Are you ready for an extreme photography workshop in the beautiful American Southwest that includes guides, instruction, and a post-processing workshop?
Our friends at Aperture Academy are hosting a 4-day American Southwest Photography Workshop for anyone that wants to learn more about outdoor photography and capturing amazing images of gorgeous landscapes.
Table of Contents
The American Southwest
The American Southwest is a gorgeous destination for landscape photographers and also offers other incredible subjects to capture with your camera.
Photographers who enjoy closeups or macro photography will find lots of subject matter, from plants and insects to rock crystals. There are animals and birds unique to the area, and there is nothing quite like the astrophotography views under such dark skies.
Your visits to the area will include travels through mountainous terrain, desert vistas, interesting small towns, and even an abundance of unique architecture. Sunrises and sunsets are gorgeous. Plus, if a storm forms in the distance, the sky views are like nothing a city dweller has seen locally. If you play it safe, the storms themselves may provide a wonderful lightning show.
The season will have a lot of effect on some types of photography for you as well. During the fall months in the higher elevations of the American Southwest, you could find aspen trees turning gold and yellow.
Winter and early spring snows add their own beauty to what’s already there, and the summer evenings offer awesome Blue Hour and astrophotography opportunities, to say nothing of the ultra-long Golden Hour times.
I really enjoy the variety of things available in the autumn months of the American Southwest. Just like summer evenings, the fall afternoons and early evenings are full of color, and you can see plant life in various stages of their own beautiful colors.
If you’re getting the idea that the American Southwest is a prime photography destination, you’re on the right track. You can try it out on your own, or you can opt to take part in a fantastic Southwest photography workshop to show you how to get the most out of any visit to this fantastic area of the country.
Aperture Academy
Aperture Academy has so many excellent workshops to choose from that it may be difficult to decide on just one!
In fact, if you sign up for their 4-day American Southwest photography workshop, you could also extend your trip with a 3-day workshop across the Million Dollar Highway in Colorado, since the trips can actually be booked back-to-back.
Whatever workshop you choose, you’re in for a treat. The American Southwest Photography Workshop is full of great photography subjects and can also be a fine source of continuing education in outdoor photography for all levels of photographers. This is true whether you’re an absolute beginner, a seasoned pro, or somewhere in between.
Learn More:
Adventure Photography Tours
Some of the best aspects about attending the American Southwest Photography Workshop is that you will not only get excellent photography guidance and tips about your photography, but the tour providers are also able to get you into places you may not be able to reach on your own.
The guides take you off of the beaten path to show you photographic subjects and opportunities such as the red canyons where the Anasazi people roamed millennia ago. You will see ancient Anasazi ruins, petroglyphs, pictographs, and dwellings that still seem to be liveable, in pristine condition.
The way you get there is an experience in itself…
From the initial night with workshop orientation at the Bluff Dwellings Resort and Spa in Bluff, Utah, you will then head by 4-wheel drive vehicles to a base camp which serves as the campsite for the next two days of the American Southwest Photography Workshop.
From that base camp, you will hike into the wilderness to see some of the most beautiful and rugged scenery on the planet. There’s a reason why so many movies are filmed in the American Southwest - it looks absolutely amazing! You won’t need to carry all of your camping gear on the hikes, though - just your photography gear.
At night at base camp, you will have a chance to see stars and other celestial sights you’ve only seen in magazine photographs. Now, you see them for yourself under dark sky conditions, which is your opening to engage in astrophotography or maybe even some deep-sky imaging, if you have that type of equipment.
The final day of the workshop is back at the Bluff Dwelling Resort, where you will engage in a Southwest photography workshop post-processing session guided by the talented and knowledgeable Aperture Academy team.
Other Perks
As I said, a great perk of this American Southwest Photography Workshop is that you’re already in the area of another prime outdoor photography location - the Million Dollar Highway area of Colorado. So, you may as well book back-to-back workshops to extend your trip!
You will be in Bluff, Utah, a wonderful town that was named as one of Budget Travel Magazine's coolest towns. Near the San Juan River and on the Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway, Bluff has a Navajo reservation nearby, which gives you even more things, places, and maybe people to photograph. Ask the tour guides about the possibilities.
You will be close to other jaw-dropping scenic vistas such as the Gooseneck State Park, Valley of the Gods, Moki Dugway, and Mulley Point. You won’t want to leave, believe me.
Oh yeah - while camping out, you’ll enjoy a camp-cooked meal and tons of enjoyable conversation and association with fellow outdoor photography lovers and the staff. Once you attend, you will be looking for further opportunities to be a part of a photography workshop.
Aperture Academy has many workshops and guided trips. They offer one-day workshops, including online classes. There are several 2-4 day workshops in places such as Yosemite, Tahoe, South Carolina, and Death Valley. Aperture Academy even has extended four, seven, and ten-day excursions to Alaska (bears!), Canada, Iceland, and Africa.
Check out the American Southwest Photography Workshop from Aperture Academy, and get your photography education rolling in style!