
Date will be announced in August
DESCRIPTION
Big Bend National Park offers an exceptional variety of photographic opportunities to the landscape photographer. During this workshop we sample a bit of everything Big Bend has to offer.
FOCUS: Photographing southwest landscapes, sunsets, and the Milky Way in America's premier dark sky national park.
ADDITIONAL: This is a blend between a night sky and daytime workshop.
WHY AUGUST? As soon as it's dark, the Milky Way will be in position, about 10 pm. We can do more because we're not up all night.
We intend to utilize Time Compressed Imagery; start photography at dusk and finish after Milky Way appears, then combine the scene in post processing.
Andy will provide post processing instruction. Participants should return home with some processed, finished images.


ITINERARY
The workshop starts on Sunday, August_______ at 5:00 pm with introductions and a discussion. Afterward, we will photograph sunset.
LODGING LOCATION: Chisos Mountain Lodge, Big Bend National Park, TX. 432-477-2291
Check-in Sunday, August_____; Check-out August_______.
LODGING INSTRUCTIONS: There will be a group reservation here, please only book by calling the lodge. Please indicate you are taking one of Rocky Mountain Reflections Photography's rooms, the dates, August ___________, and provide payment information. This arrangement is not yet completed please do not call until notified.
Workshop ends after evening photography on August_______.
ARRIVING: Consider arriving in TX on Saturday, August ____ and drive to Alpine, TX, a college town with many hotel choices. School may be returning to session, book early. Drive time from Alpine, TX to Chisos Mountain Lodge is 2 hours.
RETURNING: Be cautious about departure flights on August ________. It is a long drive to an airport. Consider scheduling return flights on August ________.

DAILY ROUTINE
MORNING: Variable, weather dependent. We do not emphasize sunrise photography on this workshop.
MIDDAY: Post processing discussions, demonstrations and individual instruction. Bring a laptop with Photoshop installed to receive processing aid with your images.
EVENING: Variable, weather dependent. Late afternoon, sunset and night photography is emphasized. We do not intend to photograph the Milky Way every night. On some evenings we recommend a picnic dinner in the field. On others we'll eat in a restaurant before photography.

REGISTRATION / DEPOSIT $300 USD
CALL US - MasterCard / Visa.
or
PayPal below.
- DEPOSIT or FULL
- BALANCE
- REPEAT BALANCE

DETAILS
EXPERIENCE: Intermediate and Advanced.
Because participants need to work their cameras in darkness and our post processing techniques are advanced this workshop is not advised for beginners.
GROUP SIZE: Target number of participants is 6.
EFFORT: Difficult - Trail hiking is involved. One hike starts at 5,650 feet in elevation, is 2.4 miles each way and has an elevation gain of 1,100 feet. One must be able to carry one's camera gear, food and plenty of water, 3 to 4 quarts.
CONDITIONS: In August temperatures on the desert floor may range from a low in the eighties to a high above one hundred. Our longer hikes will be in the Chisos Mountains; higher elevation, less heat, but still quite warm.
ELEVATION: The elevation range of our shooting locations is 3,000 to 7,000 ft. Proper hydration is a must at higher elevations.
DANGER: Cactus hide in the terrain. Ankle high, solid leather, hiking boots are highly recommended. Snakes inhabit the park and are more active at night. Andy will use snake gaiters and highly recommends participants bring their own.

TRANSPORTATION
AIR TRAVEL: Likely airport choices are El Paso and Odessa / Midland, TX.
Driving time from El Paso to Big Bend, TX is about 6 hrs 15 min.
Driving time from Odessa / Midland to Big Bend, TX is about 4 hrs 15 min.
DRIVING CONDITIONS: Usually, paved roads. A standard rental car should be sufficient. We prefer participants car pool with each other to limit our impact and get to know one another.

EQUIPMENT
RECOMMENDATIONS: MORE WORKSHOP INFORMATION
FOR BIG BEND: NIGHT SKY - Cameras with full frame sensors, the lens should be at least 16mm wide.
Cameras with partial frame sensors, 1.5 LMF, the lens should be at least 10mm wide.
Test the wide aperture performance of lenses in advance of the workshop: PDF How to test lens sharpness.
SUNSET - A lens range from 16 mm to 400 mm after the lens multiplication factor is recommended and polarizing filter.
With night photography a cable release may be useful. Consider having an intervalometer. For these check Amazon, Andy has been happy with one made by Neewer, they run $20-$35, it may not last forever, but it seems to do the job at a reasonable cost.
TRIPOD: Sturdy, solid; not thin legs. Viewable at one's standing height without bending over.
SOFTWARE: In order to process images during the workshop please bring a laptop with Photoshop installed. Two other useful programs to consider Topaz Denoise, Starry Landscape Stacker - Mac, or Sequator - PC. We highly recommend each participant download the phone app PhotoPills to use during the workshop.
OTHER: Hiking boots, snake gaiters and ability to carry ample water.
