sawtooth: starlight and shooting stars
astro + photography adventure workshop
A galactic view right from our lakeside campground, it’s incredible!!
enjoy the epic starry views in the sawtooth mountains during the perseid meteor shower and new moon:
Stanley, Idaho is a remote town tucked away in the pristine alpine wilderness of Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountain Range. Vast ridges of granite mountains and the largest swath of public lands in the lower 48 states, Stanley is well insulated and far away from any light pollution; it’s high elevation and dark skies make it one of the best places alpine regions in the world for recreation, swims in crystal clear lakes, camping, hiking, stargazing, and night photography! With the Perseid Meteor Shower, usually the best one of the year, peaking on the last night! We will spend one night at Craters of the Moon and the other 4 nights camping in Stanley (hotel accommodations available) at various pristine alpine lakes with epic views of breathtaking mountains, the night sky, and the Perseid Meteor Shower putting on a show above!
August 8-13
Who is this workshop for?
This astro + photography trip is perfect for beginner to intermediate photographers and adventurers looking to start astrophotography or build upon fundamentals. Our shooting locations are all low effort with very high reward, and the lessons will be geared towards teaching astrophotography fundamentals like planning your shot, astronomy basics, optimal camera settings, light painting, how to find compelling compositions, timelapses, and using a star tracker! There are plenty of daytime activities like editing our photos together, optional hikes, swimming in alpine lakes, fly fishing, and hanging out with a small group of like-minded photographers and adventurers.
Camping under the stars, no hiking required! The Stanley area has loads of epic campgrounds and views you can drive right up to. Here’s my workshop friend Jeremiah hanging out right at our lakeside campsite enjoying twilight (and checking the weather!) as the sunset burns off into stars and the Milky Way!
logistics
START: Craters of the Moon on Saturday August 8th between 1 - 5pm for a group dinner and orientation.
FINISH: Stanley, Idaho on Thursday August 13th between 8-11am.
The closest airport option is in Boise, Idaho- It has the best options for flights and rental cars. It is a 3 hour drive between the two with stunning views the whole time, one of the most scenic highways in the West.
We can typically help arrange carpools between guests closer to the workshop date, but that’s not guaranteed as we expect many of the participants to make this workshop part of a larger road trip as Yellowstone, Craters of the Moon, and much more is out in the area!
Once in Stanley, it’s easy for us to coordinate carpools and caravan out to shooting locations together! Everything is in close proximity there, and we will be camping right next to our shooting locations which makes for a relaxing and stress free astrophotography learning experience.
lodging
The idea of this workshop is to camp lakeside right next to incredible views of the mountains and stars! There are convenient hotel alternatives in Stanley for those who prefer to have a bit more comfort, but you will have to commute from town to our shooting locations, which is still minimal.
You are welcome to alternate between camping and hotels, camping is phenomenal out here with easy access to toilets and showers, we provide ALL the essential camping gear for you with some meals. Often we will go into town for breakfast to edit, then provide a campfire dinner so we’re ready to shoot sunset and astro after.
difficulty and group size
This astrophotography is great for all level of astrophotographers and adventurers! This is an easy going, low effort but high reward astrophotography workshop with almost no hiking. We will be leading several day time hikes up to more alpine lakes for those who desire a bit more adventure, and we will have 1-2 nights with an optional sunset and night hike adventure nearby.
Our small group size, 6 students to 2 teachers (some workshops have 12 students and only 2 teachers and call that small… crazy!) allows us to tailor lessons individually and give lots of 1on1 hands on instruction under the stars to each participant.
what will you learn?
We teach you our full workflow, from planning a shot with locations and astronomy fundamentals, camera settings in dynamic environments, all the way to editing to maximizing the potential in your RAW photos!
The goal of this workshop is to emphasis how to capture amazing timelapses, and hopefully snag several meteor shots with reflections of the mountains, milky way, and meteors in the lakes.
We will cover astrophotography basics like focusing at night, optimal camera settings, composition, and light painting
We do several editing sessions throughout the trip (at a local restaurant!) and follow up the workshop with custom editing video tutorials which opens up the day for hikes, relaxing by the lake, kayaking, fishing, etc.
We build upon fundamentals to more advanced techniques like panoramas, using a tracker, blue hour foregrounds, and image blending
We take pride in providing fun, safe, relaxed, and immersive astrophotography adventures! We strive to create unforgettable memories together as well amazing photos.
location highlights
Craters of the Moon
Stanley Lake
Redfish Lake
Alturas Lake
Petite Lake
Hot Springs
River Locations
Several option daytime hikes, hot spring soaks, paddle boarding, fishing, campfires, swimming, and relaxing.
workshop cost & payment terms
The tuition for this workshop is $3,500 total, hotels can be purchased separately with our help. A non-refundable deposit of $750 is required to reserve your spot with the remaining balance due 60 days before the workshop starts. Alumni discount is $2,800 with the same deposit and the discount applied when we collect the remaining balance.
Join us!
This workshop is limited to 8 participants with 3 instructors in order to maintain the small group size and allow us to tailor our photography lessons to your specific needs. You are welcome to bring a non-photographer guest +1, there could be permitting or camping fees applied. Friends signing up together, groups, and alumni please reach out for a discount!
itinerary
August 8th
Meet in Craters of the Moon National Park between 1-5pm! Camping in Craters or hotel alternative is in Arco nearby.
We will do a group dinner, then head out 30 minutes to our campsite with epic views!! We will be camping right where we are shooting sunset, twilight, then milky way, and sunrise! There are cool lava caves we can explore as well, the geology and night skies here are phenomenal.
August 9th
We will be up somewhat early and head up to Stanley, Idaho where we will be for the next 4 nights camping right by epic alpine lakes with views of mountains and the stars! It is a 2.5 hour very scenic drive up through Sun Valley to Stanley. We will do a group lunch on the way, then get settled in our campgrounds and hotels in Stanley. We will prepare a group dinner (Bison burgers) with drinks at our lakeside campground for you, then relax and enjoy photography lessons shooting sunset, twilight, and milky way.
We reserve our full itinerary for privacy! If you would like to see the full itinerary, packing list, or have any other questions, please reach out to us with the contact form below!
starlight in the sawtooths gallery
