Sandy Hook
Photograph the oldest operating lighthouse in the United States as well as the 100-plus-year-old batteries that were built to ward off enemies trying to enter New York Harbor. We’ll spend three nights photographing these relics of a bygone era while also taking in and photographing spectacular views of New York City. We’ll also explore Sandy Hook during the daytime, taking ranger tours and learning more about the role the area played during the Revolutionary and World wars.
Workshop Details
October 13-15, 2022 — completed
This is a 3-night, 3-day workshop. Your adventure begins on the morning of Thursday, October 13, and ends with our last night of shooting on Saturday, October 15.
$1,195+ applicable taxes. Register below.
Skill level
Open to all who have an understanding of the basic principles of photography and of their cameras.
Group size
14, with 2 instructors — 7:1 ratio
NPS website
Gateway National Recreation Area
Workshop Leaders
Registration
This event has passed. Thanks for your interest!
| • Deposit of $600 is required to reserve your spot at the workshop. |
| • Balance of $595 is due on July 16, 2022. —> Pay balance here. |
| • You may choose the “Pay in Full” ticket if you desire to pay all at once. |
| • Last day for a cancellation request is July 15, 2022 (see cancellation and refund policy). |
| • The workshop fee does not include lodging, food, airfare, Sandy Hook entrance fees, or transportation to the Atlantic Highlands or to our nightly shoot locations. |
The Sandy Hook Experience
Sandy Hook is an incredibly picturesque 2,044-acre barrier beach peninsula that is located at the northern tip of the New Jersey shore. The rich maritime and military history can easily be seen and photographed at the various concrete and stone batteries that surround the peninsula. The Proving Ground offers surreal concrete structures that used to house large guns and howitzers at the turn of the 20th century. New types of gunpowder, artillery shells, fuses and various projectiles were tested here.
Things started to slow down as technology sped up, but Nike missiles were built and tested here during the Cold War years of 1954 to ’74. If this sort of history and the opportunity to photograph military ruins at night is of interest, then this is the workshop for you!
Our base camp will be the remnants of Fort Hancock, which peaked during World War II with over 7,000 soldiers. We will be photographing during the crisper nights of October as the moon wanes from 88 to 72 percent. The moonlight will add soft shadows to the structures and we will complement them with light painting. Stars and clouds are sure to swirl around The Hook and bring additional ways for us to tell our night stories. Officers Row is one of the most magnificent places to watch the sunset along the East Coast, and we won’t miss one during this three-day/night workshop.
Our focus will be to help level up your night photography skills. We will create outstanding images of the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, multiple batteries, buildings and the other structures that make Sandy Hook such an important place in American history.
What You Should Know
Participants must have at least basic photo skills, know their cameras well, and be comfortable shooting RAW in manual mode with a DSLR or high-end mirrorless camera.
Night photography experience is not necessary, but even folks with extensive experience shooting at night will find this class challenging, stimulating and inspiring. For more advanced night photographers, we can offer a portfolio review and specific challenges and goals, and will offer guidance in the field if you mainly want to concentrate on creating portfolio images or learning more advanced techniques.
If you would like to attend this workshop but are unsure whether you have adequate night photography skills, we can offer pre-workshop tutoring to get you ready for your adventure with us. Alternatively or additionally, a few of us have written books that may be productive pre-workshop reads.
What You Will Learn
We hope to push you to step outside your comfort zone—to test the limits of what you and your camera can do. You’ll go home after the workshop with a solid grasp of night photography in dark and moonlit environments, and a good foundation in light painting techniques.
TOPICS COVERED WILL INCLUDE:
how to photograph in a dark suburban environment supplemented by moonlight
how to light paint historic military structures, trees and general landscapes
how to photograph a fixed-beam lighthouse
how to create urban star points and star trails
how to balance existing and added light sources for maximum impact
and more …
This workshop will have both field and classroom instruction. We will have two to three days of classroom time, and we’ll be out in the field at different locations each night. Participants can stay out shooting as long as they, or their camera’s batteries, hold out. While in the field, the instructors will demonstrate their own techniques, and will work with participants one-on-one to make sure everyone gets the most out of the workshop. During classroom sessions, there will be presentations by the instructors, but we will focus on developing your images and sharing everyone’s work and ideas with each other.
Our locations have generous room to explore, so everyone will be able to spread out and not get in one another’s way. Each participant will have the opportunity to work one-on-one with Gabe and Matt in the field.
