4 Days/3 Nights
September 22 - 25, 2019 (Session #1) | SOLD OUT!
September 26 - 29, 2019 (Session #2) | SOLD OUT!
Alabama Hills Astrophotography Workshop
Tuition 1595 USD
The Eastern Sierras contain an incredible palette of diverse landscapes and some of the Earth's oldest living biology along a backdrop of snow capped mountains with peaks above 14,000 feet (4,200 meters). This workshop will be based in Lone Pine, California where we are just minutes from the Alabama Hills. We'll have pristine access to the most well known arches in the area with the wild and intimate foregrounds of the Alabama hills within our frames. At 11,000 feet above sea level, we will train our cameras on some of the oldest biology on planet Earth, the Bristle Cone Pines which reside within the Inyo National Forest. We will also travel to the northern most area of Death Valley and photograph the epic sight of the Eureka Sand Dunes, the tallest sand dunes in California. The Eastern Sierras Night Workshop will go in depth from planning for the weather, using low level lighting, using filters and different capture techniques to elevate the final image and your artwork. Experience a workshop that isn't a vacation but an opportunity to become a better, consistent, and more proficient artist! It will be work to grow, but you'll love what you're doing EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!
Included:
4 days and 3 nights of photography instruction for landscapes, nightscapes, and astrophotography.
Instruction will cover the planning of coveted night time landscapes. and astrophotography.
Learning what to look for and how to make sure you have the best opportunity to capture beautiful night time photography!
Learn the fundamentals to capture the cleanest imagery quickly and easily with added post processing that makes your images stand out from everyone else!
Small workshop size capped at 10 participants.
Getting Ready Guide prior to the workshop.
What you will learn:
Correctly exposing for star light, light pollution, and dark foregrounds.
Learn new techniques that reduce noise without the loss of detail.
Understand what is correct exposure and reading your histogram.
Explaining filters and when to use and not use them in your kit.
Create easy to do star trails.
How dynamic range effects your final image for digital and print.
Equipment to bring:
DSLR capable of 3200 ISO
Fast lenses with an aperture of f/2.8 or faster (f/2, f/1.4) and 24mm or wider focal length for night imagery
Lens lengths between 14mm - 200mm are great to bring for the workshop
Tripod with a ball head
Headlamp with a red "night vision" light
Warm clothing and bug repellent
I ask each participant to be very familiar with your camera and its settings prior to taking this workshop, as we will be working with little to no light most of the evenings
Intervalometer
L bracket
Laptop with Creative Cloud (Lightroom and Photoshop)
Not included:
Airfare
Transportation
Lodging
Meals
Incidentals
National Park Admission
Optional Trona Pinnacles Night: Limited to Five (5) Attendees
Take a trip to one of the most remote areas of California and experience the incredible salt formations of these epic tufa towers! This micro, one night workshop, is only available to attendees who have signed up for Session #1 or Session #2 and adds an additional night of instruction to the end of the workshop. This is a fantastic opportunity to photograph these otherworldly landscapes in a small, like minded group of new friends, and puts to work your new skills from the previous three nights of instruction. Photograph the Milky Way Arch as it rises over Trona , experience the false dawn of zodiacal light and have a unique and incredible opportunity to create beautiful nightscape photography. Preferred hotel accommodations will be shared upon booking.
Only $299 USD
Lodging
Best Western in Lone Pine, CA will be our home hotel and instructional space during the day. It’s recommended to book your dates as soon as possible so you may reserve the room of your choice.
1008 S Main Street
Lone Pine, California 93545
Flights
McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, NV is the best airport to fly into for the Eastern Sierras Workshop with a multitude of airlines and easy availability of car rental. The road to Lone Pine, CA will take you through some of the magnificent areas of Red Rock Canyon and Death Valley National Park all the way to the base of the Eastern Sierras.
McCarran International Airport
Signing up for the Eastern Sierras Astrophotography Workshop
In order to reserve your spot to our Eastern Sierras Astrophotography Workshop, please complete the reservation form and include your retainer of $445. The remainder of the balance will be due no later than 90 days prior to the first day of the trip. Cancellation Policy: Greater than 150 days before the workshop start date: full refund of any payments made. For cancellations made 150-121 days before the start of the workshop: 50% refund of any payments made. For cancellations made 120-91 days before the start of the workshop: 25% refund of any payments made. Cancellations made within 90 days of the start of the workshop: no refund. Note that there are some non-refundable tours/ workshops for which the above terms do not apply, and for these workshops we do not offer a refund of any payments made under any circumstances. This will always be noted clearly in the workshop description as “Payments for this workshop are non-refundable under any circumstances, our other Terms and Conditions apply.” No matter when you cancel, if we are able to fill your space, we will provide a 100% refund of any payments made. Payments made for private workshops that you arrange with us are not refundable. JT Blenker Photography reserves the right to cancel a workshop if the minimum of participants is not reached. A minimum of 4 participants is required for the tour/ workshop to take place. I highly recommend trip insurance due to unforeseen circumstances. The full itinerary, packing list, and waiver will be sent to you once you have paid in full. This amount will be invoiced to you 150 days before the start of the workshop.