Night Photography – Great Plains Photography Workshop

June 12-17, 2023

 

Just because you have just captured some great images during the “Magic Hour” does not mean it’s time to put away the camera and quit shooting.  Some of my favorite images are from “Night Photography”.  The same scene you shot during the daylight will take on a whole new dimension after dark.  With digital photography, subjects that were nearly impossible to shoot a night, are now obtainable by nearly everyone.

This will be a six day long intense photography learning opportunity, including classroom work, photo shoots, and post processing with Adobe Lightroom.  A problem with planning a night photo workshop or class is that there is no way to know what the weather will do, having multiple nights will help ensure that we will have an opportunity to photograph the Milky Way. This will be a very small group and a great way for obtaining one on one photography education, while having a good time and making new friends.

This workshop will not be limited to night photography, we will also photograph during the day and as with all my workshops  the instruction will be tailored to the needs of the participants.

This workshop is designed to teach you what you need to know to make fantastic night or lowlight images.  You will learn to set your camera manually for long exposures necessary for night photos.  You will learn techniques such as “Light Painting” and night sky photography. You will learn how to photograph the Milky Way, Star trails, fireworks, the moon, and much more.

During this week long workshop we will be able learn in a classroom setting then go out at night and practice what we have learned then return to the classroom for post processing of our images for a complete learning experience.

Location

Our base location for the Bootcamp will be Elkhart Kansas, this is a very isolated rural area with lots of open space and dark skies.  This is also the heart of the Cimarron National Grassland which offers many photographic opportunities.  We will also have access to private property to photograph and will make trips to other areas such as Monument Rocks and Black Mesa in Oklahoma.  Black Mesa has some of the darkest nighttime skies on publicly accessible land in the whole country.

Cimarron National Grassland

Cimarron National Grassland is located in the very southwest corner of Kansas, primarily in Morton County. The Cimarron National Grassland is the largest parcel of public land in the state of Kansas, comprising over100,000 acres.  The multipurpose land is used for hiking, fishing, hunting, camping and bird watching. The Cimarron river, normally a dry sand bed, flows underground thru the grassland.

Years of cattle grazing and farming, followed by a drought, degraded the soils and made them unproductive. By the 1930s many acres were barren. The strong winds that blow across the prairie swept up the loose soil, creating huge dust and sand storms. This area was part of the Dust Bowl, an area that covered parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, named for the great dust storms. Morton County, where part of Cimarron National Grassland is, was one of the most devastated areas.

The U.S. government wanted to stabilize the soil so the land could be used again for agriculture. Healthy grasslands reduce soil erosion and water runoff and provide a dependable supply of summer forage for livestock and wildlife. The U.S. Congress approved the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act in 1937, allowing the government to buy some of this unproductive land with loose soil. The land was first administered by the U.S. Soil Conservation Service and in 1954 was turned over to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. The former Point of Rocks Ranch became Cimarron National Grassland in 1960. It is the largest tract of public land in Kansas.

 

 

We will also have the opportunity to make daytrips to other locations for photography including Monument Rocks.

 

Night Photography

You will learn how to plan a night sky photo shoot, learning how to predict where and when to find the Milky Way and how it will line up with your planned shot.

Additional Topics Covered Include:

• Equipment
• Safety
• Things to take on a night shoot
• Exposure
• Exposure Bracketing
• Understanding the Histogram
• Bulb Exposures
• Focusing in the Dark
• White Balance
• Mirror Lockup
• Long Exposure Noise Reduction
• High Dynamic Range (HDR)
• Image Stacking
• Setting your camera for manual exposure

You will learn techniques ( even if we actually have the opportunity to photograph) such as:

• Photographing the moon
• Photographing the Milky Way
• Photographing the night sky
• Photographing star trails
• Photographing fireworks
• Photographing neon lights
• Photographing people at night without flash
• Photographing lightning
• Light Painting
• Using motion blur creatively

You will learn post processing techniques:

• Basic exposure adjustments
• Recovering highlight and shadow details
• Correcting white balance even with mixed lighting
• Noise Reduction
• Recovering lost color
• Stacking images
• Create stacked star trail images

 

Photographing the Milky Way

The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains our Solar System. Its name “milky” is derived from its appearance as a dim glowing band arching across the night sky whose individual stars cannot be distinguished by the naked eye. From Earth the Milky Way appears as a band because its disk-shaped structure is viewed from within.