We do not tell our attendees what to photograph, and won’t line you up in a row to all shoot the same thing (unless it’s helpful to get some people on track). Instead, we encourage you to use what you have learned to create your own unique images, and to let us guide you through the process should you desire. We do not teach you to do what we do, but rather how to develop your own night vision.
Night Conditions
Logistics & General Info
Travel
You will need a car. If you are interested in carpooling or sharing a rental car, let us know and we will try to connect you with another attendee looking for the same. You are responsible for arranging and paying for your own transportation.
Nearby Airports:
Newark (EWR) — 1 hour from Sandy Hook
John F. Kennedy (JFK) — 1.5 hours
La Guardia (LGA) — 1.5 hours
Lodging & Food
We will be staying very close to Sandy Hook. Lodging info and group code will be sent once our lodging partner is ready to begin taking reservations.
You are not required to stay at the official workshop lodging, though doing so does make it easier to meet with the group each morning. If you are interested in sharing a room, let us know and we will try to connect you with someone like-minded in the group.
Sandy Hook has plenty of food options in the neighboring borough of Highlands. We encourage eating two meals per day—a good breakfast and a great late lunch. When on the night shoots, you may wish to bring snack food or a sandwich, and always plenty of water.
You are responsible for arranging and paying for your own meals and accommodations.
Weather
Expect daytime highs in the 60s F, lows in the 50s.
Recommended Attire
Jeans or light pants and short-sleeve shirts for daytime, pants and long-sleeve shirts for night. A sweatshirt and medium-weight jacket will likely be useful, and a base layer might not be a waste of packing space. Layers are good. Comfortable and protective shoes are recommended for getting around. There won’t be long hikes, but we will be on trails and uneven terrain, so quality trail shoes or hiking boots would be optimal.
Exertion
The exertion level of this workshop is Easy. (See more about our classifications.)
No vigorous activity will be required during the workshop, but please consider your physical abilities prior to registering. There won’t be any long hikes, but we will be spending several hours on our feet, and you should be comfortable carrying your own equipment over uneven ground in the dark.
Additional Information
Please read our FAQs section for more information about skill and gear requirements, and other information that pertains to all our workshops.
If you have questions, please contact us—we're happy to talk it over with you.
History and Nostalgia on the Jersey Shore ...
“Sandy Hook was such a pivotal part of controlling New York that it remained the last British-controlled land in the newly anointed America.”
When I first moved to Brooklyn, my 89-year-old neighbor, Tom, gave me the book The Battle of Brooklyn, which tells the story of what happened in the eventual borough during the Revolutionary War. Tom said, “You should know the history of where you live.” I quickly found myself engrossed with the book as well as walking around the neighborhood finding the pieces of history that were still left from 250 years ago.
I grew up in New England, which proudly celebrates its role in the Revolutionary War, but the New York City point of view was new to me. That the Brits controlled Staten Island and this little strategic peninsula called Sandy Hook meant they controlled New York Harbor and made the situation very difficult for Washington and his army. Sandy Hook was such a pivotal part of controlling New York that it remained the last British-controlled land in the newly anointed America.
I first visited Sandy Hook in 2017, during one of my first rides on my new motorcycle. It was a daytime adventure and I was enamored by the “ancient” batteries and rich history.
My next visit was with some friends, one of whom lived in the Atlantic Highlands, which overlooks Sandy Hook Bay. We spent a weekend enjoying the dunes, the birds and the vestiges of war. I started getting serious about scratching more than the surface of Sandy Hook.
During the pandemic, I didn’t get out much. But my wife and I spent a winter weekend in the Atlantic Highlands, and I got official permission from the park to shoot there after dark. I bundled up for a cool night of shooting “on the spit,” but the wind was unbearable and knocked my camera and tripod all over the place. It seemed colder than the Arctic Circle.
I lasted a few hours and took this portrait of myself, doing my best impression of John Carpenter’s The Thing—which was based in Antarctica!
Most people visit Sandy Hook in the summer, when the lines are long and beaches packed. So I eventually followed suit and saddled up on the bike and spent an amazing July weekend at The Hook. There are stunning views of New York City from the eastern beaches, and I was just a little “taken off guard” when I went to scout the view from Gunnison Beach in my pants. Turns out Gunnison is clothing optional, and I was overdressed!
Oh boy.
Well they didn’t kick me off the beach, except with their eyes!
I hid over at the end of the beach near the bird reserve and took pictures of the skyline and seagulls coming in for a landing.
Like at many of our National Park Units, the evening can be so magical, especially when you have the whole place to yourself. The lighthouse was shining bright and I spent hours focusing my lens on the batteries and using light painting and star trails to breathe history alive again.
