Overview

La Palma is globally recognized as one of the most privileged destinations for landscape photography and astrophotography. Known as the “Beautiful Island,” it combines volcanic landscapes and subtropical forests with some of the clearest night skies in the Northern Hemisphere, perfect for capturing the Milky Way and other celestial objects.

The island is also home to the Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), the largest optical telescope in the world, along with other renowned observatories at Roque de los Muchachos. This trip includes an exclusive visit to the GTC, offering a unique experience for photography and astronomy enthusiasts.

The trade winds create a stable atmosphere with low turbulence, ensuring clear skies at higher elevations, which are plentiful and easily accessible. La Palma offers striking contrasts: to the north, lush laurel forests and subtropical scenery; to the south and central areas, Canary pines and spectacular volcanic landscapes such as the Valle del Jable and the Valle de las Brujas. Its beaches, though few, allow moments of relaxation and coastal photography, highlighting Puerto Naos and Tazacorte.

The island’s sunrises and sunsets are unforgettable, but our main focus will be the high peaks, ideal for combining landscape photography with astrophotography under the best night sky in the Northern Hemisphere.

Our guide will be Luis Miguel Azorin. Luis Miguel is internationally recognized for his contributions to the development and dissemination of natural photography on it’s brodest sense, specially on night photography, astrophotography and landscape photography.

Recommendations and Necessary Equipment

• Warm clothing for nights at high altitudes (temperatures around 10 °C).
• Sturdy shoes for rocky and volcanic terrain.
• Hat, sunglasses, and high-SPF sunscreen.
• Motion sickness medication if sensitive to winding roads and sudden elevation changes.
• Essential photography equipment:
  • Camera with bulb mode
  • Intervalometer
  • Bright wide-to-medium lenses
  • Tripod
• Recommended:
  • Star tracker mount
  • Medium-to-long focal lenses or a small telescope
  • Laptop with astrophotography processing software to review and stack images during the tour

Throughout the trip, we will combine night photography from a tripod, deep-sky imaging, and night landscape compositions, adapting locations and equipment according to the conditions each evening.