The “Milky Way” can be seen as a hazy band of white light some 30 degrees wide arcing across the sky. Although all the individual naked-eye stars in the entire sky are part of the Milky Way, the light in this band originates from the accumulation of unresolved stars and other material located in the direction of the galactic plane. Dark regions within the band, such as the Great Rift and the Coalsack, are areas where light from distant stars is blocked by interstellar dust. The area of the sky obscured by the Milky Way is called the Zone of Avoidance.

The Milky Way has a relatively low surface brightness. Its visibility can be greatly reduced by background light such as light pollution or stray light from the Moon.  This makes the Milky Way difficult to see from any brightly lit urban or suburban location, but very prominent when viewed from a rural area when the Moon is below the horizon.

Using digital photography we a able to use a long exposure and amplify the light allowing us to capture more detail than what we can see with our eyes.

What are “star trails”?

As the Earth rotates on its axis the stars appear to move across the sky, this is something that we cannot see with the naked eye, but if look where a certain star or constellation is in the night sky, and the look again in a couple of hours we will see that they have moved.  By using a camera to take a long exposure up to several hours we can capture the movement as streaks of light in the sky.

 

Single Exposure Star Trails
The original way, the only way with film to capture star trails is to lock the shutter open in bulb mode and leave it open for the duration of the capture time.

Image Stacking Star Trails
Using digital we have the ability to do image stacking to create star trails.  Image stacking is the process of capturing multiple images of the same scene and combining them into a single image.  This is accomplished by using computer software which looks at each image in the stack and takes only the brightest pixel from the stack of images for each position in the photo.  As the stars move thru the image the brightest pixel moves and forms the star trails. This keeps the exposure from simply adding the brightness from all the images in the stack overexposing the photo.

On bright moonlit nights, long star trails can be achieved due to the  exposure being based on only a short shutter duration, properly exposing for the foreground and sky.  Shorter exposures have less noise and distractions can be eliminated in affected images in post processing.

 

Workshop Itinerary

During my workshop  the itinerary will totally flexible and determined by the interests of the participants.

Workshop Policies and Information

About the Workshop

My workshops are based on digital photography, the assistance that I can provide and the immediate feedback of digital make “in the field” workshops one of the most effective teaching formats available.  Whether finding the correct exposure, looking through the viewfinder for the perfect composition, or learning how to use the equipment, you can’t beat real world experience.  Classes are kept small, it’s all about personal, individual attention.

Digital offers a number of benefits for learning photography including:

1. Immediate feedback on exposure and composition
2. Immediate critique from the instructor an other participants
3. Ability to do reviews and projection
4. Automatically capturing all shooting information (Meta Data)
5. Ability to manage work flow while still on location

 

What to Bring

Equipment Needed for night photography

• Tripod – A really good steady tripod is essential.  It is also very important to properly set up your tripod making sure all adjustment are good and tight and will not creep during the very long exposure times needed for star trail photography.
• Digital Camera – Any digital camera that you can set manually and trigger with a locking remote will work.
•  A fast wide angle lens – This is not a must, but is my own recommendation, you may actually prefer results with a different lens, or if you don’t have a wide-angle, don’t  let that stop you from enjoying star trail photography.
• Cable Release  – or other method of activating the shutter continuously without touching the camera.
• Folding Lawn Chair – you are going to be out there for a long time you might as well be comfortable, most rocks get very hard after an hour.
• Flashlights – I recommend carrying at least two flashlights. I use a large normal flashlight to be able to “Light Paint” if I desire and a LED headlight that I use to find my way around and adjust my camera without having to hold onto a flashlight.
• Fully charged battery – most new cameras have very good battery life, but be sure it is fully charged.  Shooting for over an hour continuously is a big drain on the battery.

