The Deserts of South West America

Join us on an unfor­get­table pho­to­graph­ic adven­ture through the heart of the Amer­i­can South­west, a land sculpt­ed over mil­len­nia by wind, water, and time. This immer­sive eight day work­shop is designed for pho­tog­ra­phers of all lev­els who want to cap­ture the raw beau­ty, scale, and sub­tle details of this extra­or­di­nary region. Each loca­tion offers a unique palette of tex­tures, colours, and moods that will both chal­lenge and inspire your cre­ative vision.

Our jour­ney begins in Las Vegas, head­ing straight to the stun­ning Val­ley of Fire, where red and gold­en sand­stone for­ma­tions blaze under the desert sun. Here, we’ll focus on com­po­si­tion and expo­sure tech­niques to empha­sise shape, pat­tern, con­trast, and colour, par­tic­u­lar­ly dur­ing the dra­mat­ic light of sun­rise and sunset.

From there, we trav­el to Zion Nation­al Park, a sanc­tu­ary of tow­er­ing cliffs, emer­ald waters, and deep, shad­owed canyons. This remark­able land­scape offers end­less com­po­si­tion­al pos­si­bil­i­ties and oppor­tu­ni­ties to work with scale and light.

Next, we explore the south­ern reach­es of Grand Stair­case, Escalante Nation­al Mon­u­ment, a vast and var­ied wilder­ness of erod­ed cliffs and remote beau­ty. Weath­er and con­di­tions per­mit­ting, we may take a Nava­jo-guid­ed boat tour on Lake Pow­ell, where sculpt­ed canyon walls are mir­rored in the still waters of the Col­orado River.

A major high­light of the tour is Ante­lope Canyon, a dream­like slot canyon carved by flash floods and time. The flow­ing sand­stone walls and ethe­re­al beams of light make this one of the most sought-after pho­to­graph­ic loca­tions in the world.

We’ll also spend an extend­ed vis­it at the oth­er­world­ly White Pock­et, an alien land­scape of swirling sand­stone and abstract forms. Near­by, we’ll explore addi­tion­al hid­den trea­sures such as the whim­si­cal Toad­stool Hoodoos and the vivid­ly coloured Paria Rain­bow Moun­tains in the Paria Wilderness.

Con­tin­u­ing east, we arrive at Mon­u­ment Val­ley, where we’ll meet Nava­jo guides and trav­el to the spec­tac­u­lar view­point at Hunts Mesa. From this ele­vat­ed van­tage point, we’ll pho­to­graph the icon­ic sand­stone buttes ris­ing from the desert floor — one of the most breath­tak­ing views in the South­west. We’ll also explore the mon­u­ments up close before cross­ing into New Mexico.

Here, we’ll vis­it the remark­able Bisti / De-Na-Zin Bad­lands, a sur­re­al land­scape of mush­room-shaped hoodoos and erod­ed mud-rock for­ma­tions that feel tru­ly otherworldly.

On our return west, we’ll explore the strik­ing­ly colour­ful Ben­tonite Hills near Han­ksville, where lay­ered clays cre­ate painter­ly pat­terns across the land­scape. From there, we head to Bryce Canyon Nation­al Park, renowned for its vast amphithe­atre of glow­ing hoodoo towers.

We’ll pho­to­graph Bryce at both sun­rise and sun­set, when the rock spires appear to ignite with warm light. We’ll also explore the north­ern reach­es of Grand Stair­case, Escalante, round­ing out our jour­ney with yet more unique landscapes

These high­lights are just the begin­ning. We’ll expe­ri­ence many addi­tion­al fas­ci­nat­ing loca­tions along the way. The itin­er­ary remains flex­i­ble, allow­ing us to take full advan­tage of chang­ing light, weath­er, and conditions.

Through­out the work­shop, you’ll receive per­son­alised instruc­tion in cam­era tech­nique, com­po­si­tion. With a small group size, there’s plen­ty of indi­vid­ual atten­tion, ensur­ing you get the most from every location.

Whether you’re refin­ing your skills or build­ing a com­pelling port­fo­lio, this work­shop will ele­vate your pho­tog­ra­phy while immers­ing you in the spir­it of the South­west, a land that nev­er fails to aston­ish and exceed expectations.