Menorca, Spain - May '19

I am not into any serious astrophotography, but I have always been curious about astrophotography. In all my previous trips where ever possible I have managed to take a few night shots of milky way, star studded sky and star trail. During one such trip a friend of mine introduced me, PhotoPills (www.photopills.com), an android and iOS based app. I downloaded this app about a year back and been using it since then. Once I started using the app, I realised it is not just for astrophotography but is a photographic assistant in many ways. I also subscribed to their newsletter. In one such communication I came to know that a camp is being organised by PhotoPills in their headquarters at Menorca, Spain. I immediately grabbed the opportunity to sign up for the camp. They do quite a few other interesting camps as well.

As I normally do, I reached Menorca a day earlier to recover from the long travel time. Menorca is about an hour flight from Barcelona. I flew to Barcelona Via Dubai in Emirates Airlines and from Barcelona to Menorca in Vueling Airline. The departure and arrival terminal of Vueling Airline is the same as Emirates and so it was super convenient.

Travel Date : 24th May ’19 to 2nd Jun ‘19

Company : PhotoPills

The stay was at Hotel Artiem Audax, Cala Galdana - amazing hotel and an excellent location. The food served in the hotel, both for lunch and dinner was out of the world and for vegans the choice was overwhelming. There are quite a few restaurants near the hotel, just about 5 to 10 minutes’ walk. And for those who are keen with Indian palate, there is a restaurant that serves pretty decent Indian food. The beaches in Menorca is absolutely fantastic with clear blue water and it really tempts one to jump in for a swim.

Food @ the Hotel

Menorca Beaches

The PhotoPills team did a phenomenal job right from the time we arrived until the time we left. There were about 50 participants and 13 masters. The participant group had a good mix - USA (17), Canada (3), Russia (1), Belgium (2), Kuwait (2), India (2), Argentina (3), Mexico (4), Chile (1), Bahrain (1), Singapore (1), Netherlands (2), Spain (4), Israel (2), Germany (2), Switzerland (1) and UK (2).The participants were divided into 4 groups and each shooting spot had only one group. Each group also had masters who were available for guidance and help. The focus in the camp was not just astrophotography but all aspects of photography. Since the camp was only into Sunrise, Sunset and Night Photography, the day time was devoted to general photography learning sessions. The sessions were extremely useful. And of course, with some fun as well – horse riding, boat ride, light painting, city walk etc. There were also partner stalls having lenses, bodies, filters etc. and they were available to try and buy if required.

Posing for a fun filled Light Painting session

Each group had the opportunity to shoot at different locations. Since we were dealing with nature there is no guarantee to capture what you want. I should admit, I was lucky in almost on all the occasions. The golden rule is to never miss any shooting opportunity as we do not know what is in store. The sun rise at Cala Presili was one such opportunity. I doubt if I will be able to see a sunrise like this.

Shooting Locations

PhotoPills app is an extremely useful one irrespective of whether you are a photographer or not. It provides a lot of useful information. If you are a photographer, I personally feel this will be a very useful companion. Hats off to Rafael Pons, German Marques, Joan Pons and Antoni Cladera for creating such a wonderful app.

To view the album ---> http://menorca-spain--m-1.gopsview.com