You will need a laptop computer to use with Adobe Lightroom Classic installed.  Remember to bring all cords, chargers, memory cards, extra batteries, and camera  manuals when attending any workshop.

 

Cost

The full cost of the workshop is $995 per participant.

Group Size

We keep our group size small, this provides for a high degree of personal attention and a great amount of flexibility in making the workshop the best possible experience for the participants.

This workshop is limited to a maximum of 6 participants.

 

Changes to the Itinerary

Our night shoots will be dependent upon the weather and cloud cover, we will shoot according to the conditions we have.

In order to offer the best experience possible for the workshop participants we reserve the right to alter the itinerary when our judgment warrants it.  This could be due to unforeseen circumstances, closures, weather or other conditions beyond our control.  We may also alter due to new or unexpected photographic opportunities that may arise.

Transportation During Workshop

Transportation can be provided during this workshop.  This helps to keep down the number of vehicles on the road and to keep parking simpler, as well as the opportunity to make friends with the other participants.

What is Not Included

Transportation to and from the workshop ,  lodging, meals , vehicle entrance fees, incidental expenses, gratuities, and items of a personal nature.

Lodging

Lodging is  not included in the workshop.

Meals

Meals are not included, we may eat as a group or you may choose to eat individually, which ever you prefer.

Health and Physical Considerations

All participants should be in generally good health, walking and moderate climbing may be necessary in outdoor workshops and you will be responsible for carrying of your own equipment on location shoots.  If you are taking any medications be sure to bring a supply sufficient for the duration of the workshop.

If you have any concern about your ability to participate in a workshop please contact me before registering.

Registration, Payment, and Refund Policy

You can register any way you like, just so I get your information, you can use the online registration, the contact form, email,  postal mail, or call me on the phone (479-414-6889) either to register or just ask a question.  Registration is done on a first come basis, so register early to secure your space.   A deposit of $300  is required to reserve your space. Enrollment is limited in our workshops, so once you have been accepted your participation is important to us – we are counting on you to attend.  All workshop require a minimum number of participants or they will be canceled.

If you must withdraw from a course, we must receive written notice of your cancellation, and then apply the following refund policy:   We do not make refunds on workshop fees. We do not make partial refunds for unused portions or services of a workshop for any reason whatsoever. If we are able to fill your space in the workshop (or at our option) we will give full credit towards another workshop.

 

Cancellation Policy

In the unlikely event that we need to cancel a workshop we will refund all monies paid, in full. Notification of our cancellation will be made via either a telephone call or an e-mail to you at least 30 days prior to the beginning of a workshop other than an emergency. We cannot be responsible for phone messages and e-mails not being received in a timely matter due to your service providers. We cannot be responsible for non-refundable airline tickets unused or other travel arrangements because of a workshop cancellation.

All workshops have a minimum participation level which must be met or the workshop will be canceled.

Liability Waiver

All participants will be required to sign a liability waiver before beginning a workshop.  We will not be liable for injury, accident or theft resulting from participation in our workshop program.

Weather

The more the better, at least as far as the photography goes.  Workshops will not be canceled and no refunds will be made due to weather, we will not be responsible for any additional costs that may be incurred by weather delays or cancellations due to weather, flight delays, or other. Participants should come to the workshop prepared for all weather conditions. We will generally update everyone within a few days of the workshop so that they know what type of weather to expect.

In western Kansas in June the days in the upper 80’s and the nights cool down to 60’s, with an average of less than 5 days of rain.

Trip Extensions

We may be able to extend your trip in the area, if you would like more time and personal instruction.  Please contact us for more information and rates before the workshop.

Smoking

We prefer that you do not smoke, however if you must please abide by the following guidelines.  Smoking is not allowed in or near vehicles, during instructional sessions, during group meals, or at other times when in close quarters with other workshop participants.

gdisch On January 31, 2023   /   Workshops   /   Leave a comment