luminous labyrinths
Overview
December 7 - 13 in Waitomo, New Zealand.
Join astrophotography experts Derek Culver and Bray Falls for a one of a kind night photo workshop as we tour and teach you advanced long exposure techniques in the Bioluminescent Glow Worm tunnel systems underneath New Zealand! Glow Worms love the wet limestone river tunnels of New Zealand and thrive there, with millions of them laying silky vertical webs then using biochemical reactions in their stomach to attract their favorite insects! This workshop includes dark sky accommodations in the center of the world’s best Glow Worm Tours as well as special custom "Night Photo” tours in and on private glow tunnels that we have exclusive day and night access to.
We spent several months teaching ourselves the techniques it takes to capture glow worms, working with local farms and families to capture the best tunnels and find new ones that had never been shot before and to create the only Bioluminescent Glow Worm tour like this in the world! Shooting glow worms is challenging but extremely rewarding- we spend a ton of time in 4 of the best glow worm tunnels in the world together as we give hands on shooting instruction and then shoot astrophotography of the southern hemisphere and edit our photos at our luxury Airbnbs.
The total cost of this workshop is $5,200. A non-refundable $1,000 deposit is required to secure your spot on this trip, and the remainder of the payment is due November 7th. Alumni and New Zealand and Australia locals please reach out for a discount.
1/5 spots reserved
The glamping set up we stay at on the North Island (surrounded by Bortle 1-3 skies!) while we focus on Glow Worm caves, deep space, and editing images. We will shoot glow worm caves during the day, and some special tours at night, and also take advantage of the views here to do night photography, weather permitting!
overview
December 7 - 13, 2025 on the North Island of New Zealand, you will fly into Auckland. 4 nights in Waitomo for glow worms, 2 nights on the Coromandel Peninsula for world class beaches! Fly into Auckland for pick up on the 7th (we recommend leaving on the 5th and getting there on the 6th to adjust and leave ample time to arrive).
We tour 4 of the best glow worm systems in New Zealand, and the world! 3 of them are completely private, and 2 of them we get exclusive night time access to extra cave systems. We can shoot these caves both during the day, and some of them get even better at night!
There is no other tour as comprehensive as this, and we take it a step further and have longer and exclusive access to public and private tunnels, we will have them all to ourselves with our private Kiwi guides while Bray and I teach our small group of photographers the techniques we use to capture them! We stay at Wild Canvas which has 360-degree panoramic views in Bortle 1 New Zealand skies, as well as 2 nights on the Coromandel Peninsula at several world class beaches in Bortle 2 skies. This is glow worm focused but there will be lots of night and landscape photography opportunities.
Rafting through the Waitomo Cave on the North Island of New Zealand. Our guides raft us deep into the belly of these caves, amazing experience and photography opportunity!
Logistics
This workshop is a small group photo tour, 5 students with 2 teachers, Derek Culver and Bray Falls. All accommodations and transportation are taken care of once in New Zealand, as well as all fees for our private glow worm photography tours! You are responsible for your airfare to and from New Zealand and food while there, we will pick you up from the airport. There is an easy Visa application process you need to fill out before embark as well, but can be done well in advanced and is very US friendly.
-We will be flying into Auckland, and pick you up at the Auckland Airport on December 7th ideally before 3pm
-You LOSE ONE DAY flying to New Zealand from the USA, they are a day ahead of us. If you intend to arrive on the 7th, you will need to leave the 5th, as it’s a long day of travel and you lose a day to the time zones.
-We recommend the red eye Delta flights that go straight through to Auckland!
-We also recommend to pair our workshop with your own trip to the South Island of New Zealand, which will be experiencing the famous wildflower blooms around lake Tekapo from November 25 - December 20th.
Rafting through the magical spellbound caves full of millions of glow worms, close up shots, and beautiful reflections.
Once on the north island of New Zealand,
We will arrange carpools with 2-3 large passenger vans and be driving our group around together! We planned the workshop and locations to include the shortest drives possible. Getting around New Zealand is pretty straightforward, service is plentiful, and every one speaks English but with cute accents.
-We will be staying in Waitomo area and the Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island.
-Waitomo for glow worms and some widefield astrophotography, then we hang out at world class beaches on the Coromandel and do a night adventure to Cathedral Cove for landscape astro. Lots of editing sessions, optional hikes to points of interest, Hobbiton tour, adventures to beautiful beaches, and more.
-Glow Worm caves are even shootable during the day! We have custom night tours as well that allows us to shoot compositions in the tunnels that get a bit too much day time, they’re my favorite part of the tour as I helped several cave tour companies identify these tunnels and explore/capture them at night for the first tmie!
-We have tons of time to edit and process our images at our luxury WildCanvas Airbnb and Beachside house in the Coromandel.
-We booked Wild Canvas and it’s amazing views for 4 nights. There are 4 spacious bedrooms for the first 4 sign ups, the rest of us will be staying right down below the hill it’s on.
-Every one is welcome to shoot up on the Wild Canvas hill, we will take advantage of good weather and shoot night photography up there.
-We will drop every one off in Auckland on December 13th.
itinerary overview December 7 - 13, 2025
START: Arrive at Auckland Airport (North Island) on December 7, consider flying in a day early on the 6th to adjust and leave room for any possible issues. If you plan to get there on the 7th from the USA, you will need to leave on December 5th! You LOSE A DAY IN TRANSIT. It’s about a 14 hour flight from the West Coast, so it’s almost a day in travel, but New Zealand is also a day ahead, so you lose a day then gain it back on your return flight.
We recommend travelling to the South Island before or after this workshop as the wildflowers will be super-blooming around Lake Tekapo and Mt Cook area.
DURING: We pick you up at Auckland and take our group to Waitomo area for 4 nights of epic glow worm and night photography (weather permitting). We then go to the Coromandel Peninsula and enjoy world class beaches, more editing sessions, and some ocean night photography sessions! Auckland, Waitomo, and the Coromandel are all a 2-3 hour drive from each other.
FINISH: We finish our workshop on December 13th and will drive back to Auckland. We recommend folks to go explore the South Island before or after the workshop, if you have the time and money! I am available for private lessons on the South Island after 13th at Mt Cook and Lake Tekapo. The wildflower and night photography opportunities are amazing there, and you will be well equipped to capture it after our glow worm workshop :)
reserve your spot
A macro shot of a Glow Worm! They live in wet river canyons, moist overhangs and cave ceilings laying their silky strands of webs (like a spider!) and use their bioluminescent chemical glow to attract mosquitos and may flies to their web!