Capitol Reef National Park lies in the heart of Utah Canyon Country. The “Capitol” portion of the Park’s name was derived from the rounded grayish white domes that resemble the US Capitol dome. “Reef” is a nautical term used to describe a barrier to a passage which the park certainly is. The park is approximately 60 miles long but just an average of 6 miles wide. Capitol Reef is the name of an especially rugged and spectacular segment of the Waterpocket Fold by the Fremont River.

Our full immersion landscape photography workshop will take you to red rock cliffs, giant geological formations, the Waterpocket Fold, and the historic Morman town of Fruita. Explore the Cathedral Valley in the northern region of the park including sunset at the Temples of the Moon and Sun. We’ll also trek to the Hickman Bridge, Chimney Rock Trail, Gooseneck Trail, and historic Fruita town in the central region. We’ll then drive the amazing Burr Trail Switchbacks in the southern region of the park. We will shoot sunrise, sunset, and well into the night.

What to Expect

• Shooting Locations – Chimney Rock, Gooseneck, Panorama Ledge, Sunset Point, Temples of the Moon and Sun, Sulphur Creek, Capitol Dome, Hickman Bridge, The Castle, The Switch Backs, Gilford Homestead & Fruita Orchards, Waterpocket Fold.

This full immersion landscape photography workshop is going to be all about photography. Your photography. Our workshops include a unique blend of (1) capture time in the field, (2) guided hikes, (3) 4×4 travel to remote locations, and (4) class time for post-production instruction.

The majority of our days will start early, before sunrise. After a quick cup of coffee or tea, we’ll be off to get into position at a location in the best light of the day with breakfast in the field in order to maximize our shooting time. We’ll often continue until mid-to-late morning before heading back to Basecamp.

Back at Basecamp, we’ll have time for off-loading memory cards, classroom lectures & instruction , working on our images, one-on-one guidance, or time to relax. Then, in the mid-to-late afternoon, we’ll head out again to capture the evening skies, getting the most out of the sunset and/or shooting the stars in the night sky.

More important than just getting you to some of the best and most remote areas of the park at the best times of the day, this five-day photo expedition will challenge you to take your photography to the next level and to develop your own photographic voice.

In the Classroom:

In the classroom, we’ll spend time developing your post-production workflow – learning when Lightroom is enough and when you need to move your work into Photoshop – using techniques such as luminosity masks to create and solve contrast, color, and blending issues.

Qualifications

• You must (1) bring all your own camera equipment, (2) have complete knowledge of how to use your camera equipment, and (3) be reasonably proficient with both Lightroom & Photoshop. With such a full curriculum, we simply won’t have time to teach people how to use their cameras or software programs.
• Participants should be in reasonably good physical condition and should be able to comfortably walk several miles a day on uneven terrain.