New Mexico Photo Adventure: White Sands and Bisti Badlands
Section 1: March 3-7 (2022) (Sold out, Inquire about our Waitlist)
Section 2: March 8-12 (2022) (1 Spot Now Open)
Location: White Sands National Park and Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness
Dates: Section 1: March 3-7, 2022 Section 2: March 8-12, 2022
Tuition: $1799.00
Group Size: Max. 8
Instructors: Dusty Doddridge and Josh Merrill
Tour Overview:
New Mexico is known as the “Land of Enchantment”. On this photo adventure, we will explore some of the most impressive landscapes that helped the state earn that monicker. We’ll split our time between the surreal White Sands National Park in the South, and the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Badlands in the North. We’ll photograph badlands of wide ranging colors and textures and the alien hoodoos that remain in the wake of their erosion. We’ll chase fantastic desert light during the day, and as the sun goes down on these wild environs we’ll have opportunities to capture the brilliance of the clear night skies. When the skies are clear, we’ll be out photographing the galactic core of the Milky Way in the pre-dawn darkness of this night photographers dreamland.
White Sand National Park is home to the largest gypsum dune fields in the world. These fields of white sand reflect light in a unique and alluring way, making for excellent photography from afternoon through morning. We’ll photograph some grand scenes, and we’ll capture otherworldly abstracts and intimate landscapes. We’ll study lines, curves, textures, patterns, and color, and create compelling compositions while exploring New Mexico’s unique desert palette. We’ll practice these skills, all the while, taking in the incredible and unique beauty of these wild places. We hope you’ll join us on this educational photo adventure!
Topics:
All of our instructional workshops will cover two key areas: Craft and Creativity
Professional Craft for Landscape Photography:
• Getting fluent with your gear and developing a consistent workflow in the field
• Achieving an optimal exposure
• Managing depth of field
• Capture for multiple exposure blending
• Capture for panoramic stitching
Creativity in the Landscape:
• Core compositional elements in the landscape
• Creative use of depth of field
• Long exposure techniques
• Learning and practicing new compositions
And we'll also do at least one image review session and share some advanced digital darkroom workflow techniques.
Tour Includes:
• Instruction in the field: craft and creative strategies for landscape photography
• Image reviews
• Instruction on digital darkroom workflow
Not Included:
• Food and Lodging
• Transportation to and from the workshop
• Ground Transportation in New Mexico. Participants are encouraged to carpool.
Fitness Level:
You'll need a mild/moderate level of fitness to tackle some of the hiking conditions of the region. None of our hikes will go beyond 2 miles but you'll need moderate fitness and experience hiking on uneven terrain to manage this tour safely.
Suggested Equipment:
• Digital SLR or Mirrorless Camera
• Tripod and Cable Release
• Wide Angle Lens and Telephoto Zoom Lens (We use the 16-35mm, 24-70mm and 70-200)
• Lens with a Wide Aperture for Night Photography
• Lots of Memory Cards
• Extra Camera Batteries
• Micro-fiber Cloths
• Camera Bag/Backpack for Gear and Food/Water
Clothing for a variety of weather conditions from 20F to 70F
• Wind and Rain Resistant Outer Jacket Shell
• Down Layer
• Trail Shoes or Hiking Boots
• Gloves and Hat
• Plenty of Wool Socks
• Moisture Wicking Base Layer
Lodging:
We will be splitting our time between Alamogordo, New Mexico in the South(Near White Sands) and Farmington, New Mexico in the North(Near Bisti Badlands). Lodging in these spots will put us closest our primary photographic locations. Blocks of discounted rooms will be secured for convenience, but as always, participants are free to make their own lodging choices.
Cancellation Schedule:
90 days or prior to day 1 of tour = Refund of all registration fees and deposits
60-89 days prior to day 1 of tour = Josh Merrill Photography will retain tour deposit
59 days or less prior to day 1 of tour = Josh Merrill Photography will retain full tour tuition
We strongly recommend that you purchase trip insurance if you need to cancel your tour and are unable to complete the tour for any reason.
We also reserves the right to cancel the photo tour for any reason including low enrollment in the tour.
Payment:
All you need to do is contact me via the form below and tell us which tour you'd like to attend. We'll e-mail you an invoice that allows you to pay online by credit card. If it's 60 days or less prior to the start of the tour, the full tuition amount will be due in order to complete your registration. Prior to 60 days out, we'll invoice you for a deposit of 30% of the total tuition to hold your spot. We'll then invoice you again for the balance prior to the 60 day point when the full amount is due.
Contact Us
We’re excited that you’re interested in our workshop. If you are ready to register, you may click on the “Register for this Workshop” link above.. If you just have some additional questions, this form to the right will put you in touch me.
