Death Valley & Alabama Hills
February 27 - March 3, 2020
Class size: 6
Tuition: $2599
Incredible towering golden sand dunes. Pure white salt flats decorated in hexagonal shapes. Never-ending mud cracks shaped like giant puzzle pieces. Mysterious arches standing out of the landscape with the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the background. Have I gotten your attention yet? Come join me for six days in one of the most diverse, inspiring, and jaw dropping landscapes in the United States. Death Valley National Park and the Alabama Hills are a photographers candy store where endless compositions and textured skies can fill the days. For this workshop, we will spend three days exploring Death Valley before moving onto the Alabama Hills just a few hours away. We will be up every morning for sunrise, out every evening for sunset, and after a dinner to re-energize, back out for some night sky photography! Get your rest now because once we start exploring, it’s on like donkey kong!
What You Will Learn:
How to create compelling landscape compositions.
How to use your camera to its fullest capabilities.
How to utilize a variety of lenses to think “outside the box.”
An understanding for light and how to take advantage of it in all conditions.
How to photograph the night sky and create star trails.
The basics of Lightroom and Photoshop.
An introduction to black and white photography.
How to utilize filters.
How to buy Red Bulls because you will need them and much, much more.
What You Will Need:
A DSLR camera body and an assortment of lenses. A wide angle is highly recommended as well as a zoom lens.
A sturdy tripod.
An intervalometer (a cheap one off of Amazon will work just fine).
A headlamp or flashlight.
At least the trial version of Lightroom or Photoshop on your laptop.
Multiple batteries.
A desire to learn, have fun, be flexible, and explore nature!
Note: a 10 or 6 stop neutral density filter for your wide angle is recommended, but not required. Also, a soft grad filter (either .6 or .9) is highly recommended.
What's Not Included:
Airfare to Las Vegas
Transportation to Death Valley National Park & Alabama Hills
Meals & beverages
Park entrance fee
What's Included:
Accommodations based upon double occupancy (single occupancy available for a fee)
Transportation within the workshop
Post-processing video set
4x4 Jeep rentals
Access to my brain 24/7
Physical Requirements:
We will have multiple hikes ranging in the 2-3 mile distance round trip. Terrain will be mostly flat with the exception of the sand dunes. Participants must be able to carry their own gear at a slow-to-moderate pace on these outings. If you feel a hike may be too much for you, I can gladly give you another, easier location to shoot at. Please know your limits for your safety and in fairness to others.
Locations We Plan To Visit (weather dependent):
Badwater Basin | Ibex Dunes | Cottonball Basin | Zabriskie Point | Mud cracks | Mobius Arch | Boot Arch and more!
