Moab, Arches & Utah Canyonlands Autumn Photography Workshop
6 Day workshop: Oct 27 – Nov 1, 2022

This workshop usually sells out, so book now!

Or, join us for my Arches at Night workshop May 30 – June 4, 2022 in Moab (More Info Here)

Spend a fantastic week exploring Arches, canyons, ancient rock art, the Colorado River, iconic movie and TV locations, and some of the best light for landscape photography in the world. Late October is a great time to shoot fall color for the Cottonwood Trees in the Canyons near Moab.

We will visit a wide variety of great locations in Arches & Canyonlands National Parks and Dead Horse Point State Park. We will also explore other great locations in an around Moab and Castle Valley, and weather permitting, a day exploring cliff dwellings and rock art in Bears Ears National Monument. The workshop will include classroom work to better your photographic craft, including time to process and critique your images. We will shoot sunrises and sunsets each day as weather allows, with a few hours each day dedicated to classroom instruction and image processing. Subjects will include, but not be limited to: Natural arches, canyons, ancient ruins and rock art, the Colorado River, iconic movie and TV locations, and aspen groves on a beautiful mountain lake. We will end the workshop with a group slide show and critique.

Field lessons will include tips and techniques for:
How to make your red rock images pop
Determining proper exposure
How to capture good images in challenging lighting conditions
Reading and shooting the light
How to analyze a scene for compositional options
Using filters to improve artistic results
Using your tripod to capture longer exposures and greater depth of field
How to capture the Milky Way

Indoor sessions will be spent viewing and critiquing participants’ images. In addition, presentations may include (time permitting):

Photographic techniques for shooting the red rock sandstone of the Colorado Plateau
HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography
Shooting and Stitching panoramic images
Adobe Lightroom workflow for getting the most from your images
Creating great black and white images from digital color captures

Skills Needed

All skill levels are welcome. Participants who have a basic understanding of digital workflow and knowledge or exposure to Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop will get the most from this workshop.

Other Considerations

Though locations visited during this workshop are readily accessible, the hilly terrain requires some moderate hiking (typically less than 4 miles round trip). Participants MUST be in good physical shape and able to climb and descend moderate to steep inclines. They should wear sturdy boots and use caution on slippery and rocky slopes.

Group Size: The workshop will be limited to 8 photographers

Dates and Times

Workshop begins Thursday evening, Oct 27, and ends Tuesday, Nov 1 at Noon.

Where to Meet

Participants will gather and be based at the Red Rock Garden Rental House (3453 Westwater Drive) in Moab Utah. Directions and details will be sent well in advance of the workshop.

Meals

Meals are the responsibility of the participant and their cost is not included in the registration fee. We will work with the group to organize meal times and locations. Fully stocked kitchens are available at each rental house, and we will likely plan to eat at least one meal per day there.

Lodging

Accommodations are available in one of two luxury vacation rental properties just 10 min. south of Moab, Utah, each with a private hot tub and a fully equipped kitchen, which will be a great base of operations for visiting Arches & Canyonlands national parks, Dead Horse Point State Park, and lots of other locations in and around Moab and Castle Valley. One of the two properties will be our home base for indoor instructional activities.

Private bedroom with King size bed (3 Avail) $135/night
Private bedroom with Full/Queen size bed and shared bathroom (2 avail) $90/night

Prices are indicated for single occupancy. Want to bring along a spouse, partner or other non-participant? Contact us for double occupancy rates. Beds may be available before and after the workshop, if you wish to extend your stay in the area.

Park Admissions

Colin is a registered and insured tour operator in both Arches & Canyonlands National parks, but cannot use his permit for entry for workshop participants. We will need one Arches or National Park pass per vehicle. Arches timed entry permits will be included.

Airfare & Local Transportation

Airfare and local transportation is NOT included. There is not much in the way of public transportation in Moab, and the closest major airport is in Grand Junction, Colorado (GJT), a little less than 2 hours away, and Salt Lake City (SLC) a little more than 4 hours away. Rental cars are generally required for those getting around, although we will try to organize ride shares as much as possible, and we will carpool as much as possible, to keep both our carbon footprint and parking space as minimal as possible.

Program Schedule:

Rather than adhering to a set itinerary, we will stay flexible so that we optimize our time in the field, giving you the best chances to capture great images based on weather and lighting conditions. We plan to photograph golden hour at sunrise and sunset each day, with time during the day for additional shooting locations, instructional sessions, and down time.

Thursday

Participants arrive in Moab. Kick-off dinner and opening presentation with a brief instructional session on the plan for the week, and introduction to the area.

Friday thru Monday

Each day will start with a morning field trip followed by breakfast/brunch. Break for processing and instructional session. Afternoon field trip. Evening viewing and critique of participants’ images. Exact locations to be determined based on weather and specific interests of the group, but roughly the plan will be to spend one day in Arches, one day in Canyonlands/Dead Horse Point, one day in various other locations in and around Moab, with a 4th day in Bears Ears National Monument. The New Moon is Nov 7, so later in the week we will have an optional field trip or two for night photography as well.

Tuesday

Morning field trip followed by breakfast. Group critiquing session, slide show and workshop wrap-up.

(Schedule may vary considerably depending on weather and other factors)

What to bring:

A digital or film camera capable of manual exposure settings. Due to the short time frame of the workshop, people with digital cameras, especially digital SLR cameras, will get the most from the workshop.
Plan to bring all of your lenses, from wide angle to telephoto, as the variety of locations will put all your gear to work!
A sturdy tripod
A circular polarizer filter, while not required, can be a useful tool for controlling glare and reflections
Hiking boots or other sturdy shoes: while the hikes to locations we will visit will be fairly short (typically less than 2-3 miles round trip) a good set of sturdy hiking boots is good for protecting the ankles on rocky trails and slippery rocks.
Lots of clothing layers – Moab weather can be finicky, and temps can be chilly at sunrise or sunset in the desert, and much warmer during the day.
A headlamp or flashlight, in case we need to hike back after sunset, or if you wish to participate in optional night photo sessions.
Your own method of transportation. We will carpool to locations as possible.
A laptop computer, ideally loaded with Adobe Lightroom, to best take advantage of the Lightroom workflow instructional session. Cables and devices necessary to download your images from camera to laptop.
Extra camera memory and batteries

Colin has been a professional photographer and part-time resident of the Catskills for more than 15 years, and in Moab, Utah since 2011. In that time, he had captured the mountains, lakes, streams and waterfalls of the Catskills Mountains in every season, and the arches, canyons and red rock splendor of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. His new home is in the Front Range of the Rockies, with Rocky Mountain National Park as a new playground. Discover local secret spots and learn practical techniques in a low-key learning environment. www.LightandPhotoBlog.com

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