Moab - Arches & Canyonlands Night Workshop

The incredible Moab area including two very different National Parks awaits your exploration in this workshop revolving mostly around night photography. Arches National Park is home to more than 2000 stone arches along with countless sandstone pinnacles and large balancing rocks. The often-overlooked Canyonlands National Park is filled with canyons torn into the earth’s crust by the Colorado and Green Rivers and their tributaries. Join me and up to 7 other photographers as you learn and develop your skills as a night photographer.

Three Evenings Shooting Landscapes at Night

Three nights in the Moab area go by so quickly! During this workshop, you will learn everything you need to know about night landscape photography in some of the country’s most amazing settings! On the first night, we will head just south of Moab to get down some of the basics along with doing a little painting with light. For the next two nights, we will venture into Canyonlands and Arches National Parks to capture their surreal beauty both by sunset and by moonlight.

The majority of our shooting locations are within 500ft of the car with the exception of Mesa Arch. This is a half-mile round trip from the parking lot on a mostly paved trail.

Two Daytime Editing & Critique Sessions

Brian Leary’s technique is centered around achieving the best in-camera results possible, but that doesn’t mean editing doesn’t take place. The real learning happens in the review process. The morning after our first night of shooting I will walk you through my process in Adobe Lightroom Classic from import to export-and we will have an initial critique of our first night’s images. The day after our second night of shooting each participant will have a one-on-one session in Lightroom Classic to answer any individual questions and see how you’re progressing so far. Before we part ways on the last day we will get together again to address editing questions you may have and we will have a slideshow and critique of images you created during our excursion.

What's Included:

Water and snacks while in the field
Peace of mind that your teacher and guide (Brian Leary) personally knows the areas we will be visiting. I am also first aid certified and carry a full first aid kit at all times. My workshops are all fully and properly permitted by the National Parks I operate them within.

What's not Included:

Hotel or Camping
Meals
Park Entrance Fees
Transportation

Itinerary

Day One

Arrivals in Moab, Utah. Night Session.

We will meet for an early dinner before our first night of shooting (hotels and meals are not included in this workshop). This gives us an opportunity to get acquainted and get ready for our first excursion. We will also decide on a carpooling plan for the following days' events. A park pass is required to enter the park and can be purchased at Arches or Canyonlands entry gates. If you have a Golden Eagle Pass or an Annual National Parks Pass you can simply show them when you enter. 5:15(ish) – Head south of Moab for our first night of shooting. Here we will take our first night exposures and get a feel for how to focus at night and how to judge your exposure. The National Parks around here no longer allow painting with light so we will take advantage of being outside of park boundaries to get a little creative before we head back for the night. You are welcome to bring your own light sources for this if you like, but I will have an assortment of things for people to play with.

Day Two

Day and Night Sessions

10:30am-1:30pm –Congregate in the meeting room. Here we will have a session in Lightroom Classic where I will show you my workflow from import to export. I will also edit a photo or two from the night before so you can get a feel for the capabilities of the RAW files we are shooting. You will want to bring your laptop with an installed and previously opened, up to date copy of Lightroom Classic and also your images from the night before. 2:30pm – Head to Canyonlands National Park to see a bit of it before it gets dark. We will be photographing a sunset here, which will give us a chance to play with graduated neutral density filters to balance the light as it enters the camera. You will want to bring a sandwich or something similar for dinner (I will have a cooler) as we won’t be returning to town before night. After sunset we will practice the techniques learned the night before with the immense landscapes of Canyonlands as our subject matter. We will be returning to Moab around midnight.

Day Three

Day and Night Sessions

9am - 1pm - The morning of November 9th we will have one on one critique sessions. This will give me a good idea of how you did the night before and give us some things to work on for the shooting later in the evening. When it isn’t your turn, the morning is yours to explore the quaint town and its surroundings, edit your images or catch up on sleep. 3pm - We will be leaving during the day again to see a bit of Arches before it gets dark and photograph the sunset. You will want to bring a sandwich again for dinner. We will be heading to the Windows section of the park - here you’ll find the highest concentration of famous arches in one location. This area will give us enough foreground and subject matter to wander around for the whole night. We will be back in Moab between midnight and 1am.

Day Four

Morning Image Review - Workshop Completion

10:30am - Noon – Convene in the meeting room for a slide show of some of your favorite images along with a critique. This is really where a lot of the learning happens. By seeing everyone else’s images, you might get some ideas of questions that you hadn’t had before.

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Arches, Canyonlands Night Workshop FAQs

Is there a lot of hiking in this workshop?

This workshop doesn’t have long hikes. Most of our tour locations are close to where we park
our vehicles. A 0.7-mile loop hike on an easy trail to Mesa Arch is the longest. Sturdy shoes are reccomended.

What about bathroom stops?

Bathrooms are readily available during our excursions.

Where do we stay?

Moab has a lot of hotels and camping nearby. Accommodation is not included in this workshop
and you are welcome to stay wherever you like. Although it is not required, we will have a block of rooms set aside at a local hotel for those who would like to stay there.

What about food?

Although there will be water and snacks during our outings, meals are not included in this
workshop. We’ll have a list of excellent restaurants we can recommend.

What photography skills do I need?

This workshop is made for photographers of all skill levels. Everyone from beginners to
professionals will be able to learn something from this workshop. Please contact us with questions about your gear.

What is the best way to get to Moab?

The closest major airports are Salt Lake City (SLC) about 5 hours away and Las Vegas (LAS)
about 8 hours away. If you are looking to make your trip a longer adventure, flying into Salt Lake
City and out of Las Vegas will allow you to pass through all 5 of the national parks in Utah in
one trip. More information and ideas for your side trips after a deposit has been made.

Destination Details