Cascada de Estrellas

I am finally back from my trip to Chile, only with mixed results. I was able to get all the equipment I planned to get which was necessary if I wanted to go out in the winter around here, so that is good.

Unfortunately we weren't able to get to Torres del Paine because the weather was awful. Very strong wind, rain and snow, freezing temperatures, and worst of all, very low clouds meant that going in was pointless (we were going to camp for 4 days and not see a single mountain). In the end we decided to go back to El Calafate early and do some time in the Perito Moreno Glacier, so I will be posting some pictures from there tomorrow.

As for today, I have only a single image from a few weeks ago. Its from Chorrillo del Salto, a 20 m waterfall located 4 km from El Chalten.

Getting there is pretty easy, even at night, so when I saw the clear sky at midnight I picked my backpack and went there. I had been there several time before, and on the last one (a failed sunrise shot) I had found a nice composition I wanted to try.

Once I got there, I placed the camera on the tripod, and with the little light the moon gave (right behind the camera) and my headlamp, I decided on this composition.

Cascada de Estrellas

Chorrillo del Salto, El Chalten, Patagonia Argentina

After the first test shot I discovered that the town lights were reaching the right wall of the waterfall. Its the orange glow you can see on the right of the frame. The shutter stayed open for 16 minutes (a single exposure this time), the aperture was f4 and the iso was 1600 (the highest I dare to go with my camera) to create the startrails. After that it was time to wait for the camera to do its job while I slowly froze.

The lights from the city were something I hadn't planned, but they do add some color to the image, and in the end I liked the result.

See you around!
Santiago