As if it wasn't striking enough already, in the fall season, amidst towering hoodoos, meandering streams, and winding canyons, the cottonwoods and other deciduous trees burst into dazzling hues of gold, crimson, and bronze. The surrounding desert brush carpets the understory in vibrant pastels of aquamarine and umber. Scattered leaves line the winding, mud-cracked banks of riparian canyons, secreting iridescent biofilm that reflects psychedelic colors.

Apart from the incredible geology and scenery of Northern Escalante and Bryce Canyon, there is plenty of space, stillness, and silence for one to roam and connect with the landscape without any outside distraction or disturbance. While this place lends itself to all styles of nature photography, the mindful photographer who can guide their focus and isolate their surroundings into smaller scenes will be rewarded with a plethora of magnificent photographic opportunities. In this five-day workshop, Adrian and I will be guiding you all around the area to show you iconic places of well-deserved popularity as well as forgotten corners that rarely see any visitors in order to provide you with the widest variety of subject matter possible. Through our instruction, we will help you to refine and hone in your skills in order to make meaningful photographs that express the landscape through your own unique perspective.

For this workshop, we will be photographing both within Bryce Canyon National Park and the northern portion of the Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument, between Escalante and Boulder, UT, where there are plenty of lodging and dining options. You will need your own vehicle in order to travel from location to location, but we will strongly encourage carpooling in order to be able to move around much quicker and lessen our impact on the landscape. On our first day, we will meet in the small town of Bryce Canyon City by 2:30 pm to check into our hotels and make introductions before going out to photograph in the evening. Days 2-4 will allow us to photograph from sunrise until sunset with a location or two in between, or some image critique, presentation, and post-processing instruction back in the town of Escalante at our conference room. Since some locations focus on canyons, not all days will be chasing the golden light at dawn or dusk, since the light can be best during the day. On day 5 the workshop will conclude after our morning field session which dpending on location magy require an early check out to allow for enough time to photograph without rushing back. We are also offering a 2-day extension to visit some incredible locations that require a bit more hiking and good physical condition. This add-on will be limted to a very small group.

After more than a decade of photographing this area extensively, Adrian and I both have a full itinerary of potential locations. However, we will remain flexible in order to be able to visit the best areas based on the lighting and weather conditions we encounter. Some of these locations are possible to photograph right from the car, while others will require anywhere from 2-4 miles of hiking roundtrip but usually with very little elevation gain. I would be physically and mentally prepared to be out all day long, exploring several locations each day. We will return to town each evening after photographing to have dinner together as a group to go over plans for the next day and socialize before heading back to our hotel rooms to rest. The scenery will be conducive to grand landscapes, intimates, and aerial photography, so we recommend bringing all of your lenses and equipment, but a telephoto and a tripod are both non-negotiable.

This workshop will be suitable for any photography skill level, whether you are just getting started or have been at it for a long time. We are both well-experienced in teaching basic photo theory and camera settings. But really, what we are most passionate about is teaching our unique philosophies and approaches to nature photography, which will allow you to really think outside the box to capture unique images regardless of the weather conditions. With abundant vegetation, badlands, hoodoos, canyons, and more, Bryce Canyon and Escalante are the perfect places to experiment and explore your creativity!

We will meet at 2:30 pm in Bryce Canyon City at the hotel we are based out of. We will go over logistics and do introductions. Then, we will head out for a sunset session, followed by an optional no-host dinner in Bryce Canyon City. 

The plan is to have time in the field, mostly focused on the first few hours and the last few hours of each day, except in locations like canyons, which are great during the day. Additionally, we will have one or two days of class-type sessions that include participant image reviews, processing tips, and a presentation or two. The weather forecast and conditions leading up to the event will determine the timing of these events throughout the workshop. We want to remain flexible in order to be out in the field during optimal times when possible. 

We will finish up the workshop with a field session. The final schedule is determined before the workshop yet at this time it will likely require an early checkout in order to give us enough time at the morning location without rushing back to make check out. This will be followed by a no-host optional breakfast to close out the workshop.