Horseshoe Bend Astrophotography Workshop

While astro-photography involves some advanced techniques ... anyone with the right equipment and direction can handle it. This workshop is structured to teach any intermediate or advanced photographer how to capture stunning photographs of the stars from planning to shooting to processing.

Learning to photograph the stars well is only part of the program, you need a worthwhile foreground to bring it all to life. The best astro shots highlight not only the stars or Milky Way, but need to feature a picturesque landscape or captivating foreground subject.

Page, Arizona offers quick access to many excellent rock formations and epic scenes that qualify well as worthy foreground features for awesome astrophotography.

Planned shooting locations

Day 1) Paria Rimrocks Toadstool Hoodoos

Day 2) Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River!

Day 3) Big Water & The New Wave just west of Page

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Learn from a pro to create stunning astrophotography!

We will work together referencing light pollution charts, star maps, and weather patterns to plan your shoots and choose the best foreground. We will be covering many technical considerations for the best astro photography in order for you to get that awesome shot you want - including camera and lens choice, tripod considerations, image framing, exposure and lens settings, lighting techniques, etc. You can look forward to going home with a number of stunning images that will impress and captivate all who see them!

You'll have three nights to photograph some amazing stuff under the northern Arizona stars. Then each day, we will work through the process of editing your images from the night before using a variety of techniques in both Lightroom and Photoshop. You'll learn the workflow and methods I have developed over countless hours of editing astrophotography as we bring out those stars and fine-tune the images to absolute perfection.

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Workshop Itinerary

Day 1

03:00 PM - Meet in Page for introductions, Training on night photography and planning for the first night shoot.

06:00 PM - Break for dinner.

08:00 PM Travel to Toadstool Hoodoos night shoot location.

09:30 PM - Begin night photography shooting on location.

02:00 AM - End of on-location night shooting. (time may vary)

Day 2

10:00 AM - Meet at Page location for training, discussions and processing of images shot the night before.

12:00 PM - Lunch as photography discussions and training continues.

05:00 PM - Break for dinner.

08:00 PM Travel to Horseshoe Bend for night shoot.

09:30 PM - Begin night photography shooting on location.

02:00 AM - End of on-location night shooting. (time may vary)

Day 3

10:00 AM - Meet at Page location for training, discussions and processing of images shot the night before.

12:00 PM - Lunch as photography discussions and training continues.

05:00 PM - Break for dinner.

08:00 PM Travel to The New Wave night shoot location.

09:30 PM - Begin night photography shooting on location.

02:00 AM - End of on-location night shooting. (time may vary)

Day 4

09:00 AM - Meet at Page location for discussions and training.

11:00 AM - Finish up and check out.

The workshop fee includes double (or multiple) occupancy accommodations with one meal on day 1, two meals on days 2 & 3, and a light breakfast on day 4. Having our group all together in the same home adds to the learning experience for everyone as photography related conversation and discussions will be nearly constant. So we are hoping to keep everyone together as much as possible in order to maximize your opportunity to benefit from the workshop and go home with lots and lots of great new information and awesome photos.

Participants are responsible for their own transportation to Page, AZ. Transportation to and from our various sites will be provided and/or accomplished through car-pooling between workshop members.

Astrophotography Considerations

As with any genre of outdoor photography, weather plays a significant role. With astrophotography, clouds are not a show-stopper. Some of my most favorite astro compositions include some clouds in the shot – sometimes a lot of clouds. That being said, even if we have clouds at a particular workshop shoot, we will likely just work with them. However, if a weather system comes through that kills a location, there are many many places throughout northern Arizona and Southern Utah, convenient to Page that we can consider as alternatives - just have to drive a little further maybe. It is common with astrophotography to drive a couple of hours to get that awesome shot under the stars.

Our workshop dates are set toward the end the astrophotography season for a reason. The Milky Way is not visible at night (or day ) except between April and early October each year. It is visible to the southeast and south in the early and mid season and to the south and southwest late in the season. In order to shoot the Milky Way within a decent frame of Horseshoe Bend, you have to wait until late in the astrophotography season because the best Horseshoe Bend frames are looking west. This is why these workshops are scheduled for late July and August – it’s the best time to shoot astrophotography of Horseshoe Bend if you want the Milky Way in the frame.

