Welcome to the fifteenth edition of our User Story series.

This time, we're traveling to La Palma in the Canary Islands, where Roxana (@flory.ro) captured the breathtaking Milky Way beneath some of Europe's darkest skies on June 20th.

✨ Tajinaste Reaching Toward the Milky Way

Hi friends, here's another story from the Move Shoot Move User Story series.

I captured this image on June 20th on La Palma, in the Canary Islands—one of the best places in Europe for astrophotography thanks to its exceptionally dark skies.

I wanted a powerful composition with the galactic core clearly visible and a clean separation between the sky and the ground.

After exploring the area the day before, I chose Mirador de los Andenes, which offers an open view toward the center of the Milky Way. That night, a sea of low clouds covered the villages below, creating a magical and clean atmosphere.

The day before, I had noticed a beautiful tajinaste just below the viewpoint and immediately knew it would be the perfect foreground element. Its tall, slender shape seemed almost made to "reach" toward the Milky Way.

The first night, however, there was a strong wind. I was able to photograph the sky, but capturing the tajinaste required at least a two-minute exposure, and the wind was moving it too much.

I prefer photographing foregrounds at night rather than during blue hour because I want to preserve the authentic atmosphere of deep night, with the stars gently illuminating the vegetation.

Luckily, the following evening the wind completely died down. The conditions were perfect.

📷 Shooting Technique

For the sky, I shot a small panorama made of two panels, each consisting of three 120-second frames at ISO 1600, f/2.8.

For the H-alpha data, I used the Star Adventurer GTi with the Laser Polar Alignment Kit and an Astronomik 12 nm clip-in filter. I captured 15 frames, each 120 seconds long, at ISO 3200 and f/2.8.

For the tajinaste, I took a single 120-second exposure with the same settings, allowing the stars to naturally illuminate the plant.

🪄 Post Processing

I started by stacking the sky images with Starry Landscape, then continued processing in PixInsight and Photoshop.

For the H-alpha data, I created a master from the 15 exposures and then registered it to the RGB image using the Register process. I then blended the H-alpha master with the RGB data to enhance the emission structures in the Milky Way while maintaining a natural overall appearance.

Finally, I used ArtPanel Pro for the final assembly and finishing touches.

What I love most about this photo is the natural alignment between the sky and the ground. The tajinaste seems to stretch toward the Milky Way, almost as if it wants to touch it.

It reminds me of sunflowers that follow the Sun during the day. To me, these tajinastes are like silent guardians of the stars, watching over the night sky of the island.

💡 Tips

1.Carefully plan the foreground

Especially with tall plants like the tajinaste, it's important to find and scout them during the day. Wind can be the worst enemy when shooting long exposures at night.

2.If there's wind, shoot the tajinaste at blue hour

When the wind doesn't allow for long exposures at night, it can be better to photograph the foreground during blue hour and blend the images together in post-processing.

3.Use the tracker even for simple compositions

Even with a small panorama made of just two panels, the Nomad made it easy to track the stars for 120 seconds without star trails.

4.Patience pays off

Sometimes you simply have to wait for the right night. The difference between windy conditions and complete calm was decisive for this image.