The Point Reyes National Seashore and Marin Headlands are two of the more spectacular areas for photographers in the western United States. Jutting out into the Pacific Ocean, the Point Reyes National Seashore encompasses 71,028 acres of scenic landscapes. The grassy meadows in the northernmost part of the peninsula are maintained as a reserve for Tule elk, and the Point Reyes Lighthouse and rocky cliffs on the southern tip attract whale-watchers looking for the gray whales migrating north and south. In between lie expansive sand beaches that go as far as the eye can see, rugged rocky headlands, and forested ridges.

The Marin Headlands is the hilly peninsula at the southernmost end of Marin County, located just north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge. The Headlands can create their own clouds when moist, warm Pacific Ocean breezes are pushed into the higher colder air, causing condensation and fog. The Marin Headlands contain three of the locations we’ll be exploring on this workshop: Rodeo Beach, Point Bonita Lighthouse, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

What to Expect

• Shooting Locations – Point Reyes Lighthouse, South Beach Overlook, Drakes Beach, Kehoe Beach, Alamere Falls, Rodeo Beach, Point Bonita Lighthouse, Golden Gate Bridge.

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.