Shoot for the Edit: Sedona
When it comes to night photography, capturing the right information in the field is crucial. Set among the beautiful red rock buttes of Sedona, Arizona, this workshop is designed to teach you how to not only capture all of the necessary exposures in the field but also the art of processing those images to produce your final piece of night art.
Workshop Details
September 10-15, 2023 — Completed
This is a 5-night, 6-day workshop. Your adventure begins in the late morning on Sunday, September 10, and ends after the final slideshow on the afternoon of Friday, September 15.
$2,195 + applicable taxes. Register below.
Skill level
Advanced. Participants should be fluent in the basic principles of photography, completely comfortable with how to use camera gear and confident with their night photography skills.
Group size
14, with 2 instructors — 7:1 ratio
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 $1.595 is due on June 12, 2023. —> 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 June 11, 2023 (see cancellation and refund policy). |
| • The workshop fee does not include lodging, food, airfare, park entrance fees, or transportation to Sedona or to our nightly shoot locations. |
The Sedona Experience
This is going to be awesome. We’ve consulted the maps, charts and apps (and our local astrologer). The result? A workshop that combines the perfect weather of Sedona in September, the world-famous landforms surrounding the town, a new moon, and a dark sky community that affords us the opportunity to photograph the autumn Milky Way.
The workshop will focus on capturing the night skies over Sedona as well as the surrounding desert and mountains, with a particular eye toward melding in-field photo techniques with specific associated post-processing goals.
While the new moon will provide the dark skies we need, it will also present several photographic challenges when trying to expose this famous landscape. Whether it’s blending the Milky Way with the gentle illumination on the local cliffs, or combining images that are shot at dusk with a moonless sky, we’ll have you covered.
The goal of the workshop: to learn how to shoot with post-processing in mind. Processing is half the battle in photography, and we’ll learn how to plan a night shoot to create the best captures for producing the best images on the computer later. Using various software we’ll star-stack our Milky Way, focus-stack our foregrounds and blend blue hour shots with our night skies.
What You Should Know
This workshop caters to knowledgeable photographers with solid skill sets. Participants should be fluent in the basic principles of photography, completely comfortable with how to use camera gear and confident with their night photography skills.
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
Like many photographic genres, night photography has many layers. We start out simple and add complexity to our craft as we learn more. This workshop will help push you past capturing basic night photographs and into creating more nuanced and interpretive imagery.
By learning what can be accomplished on the computer you’ll be able to create better images in the field. You’ll go home after the workshop with a solid grasp of advanced shooting techniques and a good foundation in how both Lightroom and Photoshop can be used by the night photographer.
TOPICS COVERED WILL INCLUDE:
shooting and processing stacked Milky Way photos using Starry Landscape Stacker and Sequator
shooting and stacking star trails in Photoshop
shooting and blending blue hour and Milky Way frames in Photoshop
using Photoshop to blend light-painted images
shooting and planning Milky Way shots using PhotoPills
and more …
This workshop will have both field and classroom instruction. We will be in the classroom during the day, and 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 to make sure everyone gets the most out of the workshop.
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 Tim and Gabe in the field.
Night Conditions
Logistics & General Info
Travel
You are responsible for arranging and paying for your own transportation.
Rental Car
You will need a rental car.
There is no need for four-wheel-drive.
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.
Nearby Airports:
Flagstaff (FLG) — 45 minutes from Sedona
Phoenix (PHX) — 2 hours
Lodging & Food
You are responsible for arranging and paying for your own accommodations and meals.
Lodging
You are not required to stay at the official workshop lodging, though doing so does make it easier to meet with the group each day.
Lodging info and group code will be sent after registering.
If you are interested in sharing accommodations, let us know and we will try to connect you with someone like-minded in the group.
Food
Sedona is a small town with many good restaurants and plenty of options for fine local food.
Several markets will help with purchasing snack food or sandwiches for consuming when on the night shoots.
Sedona is pretty dry. Be prepared to carry and drink plenty of water!
Weather
September weather in Sedona is just about as perfect as it gets. Expect daytime temps in the low 90s F, and evenings in the low 60s.
Recommended Attire
Light pants or shorts, and short-sleeve shirts will be all you need during the day.
Nights will still be comfortable, with temperatures in the low 60s. Long-sleeve shirts and a light or medium coat should get you through.
Bring an extra base layer, gloves and warm hat just in case.
Comfortable and protective shoes are recommended for walking on the trails and keeping your feet safe from cactuses. There won’t be long hikes, but we will be on trails, so quality trail shoes or hiking boots would be optimal.
Exertion Level
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 there will be trails involved, and you should be comfortable carrying your own equipment over uneven ground in the dark.
Considerations
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.
A Landscape Unbelievably Red …
“I remember thinking, “Will anyone believe these photos?””
I am no stranger to red rock country, but this color was incredible.
Having lived in the Mountain West for over 20 years, I’ve spent a lot of time visiting the red rock areas of Arizona, Utah and eastern Colorado. Still, I have never seen color as brilliant as the red rock buttes that surround Sedona.
I remember the first time I visited. It was a midwinter trip I was making to scout for a future workshop. I had driven 2.5 hours north from Phoenix on a dark winter evening. Arriving in Sedona in the dark on an overcast night, I couldn’t see a thing. The scenes of what makes this town so famous would have to wait. I found my hotel and settled in for the night. I remember being so tired that I did little to plan for the next morning. So, I slept.
When I woke the next day I was in awe. Simply stunned. The mountains and buttes surrounding the town simply glowed with the morning light. Now as I have said, I am no stranger to red rock country, but this color was incredible. I remember thinking, “Will anyone believe these photos?” The red of the rocks was so intense I thought for sure the Fuji Velvia film I was shooting would make these photos look simply unreal.
I have been back to Sedona many times since and now enjoy shooting the night sky as much as I loved shooting that sunrise. I look forward to exploring the desert nights even more, hopefully for years to come.