What will you be taking home with you?

You will leave the workshop with some truly beautiful photos of the starlit sky in really cool places that you fully own because they are all you - you will shoot and edit them start to finish. In the process, you will be gaining an in depth knowledge of the tried and tested methods I have developed as a pro to create amazing astrophotography.

Here are some of the many general aspects of landscape and astrophotography topics we will be discussing in the workshop:

- Planning and preparation for the most productive and successful photo shoots.

- Learning to use a variety of apps to understand star/Milky Way movement and using what you learn to plan your shoots.

- Photo equipment bag organization and general photo equipment considerations.

- Best ISO settings; what they are, what they mean to you in general and very importantly; ISO considerations for astrophotography.

- Why shoot RAW and not JPG.

- Tips on how to identify potential image frame problems and benefits in star shots.

- Shutter / aperture / ISO settings for the optimum night sky capture.

- Cameras, lenses and other equipment considerations in night sky photography.

- Identifying and working within the limitations of your particular brand of camera/lens and other equipment when shooting the stars.

- Shooting multiple exposures in order to reduce sensor noise or to create star trail images.

- Night sky shooting techniques that will ensure the stars are properly focused.

Understanding how digital imagery works is key to mastering the image editing process whether day or night photography. I am a technical photo-geek, and have developed a workflow and system to my photography that guarantees your photography skills will improve when applied. You will learn to implement new image management and Lightroom/Photoshop editing methods that will change and improve your image processing workflow forever.

Here is a summation of the many processing topics we will cover on image processing:

- Understanding how far to take your editing in Lightroom before exporting and finishing the process in Photoshop.

- How to make the most of the tools available in Lightroom so important to astro photography by learning how they work - including color temperature and tint adjustments, graduated filters, spot removal, the adjustment brush, haze filter, clarity tool, etc, etc ... we will cover it all.

- How to use some of the basic photoshop tools including curves, hue/saturation, color balance, etc. on astro shots without messing things up.

- How to import multiple images as layers into Photoshop and merge them to reduce noise or create star trails.

- Manipulate, adjust and clean up your astro images using liquify and warp without causing problems.

- Learn to adjust and balance the color in your image between sky, highlights and shadows in order to avoid that over-baked look.

- We will cover a variety of tools available in photoshop for selecting only specific areas of your image to apply an effect.

- Using the sharpen tool in conjunction with noise reduction together to enhance or clean up specific areas without going too far.

- The use of luminosity masks in photoshop to add a whole new level to your image editing.

- Imbedded color profile considerations and final preparations for print or web presentation.

Not all cameras are made equal

Photographic Equipment Considerations

For astophotography, I started a few years back with a Canon 5D MK2 which did fine, and now shoot a Sony A7RII, Nikon 14-24 f/2.8G, or Canon 24-70 f/2.8L. I chose the Sony system primarily for the amazing quality of their image sensor - especially at high ISO settings, and the huge 42 megapixles.

With astrophotography work, long exposures and low light means noise problems. The best systems for astrophotography will be the more recent models offered by a given brand. As we all know, sensor technology changes super fast - so the latest is greatest.

A very bright (f/2.8 or less) wide lens (like 14mm on a full frame camera) is best but we can still work with the 24mm range. The smaller the aperture numeral on a lens (F-stop), the brighter the lens (you should already know that). For night sky shooting, the brighter the better. For horseshoe bend, you will need to come with at least a 24mm f/2.8 lens - but 14 to 16mm would be preferable for Horseshoe Bend. If you don't have one - rent one for this workshop. With a good lens in hand, whatever camera system you have - I can help you learn to take photos of the stars with it!

Horseshoe Bend Astrophotography Workshop

For intermediate and advanced photographers

--> Two dates to choose from <--

---> Shoot Horseshoe Bend under the Milky Way with Steve Porter <---

Join me in Page, Arizona for the 2019 Astrophotography Workshop to capture some

amazing astrophotography of Horseshoe Bend and other awesome locations around Page!

--> Stars on the move over Horseshoe Bend <--

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Learn from a pro to create stunning astrophotography!

-- Scroll down for workshop dates and cost --