bryce canyon
Light painting the Cosmic Ashtray as the “Great Rift” of the Milky Way Galaxy passes over in the Southwest! We’re doing a special trip out to this otherworldly geologic formation and we provide all the 4x4 transportation and guiding. No picture does the scale of this sandstone amphitheater justice! Some of the darkest and clearest skies in the world out here.
Overview
Join us for 4 epic nights of late Summer astrophotography in Bryce Canyon and a special 4x4 trip out into Escalante! September is one of my favorite months of the year to shoot night photography in Southern Utah as you can capture the Milky Way core early in the night and have a carousel of richly saturated areas of the sky like the Great Rift, Cygnus, Perseus (where the Andromeda Galaxy is) and on to the nebulae rich area of Orion early in the morning. Pair the insanely dark and clear skies of Bryce Canyon at over 7,000 feet, with warm days and mild nights in a fairyland looking expanse of hoodoos with a rich red to orange ombre rock layers, and you’ve got a recipe for soul striking beauty and opportunities to capture some amazing night photos! We will be camping for an immersive experience and provide campgrounds (with showers), camping gear, most meals, and have starlink with charging capabilities for your camera, phone, and laptop.
dates
August 27th - 31st, 2024
difficulty
This astrophotography workshop is great for all level of photographers and adventurers, and requires some hiking with camera gear about 2-3 miles at high elevation at night. We will cover astrophotography basics like focusing and mastering settings for single exposures, and build upon shooting and editing fundamentals as we get into tracking, stacking, and combining exposures. Our smaller group sizes allow us to tailor lessons individually and give lots of 1on1 hands on instruction to help you reach your artistic goals.
lodging & logistics
We provide all camping accommodations in Bryce Canyon and Kodachrome Basin State Park as well as most food while camping. We provide chairs, awnings, starlink, charging, and all campgrounds have access to bathrooms and showers. There are easy hotel accommodations near all our camp spots for those who prefer a bit more comfort. You are responsible for transportation to, from, and during the workshop however we can often arrange carpools between workshop guests and provide 4x4 transportation for you during out Escalante backcountry trip!
WORKSHOP COST & PAYMENT TERMS
The tuition for this workshop is $2,800 total, with a non-refundable deposit of $1,000 to reserve your spot in the workshop. The final balance of the workshop is due July 14th. Alumni discount cost is $2200 total, same deposit to reserve a spot, but with the whopping discount applied when the remaining workshop balance is collected!
Rough Itinerary
We share the full detailed itinerary only once signed up for privacy reasons- It includes exact locations, trails, eating times, exact stays, etc! You can email derek@blazingheavens.com with questions.
We will mostly be operating our lessons during sunset and night time as the Milky Way is quickly able to shoot after sunset & twilight, and leave sunrises open for optional shoots. We will adapt to weather conditions and energy levels, you can expect 4-8 hours of shooting and lessons per night with several editing sessions throughout the trip during the day and tutorial videos to take home with you!
August 27th
Meet: in Bryce Canyon at our campground before 5pm for introduction!
Stay: Campgrounds in Bryce Canyon near shooting location
Shoot: We will hike a trail into the canyon to some epic hoodoos and rock formations! 3 miles 800 feet of elevation gain.
August 28th
Stay: Campgrounds in Bryce Canyon
Shoot: Special place right outside Bryce Canyon and the rim of the canyon later in the night as well as nearby forests. Very minimal hiking.
August 29th
Stay: Kodachrome State Park Campgrounds
We will have an opportunity to explore some waterfalls and petroglyphs together in Escalante!
Shoot: Cosmic Ashtray! We will 4x4 our group at sunset out to the cosmic ashtray to shoot for the first half of the night and also have an opportunity to shoot sunrise here and explore during the day before our astro lessons here. 2mi hike 800 feet of elevation gain.
August 30th
Stay: Kodachrome State Park Campgrounds
Shoot: We will shoot right in Kodachrome State Park within walking distance of our campgrounds! The tall spires, colors, and campgrounds will make for some epic and compelling foregrounds. If we get clouded out (unlikely) one of our other nights we will revisit Bryce or Cosmic during this night as well.
August 31st
Our workshop officially concludes at sunrise! We will sleep in, eat some breakfast, and say our good byes! :’) We ill be following up the workshop with editing tutorial videos.