For most workshops, a 20-50% deposit is due at the time of registration. The remaining balance is typically due approximately 45 - 90 days prior to the workshop. We will contact you in advance to coordinate and process your final remaining balance payment via email. There are payment plans available at check out as well.

All payments are final and non-refundable or transferrable. Payment Terms.

All experience levels are welcome—from beginners to working professionals!

Because of our small group sizes make it easy for us to cater our lessons to each guest—whether that’s camera fundamentals, composition, using star trackers, or refining your editing workflow. We keep our group sizes small (1:3 or 1:4 teacher to student ratio) and bring out passionate industry experts to teach. You can see some of our Testimonials and our new Google Reviews!

Familiarity with the basics (exposure, focus, and common camera settings) makes in-field learning more enjoyable and less stressful. Some of our trips, like international ones, lend themselves best to those who have solid fundamentals down first.

Each trip can vary! As a baseline, most of our trips require you to be free of mobility issues and with the ability to hike up to 1 mile on uneven surfaces with your camera gear, at night. But not always Each trip varies, some we 4×4 you out to epic viewpoints with no hiking and others we offer some longer 2-6 mile hikes to reach epic locations, please reach out if you have questions as the detailed itineraries for specific trips will list demands and have links to information on the hikes we do.

Overall, an okay fitness level and maneuverability is recommended, but don’t sweat it if you’re not in peak form.

Most of our locations you can drive right up to and do under 300 feet of walking from your car to capture, except for Badwater Basin, where we recommend walking 1.5 miles roundtrip out into the salt flats for the best images. You can improve your compositions at every location by using your feet. This is a low level fitness level required and Death Valley is surprisingly convenient for astrophotographers.

You can check out our GENERAL PACKING LIST FOR WORKSHOPS here.

You can also see a more detail Camera Gear Breakdown for what I use here!

We also have a loaner set up for folks who are new but not quite ready to invest in their own gear. Please inquire adventures@blazingheavens.com.

-Digital SLR or mirrorless camera.

-A wide angle lens with an aperture of f/2.8 or better.

-A sturdy tripod and ballhead with proper attachments. We recommend an L bracket for your camera!

-Batteries, chargers, memory card.

-A laptop to edit photos on as most of our trips include workshop style image review and editing classes.

-A headlamp with red light capabilities! I recommend black diamond.

• Various lenses like prime lenses! 24-70mm and 70-300mm range are excellent for our trips as often we can utilize them on star trackers and have an ample number of opportunities to utilize deeper focal length lenses for landscape photography as well.

• I use a 20mm f/1.8, 40mm f/1.4, and 85mm f/1.4 often to zoom in for more detail on my star tracker for panoramas, stacks, and portraits.

• A star tracker! We excel at teaching folks how to use and maximize their star tracker. I recommend the iOptron Skyguider Pro over any MSM or Star Adventurer as it’s priced better and works much better.

• A second camera or astro modded camera! Not required but many of our guests bring a 2nd camera body that’s dedicated for running timelapses while we work hands on with your main camera OR an astro modded camera we use for tracking the sky or stacking for enhanced night sky details and colors.

• An L bracket for your camera body to have flexibility between horizontal and vertical shooting orientation.

• A panorama head like this one. Wide angle lenses are excellent to capture scenes, but I shoot many panoramas for more perspective and details in my images.

Each trip is different! Because we run true astrophotography experiences often in remote locations, sometimes the trips require camping, a balance of camping and hotels to balance comfort and adventure, and some of our trips we include an accommodation package at checkout that include single occupancy accommodations booked for you the whole time. All of our accommodations are carefully and strategically planned to be close as possible to our shooting locations to minimize driving distances and balance our immersive astro adventure experiences.

Please read the accommodations on each trip as they differ. We have trips that are for beginner, intermediate, and even advanced adventurers that can range from epic lodges in Bortle 1 skies out the front door to camping (gear can be provided for most trips as a convenience) at beautiful backcountry wilderness locations with views right where we sleep!

Yes— you’re welcome to bring a non-photographer companion, and many of our guests do. We offer non-photographer discounts, but they vary every trip. Like on our Navajo Nights trips all our Navajo and Hopi guides charge per person or if it’s a trip where we arrange 4×4 transportation.

If you purchase the lodging package in most cases you can both stay in the lodging.

Yes— It’s not required, but it is strongly recommended to cover non-refundable fees and travel expenses if something unexpected happens.

If you are older, vulnerable, or have any health issues it’s also recommend emergency medical and evacuation coverage, especially for international workshops.