Big Bend National Park encompasses the northernmost swath of the Chihuahuan Desert, a landscape of great environmental diversity and visual contrasts. This 8-day photography workshop will give participants many opportunities to hone their skills in landscape photography as we explore this subtly beautiful national park, plus take excursions to the nearby towns of Marathon, Alpine and Marfa for an in-depth exploration of this ever-changing southwest Texas destination.

Daily outings at sunrise and late afternoon until sunset will enable us to capture each location in the most dramatic light. We will focus on making the most of whatever light and weather conditions we find. We will work on portraying all aspects of the landscape, from grand desert, mountain and river vistas to the canyons, dunes, mesas, and rock formations typical of Big Bend.

We will practice a variety of approaches to composition, such as capturing overviews, vignettes and details; integrating desert plants with the landscape; and looking for abstractions, shapes, lines and textures. Finally, in this remote natural environment, the dark night sky will give us a chance try long exposures for star trails. And those with in interest in wildlife can try their hand at capturing some of the many birds, mammals and reptiles in the park.

In the middle of each day, we’ll have time to hold review sessions to look at each participant’s photographic results, suggest ways to improve them and learn some simple after-capture techniques that can enhance our images.

I invite you to join me on this spectacular photographic journey. For a detailed itinerary and additional information, contact me at 646-519-1751 or email [email protected]. To hold your space, your deposit of $350 is due by February 10.

Sponsored by the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden

This unusual 8-day nature photography workshop takes participants to two distinctive locations in New Mexico to photograph two extraordinary aspects of nature.

We begin outside Albuquerque at the Basque del Apache Wildlife Refuge, which is the winter nesting ground of huge flocks of frisky Snow Geese and elegant Sandhill Cranes, plus other birds and wildlife. We will rise early to experience and photograph these wild birds as they land in their watery feeding grounds, returning again toward sunset to capture their departing flights. We will practice various techniques for photographing these birds in action and in flight, capturing them against the dramatic mesas and foothills in the background. It is truly an awe-inspiring experience to watch and photograph these birds at such close range and in such a stunning setting.

Then we drive to White Sands National Monument for a chance to see and capture the remarkably pure white gypsum sand dunes outside Alamogordo. The sinuous shapes of the dunes and the fascinating textures along their surface are a photographer’s dream to play with in every kind of light. Finally, after reviewing our images, we return to Basque del Apache for another chance to photograph birds.

For more information and to register, click here.