RECOMMENDED GEAR
PHOTO GEAR
The ideal setup to take photos of the stars is to use a DSLR camera. To capture enough light in complete darkness, a lens with a big aperture is recommended. It means a lens that has a lower F-stop than F4.0. Ideally is a lens that goes down to F2.8. The landscape with all the mountains will of course also play a major role, therefore it is also recommended to use a lens as wide as possible, e.g. minimum 24mm or wider like 15mm. Most cameras that were released in the last 3-5 years display less noise at high ISO settings. This helps a lot for night photography. It is also essential to use a tripod to guarantee a steady exposure of the photo. (if not available please contact me). Due to the cold weather, the batteries will discharge very quickly. I will provide a power socket with enough extension plugs. For Startrail and time-lapse photography an internal or external intervalometer is necessary. If you have any additional questions, please contact me here
ADDITIONAL GEAR
Clothes: It will be very cold at 2800 meters above sea level at night. It means it is mandatory to have a warm jacket (e.g. ski jacket), a hat and gloves. If you have a sleeping bag, please take it with you. A torch or head lamp is extremely important as we will face extrem darkness during the new moon. For walking around it is best to wear warm hikking shoes that are comfortable and have a good grip. Ski shoes are not recommended as they are not comfortable to wear during the whole night. We will go out to shoot stars from time to time for about 15-30 minutes. After each session we will go back inside to warm up with a hot drink and to have a rest or sleep. It is explicitly forbidden to ski down at night to Bettmeralp or Fiescheralp.
WEATHER
The weather is the most important factor for such workshops. 5 days before the workshop takes place, the weather will be analysed and the participants will be informed if the workshop will be held or not. You can make a tentative reservation for the workshop beforehand. However, 5 days before the workshop the reservation will become binding. Please make sure that you inform us early enough if you can't join the workshop as there will be people on a waiting list that would like to participate as well.