Steve Porter’s – Horseshoe Bend Astrophotography Workshop
Thank you for registering for Steve Porter's three-day Horseshoe Bend Astrophotography Workshop to be held on Monday July 29th through Thursday, Aug 1st 2019.
Workshop Location: Page, Arizona. You will be notified of the specific address prior to your workshop starting date.
Workshop begins: Monday July 29, 2019, 3:00 PM
Workshop ends: Thursday Aug 1, 11:00 AM
Workshop fee: $1,100 US
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 our last morning. We will be staying together in a rental home in Page which is large enough to sleep/accommodate the size of our group. Because many of the rental homes in this area include one or more larger bedrooms with more than two beds, some may be asked to share a room like this. If more private accommodations are necessary or preferred, you can give me a call and we will try to work something out. 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.
After introductions and training on day 1, we will break for dinner and then head for our first shoot location at Paria Rimrocks Toadstool Hoodoos, about a 30 minute drive and an easy 20 minute mostly flat hike of just under a mile, along a pretty good trail.
We will plan our drive and hike to the hoodoos to arrive about the time the sky is dark enough for shooting the stars, and continue to midnight or 1:00 AM or so depending on how things go.
Our Horseshoe Bend location also involves a hike of 1.25 miles out and back along a sandy well traveled trail.
All three of our locations are 4500 ft in elevation or slightly lower – temperatures could drop into the high 50s so a light jacket may be a good idea – especially at horseshoe bend where it can get breezy.
Astrophotography Considerations
As with any genre of outdoor photography, weather plays a role. With astrophotography, clouds are not a show-stopper. Some of my most favorite astro photos include some clouds in the shot – sometimes lots 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 for hours to get that awesome shot under the stars.
Our workshop is relatively late in the astrophotography season. The Milky Way band is not visible at night (or day J) except between April and early October each year. The Milky Way is visible to the Southeast in the early 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 this workshop was scheduled for Late August – it’s the best time for Horseshoe Bend with the Milky Way in the frame.
Workshop Itinerary
Monday, July 29 - 2019
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.
01:00 AM - End of on-location night shooting. (time may vary)
Tuesday, July 30 - 2019
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.
01:00 AM - End of on-location night shooting. (time may vary)
Wednesday, July 31 - 2019
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.
01:00 AM - End of on-location night shooting. (time may vary)
Thursday, Aug 1 - 2019
09:00 AM - Meet at Page location for discussions and training.
11:00 PM - Finish up and check out.
BRING YOUR LAPTOP to the workshop! In-class instruction will include plenty of hands on opportunity as Steve demonstrates his various approaches to image management, processing and photo manipulation. Consequently, for the best learning experience be sure to bring a laptop with the latest versions of Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.
Items to be sure and bring:
Camera bag, Camera(s), Lenses, Tripos(s), a few memory cards
Intervalometer or remote timer (if you have one)
Camera flash (if you have one, may be useful for lighting foreground subjects)
Headlamp (best if it includes a red light) and backup flashlight/headlamps and batteries
Shoes and clothing conducive to walking around in the desert at night
Temperatures possibly as low as 55 deg so bring a jacket
If you have any questions or concerns please contact Steve at sp@steveporter.com or by phone: (480) 363-1013
We look forward to seeing you.
Steve Porter
