One night, your path

Private astrophotography session at the observatory. Choose between landscape or deep-sky astrophotography.

per session: Up to 4h; per session
fixed price: 95€; fixed price
personalized session: 1-on-1; personalized session
at the observatory: In person; at the observatory

See the two paths

The two paths

You choose, the booking is the same

You don't have to decide when you pay. After booking, you tell me which of the two paths you want to follow and I'll prepare the night with that in mind.

The Milky Way arch over a reservoir in Alentejo, with a lit-up horizon in the background

Nightscape

Landscape astrophotography

The Milky Way over Alentejo, with a camera and a tripod. You learn to plan the night, shoot in the dark and put together the final image.

What we'll see

Planning the night: moon phase, Milky Way position and choosing the spot
Camera settings in the dark: ISO, aperture and exposure time
Focusing on the stars, where almost everyone struggles
Composing with a foreground, what makes a nightscape work
Panels and panoramas to capture the Milky Way arch
Capturing sky and land separately, to expose both correctly

Gear. Bring your camera, a fast wide-angle lens and a sturdy tripod. If you don't have a tripod, I'll lend you one.

A blue star cluster immersed in red nebulosity, in a dense field of stars

Deep-sky

Deep-sky astrophotography

Nebulae and galaxies with a telescope and equatorial mount. From polar alignment to your first images.

What we'll see

Setting up and balancing the equatorial mount
Polar alignment, which decides the quality of everything else
Precise focusing with a Bahtinov mask
Choosing the right target for the night and your gear
Framing and centering the target with plate solving
Autoguiding, and why stars come out elongated
Planning the session: exposure times, gain and filters
Calibration: darks, flats and bias, and what they do

Gear. If you have a telescope and mount, we'll work with your gear. If not, we'll use the observatory's.

Who it's for

This is for you if...

You have a good camera and never managed a decent shot of the sky.
You already tried on your own and the stars always come out shaky or blurry.
You bought deep-sky gear and don't know where to start.
You want to learn in the field, with the sky in front of you, not from videos.

The night

Step by step, from plan to image

It's up to four hours, and the pace is yours. If you want to spend half the night just nailing the alignment until you're comfortable, that's fine.

1

We plan the night

Before picking up the camera we check what's in the sky that night, and choose the targets that make sense for your gear.
2

We set up the gear

Alignment, focusing and framing. This is where the whole night is won or lost, which is why we take our time with this step.
3

We shoot

Guided capture from start to finish, with room to make mistakes and learn from them.
4

First images

Reviewing the first captures and suggesting next steps

How it works

From booking to the night at the observatory

Bring warm clothes and closed shoes. Even in summer, nights in Alentejo cool down a lot after sunset.

See on the map

1

You book the session

Pick it on the calendar and pay at booking. It's up to 4 hours, whichever path you follow.
2

We set up the night

After booking I get in touch to confirm the date and which of the two paths you want to follow.
3

You come to the observatory

The session is in person, in São Pedro da Gafanhoeira, Alentejo. Since it's a private space, the exact address follows in the confirmation email.
4

If the weather doesn't help

We reschedule for another night or I refund you in full. You never lose what you paid because of clouds.

Bring your camera

Up to four hours, in a 1-on-1 session, under one of the darkest skies in Portugal.

Have questions? Get in touch