other and you can see the back of the other one at the right of photo 3.

    I admired the views here then continued on to find my photo location for tonight and to watch the sunset.    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerLa Palma Photo Adventure
    It's amazing being above the clouds
    A wonderful experience being thereSuch lovely coloursThe light and colour is amazing2

    Sunset

    August 30, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    The sunset is fabulous here as you can see and with that cloud inversion creating a false sea, it is magical to experience. Sunlight reflects on the cloud tops and changes colour constantly. It was so peaceful here as I stood alone amongst all the beauty around me, with noone else around.

    I could never tire of a scene such as this, with the gradual change of colour tones in the sky as twilight progresses. I think seeing the observatory silhouetted (photo 5) just sets the whole surreal scene. The last photo shows my location for photographs tonight.

    What you don't see is the clouds moving - I don't mean in these photos, I mean as you look at the view with your eyes. I've therefore included a 12 second timelapse showing the scene over a period of around 14 minutes. Enjoy.    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerLa Palma Photo Adventure
    Other photographers arrived and parked close by
    The Milky Way is easily visible to our eyesAfter processing this will look very different

    The First Night

    August 30, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    After sunset there is a little time to wait for it to get completely dark, which is when the sun goes below the horizon such that there is absolutely no afterglow left in the sky. At the moment that is 10pm so this is when the heavens start shining at their clearest and brightest. It's also best when there is no moon and that is why I'm here this week.

    I therefore had time to choose my spot and get my gear ready. It is very dark here so it was a little annoying that after a few minutes the batteries in my head torch failed and spares were at the apartment. 😳🙄 I managed though, as over time I've learned to work my cameras by touch and my phone was to hand in any case. I work mostly in the dark anyway.

    The sky was fabulous and it's hard to describe just how clearly visible the Milky Way is here, and how sharp and bright the stars are. You can see so many more stars here than we see back home.

    Once I started taking photos I was lost into another world and was amazed to discover it was suddenly 3am and time to drive back. It was a long drive but I was pretty much the only car, making negotiating all those bends much easier in the dark.

    I arrived back safely and sleep arrived around 5am.

    The photos in this footprint are clearly not taken on my phone. I haven't properly processed these yet, meaning the final versions will hopefully be better, but they give some idea of what I was doing until so late. To get good results, there's a lot more to this than taking a single photo of a scene.    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerLa Palma Photo Adventure
    Quite cloudy today so the only option is go above them again

    A Very Short Day

    August 31, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    The reality, of course, is that this day is no different from any other day, length wise, but for me it was very short in terms of daylight. After being out for so long last night, which included roughly three hours of concentrated driving plus five hours working the cameras, once I fell asleep I was well out of it and slept heavily until almost midday.

    I dragged myself out of bed, made a coffee, had breakfast, made another coffee, then I just had to take a sneaky look at the photos from last night.

    As you can see, it is cloudy today so I am happy to be doing this if I'm honest. I hope to head back up those roads again tonight so have no desire for rushing around.    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerLa Palma Photo Adventure
    I always like to include the car in a photo 😄
    Instead of the car, how about Tajenastes plants for a foreground - those on the leftThis driver sat there for ages with headlights on 🤯The view on the camera screenThe photo off the camera still needs processing properlyThis is what happens when a car drives by, so patience is neededAn unprocessed photo though I have lightened the foreground for youDriving back and once again, no other cars around

    Another Long Night

    August 31, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Funnily enough, the drive to these highest roads was pretty much the same as yesterday, but now I have arrived a little later and just in time to see the last of the sunset. It's colder tonight too, but not by much - it's the wind chill really.

    I have decided to head for the same location because that viewpoint is so good and having checked my photos I want to try again. Not that yesterday's were rubbish, I simply want to experience that again. Sad, or what!

    There are more people and cars tonight but that doesn't mean it's crowded up here, but when a car passes it does ruin things and you have to retake the photo. I'm sure I will have ruined a photo when I arrived and parked. The photos give examples of this and it's no problem, until someone just parks for ages and can't be bothered to turn off their headlights. This is so annoying because it ruins everyone's night vision. To keep it, we work in the dark as much as possible and use red head torches when needed.

    I guess the photos tonight look a bit samey, but I have other compositions which I'll process when I'm home.

    So, another long night and again it was 5am before I slept. The photography bit is fine, it's the almost 90 minutes drive back that drains what energy remains, but I'm loving it, especially as it warmed up when the wind dropped.    Read more

  • RobCowellTravelerLa Palma Photo Adventure
    Looks a good spot for a meal and it was too
    Smoked salmon: yummy and loads of it too, or at least there was!

    Busy Doing Nothing Much

    September 1, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The pattern today is the same as yesterday, with me completely out of it until lunchtime, then breakfast, coffee, check photos, sort myself out then decide what to do. Just how long should that take? Well, it's got to mid-afternoon and a spiral of indecision about should I stay here or should I go ... somewhere? Lethargy is the word of the moment.

     I took swift action and in a flash of inspiration I put the cushion on the sun lounger and settled down to read my book. See, I can make a decision when needed. 😂 Later, a stroll to investigate the bananas was a task which, you understand, is a very important thing to undertake. I made an astounding discovery too: once you've seen one bunch of green bananas, you've seen them all. No photos I'm afraid as they'd just send you bananas.

    This first footprint photo of today, then, starts in the restaurant on my way out to my photo location for tonight. This will satisfy my daughter who has been known to ask why I don't photograph my meals. I do, but they are always half eaten and the photo in this footprint makes no exception. 🤣    Read more

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