July 31st-August 3rd, in Eastern California
with Scott Martin and Lance Keimig
Schedule:
July 31st – Optional Lightroom 5 Class in Lee Vining
August 1st – Tioga Pass or Mono Lake
August 2nd and 3rd – Bodie Ghost Town
Tioga Pass, Mono Lake and Bodie ghost town are not only some of our favorite locations that we’ve been making images in for decades, we’ve also been leading night photography workshops here for the past ten years. We think you’ll find Mono Lake's signature monolithic rock structures that extend upward from the lake are ideal for night photography. The dramatic granite moonscapes of Tioga Pass in Yosemite offer great material to work with at night, and we have a special permit to photograph Bodie Ghost Town on the last two nights of the workshop.
This workshop takes place during full moon, and is intended for people who have some previous experience with digital night photography. If you are new to night photography, please contact us to see if this workshop would be appropriate for you. Topics covered will include: light painting, controlling the ratio between ambient and added light to achieve your desired effect, and image stacking combined with light painting to create dramatic images with long star trails. Techniques and inspiration will be constantly discussed, demonstrated and put into practice. We hope to push you to step outside your comfort zone, to test the limits of what you and your camera can do.
Accommodations
Workshop participants stay at nearby resorts, hotels or campgrounds in or near Lee Vining. We strongly recommend Murphey's Motel in Lee Vining. You should request one of the rooms reserved for the workshop when you register, or reserve a something independently as soon as you confirm your spot in the workshop.
Meals
Morning coffee is at the wonderful Latte Da Cafe at the El Mono Motel. They serve up homemade muffins and strong coffee to get us off on the right foot each day. If you need a bigger breakfast, there's always Nicely's, an old fashioned coffee shop. There are a couple of markets in Lee Vining if you prefer to picnic, but most people eat at the Whoa Nelly Cafe at the The Tioga Gas Mart in Lee Vining. Sounds strange, but this place serves excellent food- everything from omelets, gourmet pizza, and barbecue, to fish tacos, seared tuna, grilled Kansas City skirt steak ceasar, and herb crusted pork loin! The Mono Inn reopened in 2011 after closing several years ago, and the food and service are great, along with a fantastic view looking out over Mono Lake.
Getting there
The town of Lee Vining in the Eastern Sierra is isolated. The closest major airport is Reno, NV- 120 miles away. Driving from Reno is about 2 1/2 hours. San Francisco is about a 6 hour drive through Yosemite National Park, and Los Angeles is about 6 hours away by car. It's well worth the effort to get there. If you are interested in carpooling or sharing a rental car from Reno or the Bay Area, let me know, and we will try to connect you with someone.
Registration
The cost of this workshop is $995+ $250 for the optional Lightroom class. Due to drastic increase in the permit fees at Bodie, we are unable to offer an alumni discount for this workshop.
Once you secure your spot by paying a deposit for the workshop, you will be contacted with detailed information about the workshop. We expect this workshop to fill by the end of May, so secure your place as soon as you are ready to commit by placing your deposit. Refunds, less a $50 cancellation fee to cover expenses are available until the payment due in full date. You can make a deposit at any time, but space is available on a first come basis. Payment is due in full by July 1, 2014. You can still sign up after July 1 if there is space available, but you need to pay in full at that time. If you need to cancel after the due in full date, you may request a refund if you are able to find a replacement to take your place. Many of our expenses are paid in advance, and we cannot offer refunds after the payment due in full date unless your spot is filled by someone else. If the program is cancelled for any reason, you will receive a full refund. We cannot be responsible for any losses because of hotel or airline cancellations, so travel insurance is recommended. We look forward to seeing you at Mono Lake!
All photos on this page are © Scott Martin.