Legendary. That’s one word to use to describe what it is like visiting Death Valley. On this Death Valley Photography Workshop, we’ll visit legendary locations. We’ll watch the light spread across the salt valleys in the morning and watch the light cast shadows across the sand dunes in the evenings. We’ll explore a canyon carved from marble and visit locations where Star Wars was filmed. It’s hard to describe what it feels like to see and photograph Death Valley, but you will want to return again. We’ll photograph mountains, salt flats, sand dunes, desert canyons, historic sites and more.
Dates: Not currently scheduled. You can see the list of current photo workshops here.
Location: Death Valley National Park, California
Bryan Hansel Photography is an authorized permittee of the National Park Service. He operates under a Commercial Use Authorization from the National Park Service.
Check out my current photo workshop schedule.
Itinerary
The itinerary is subject to change. You can expect a two to three hour break around lunch each day, although depend on the day’s destination we may have to change that. During the break, you can work on images or rest. The resort that we’re staying at is wonderful to explore. There may be time for night photography depending on the conditions. On the day before the workshop, you may be required to visit the visitor center to sign into our group.
- Day 1: Sunrise to sunset in the field.
- Day 2: Sunrise to sunset in the field.
- Day 3: Sunrise to sunset in the field.
- Day 4: Sunrise to sunset in the field.
- Day 5: Sunrise to mid-morning in the field.
Additional Information
Maximum number of participants: 10
Experience Level: This workshop is a destination photo workshop. Destination photo workshops are designed for participants that have taken one of my workshops previously or have equivalent experience. For destination workshops, I’ll provide participants with videos of my presentations before the workshop. You can watch them on your own. If you are a novice, the videos will be a good way to catch up. The goal on destination workshops is to emphasize experiential learning by spending more time in the field.
Activity level: We will hike up to four miles a day into canyons. We may hike up to two or three miles in the sand dunes. Sand dunes can be difficult to hike across and some participants will choose to forego staying with the group and only hike a short distance into the dunes.
What’s included in the workshop fee: Instruction fee and guiding.
What’s not included in the workshop fee: Transportation. Carpooling is required. Lodging. Meals. Trip insurance. Park entrance fees.
Lodging partner: After you register, I’ll send you information on how you can register for the room block. The hotel is the heart of Death Valley National Park. We have a special room rate.
Check-in date:
Check-out date:
Getting there: here are many ways to get to Death Valley, but the easiest is to fly into Vegas (LAS), rent a car and then drive approximately 2.5 hours to the park. I highly recommend renting a car with clearance. You can coordinate flights and car rentals using our team messaging application.
Weather: The average temps for 40°F for lows and 67°F for highs. You should expect colder temps in the mountains. Below freezing temps are not unusual.
Equipment list: After registration, you will receive a full equipment list and participant package. The package will discuss equipment options, photography techniques and more.
Filters: While filters are not necessary, I recommend a Singh-Ray LB Neutral Polarizer and a Singh-Ray 3-stop Reverse ND grad and 3-stop soft. The Singh-Ray ColorCombo polarizer can help bring out the red colors in the canyons and formation. I have a limited number of demo filter kits available. More information is in the participant package. You get a discount when buying direct from Singh-Ray and using the code “hansel10”.
Registration and Cancellation Policies
Please, read the Registration and Cancellation Policies at the link. There are no exceptions to the policy.
