the jewels of kanab

an astrophotograophy adventure saga in Utah

Stargazing and learning astrophotography under the Milky Way, in the belly of a gigantic sand filled cave!

When and where?

June 2nd - 8th Vermillion Cliffs and Escalante Wilderness, based out of an Airbnb in Kanab, Utah.

overview

Spend 6 nights with astrophotography experts Derek Culver, Andrew Imhoff, and Tom Rae exploring and capturing the backcountry geologic beauty and incredibly dark skies of the Vermillion Cliffs and Escalante Wilderness! We will be touring you around to the best spots around kanab, at the best times, while teaching you the photography techniques and philosophies we use to capture night scenes, and creating amazing memories with a group of like-minded photographers.

Otherworldly rock formations, sandstone cathedrals, vibrant bentonite badlands, and warm desert nights under the cosmos. Based out of a large house in Kanab, we’ll do a mix of editing sessions from our home base and camping out under the stars (everything provided for you) for a comfortable but immersive photography experience. This workshop includes all 4x4 transportation required and accommodations as we will have one foot in comfort and one foot immersed in adventures exploring, capturing, and camping surrounded by the world’s best geology and dark skies!

Shooting Locations:

The Great Chamber, Antelope Canyons, White Pocket, Rainbow Bentonite Hills, Toadstool Hoodoos, and the Wave (permits pending).

What you will learn:

We believe the best way to learn anything is to immerse yourself in it, and we’d like you to come join our world of astrophotography for a week of adventure, learning, and memories! We teach Astronomy basics, how the moon cycles work, how to plan your shots using apps & astronomy fundamentals, how to find compelling compositions, optimal camera settings, focusing your camera at night, light painting, star trackers, editing your night photos, Lightroom & Photoshop, how to capture timelapses (videos of the night sky!) and edit them together, and much more! This workshop is fantastic for all levels of astrophotographers and adventurers!

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White Pocket is one of the most inspiring places on Earth! Massive and vibrant sandstone formations with unlimited compositions to shoot and the darkest skies imaginable! We will be camping right next to it with front row access during sunset, twilight, astro, and sunrise.

Itinerary

We meet in Kanab, Utah on Monday June 2nd at 5pm to begin our adventures and lessons and we end on the morning of Sunday June 8th at 7am! We do a mix of camping and staying at the Airbnb (especially for cleaning up and our editing sessions) to stay fresh as well as immerse ourselves in the beauty.

what will you learn & difficulty

This workshop is great for beginner and experienced night photographers and adventurers alike! You must be able to hike on uneven surfaces for about 1-2 miles with some of your camera gear at night. We will be teaching fundamentals to night photography from planning your shot, focusing, and proper settings all the way to advanced techniques like blending images, using star trackers, and stacking images!

Lodging

We alternate between camping and our airbnb stay for a balanced experience of comfort and immersion! Single occupancy rooms, and we use the Airbnb as a base for cleaning, resting, and our editing sessions and we 4x4 you out to all the incredible shooting and camping locations. We provide all the camping amenities you will need for the trip including comfortable and warm sleeping gear, starlink, charging station, water, and warm meals while out in remote areas.

Logistics

We provide all transportation once at the workshop, including navigating the tricky 4x4 roads to the amazing spots we will be photographing and camping at! Often times we can arrange carpool groups to and from the workshop that adds to the social dynamic of the workshop and saves on rental and gas costs. For this workshop we can actually arrange to shuttle you to and from the airport (Flagstaff or Page, Arizona) for a transportation fee- Please reach out to us so we can assist you with logistics.

workshop cost & payment terms

The tuition for this workshop is $3,750 total, with a non-refundable deposit of $750 to reserve a spot. The remaining total balance of the workshop is due 2 months before the workshop starts. Alumni discounted cost is $3,000 total, $500 deposit to reserve a spot, but with the discount applied when the remaining workshop balance is collected!

White Pocket has it all- dark skies, amazing geology, seclusion, and often dramatic conditions for sunsets, sunrises, and stars. A somewhat rugged place that takes 4x4 to get to, it rewards those who take the pilgrimage.

The unique faulting of plates here has uplifted at an angle, displaying a series of ancient low tidal flats and changing saltwater swampy environments during chaotic volcanic periods of the earth hundreds of millions of years ago. As the layers at t

The Milky Way rising over the otherworldly twisted sandstone formations at White Pocket, Arizona.

Twilight and Andromeda at White Pocket, Arizona.

Pleiades, california nebula, and airglow over the Toadstools.

The Galactic core burning through the night over the “Second” Wave, Arizona.

Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness is one of the best places in the Southwest for landscape astrophotography!

Water pools up at White Pocket during monsoon season. There is very little water in the area, but tanks, protruding rock formations, often capture precious water for animals and cattle. They also make for interesting foreground compositions to work

A seldom visited spot, especially at night, The Tepee rocks around the less famous South Coyote Buttes are one helluva constellation prize if you don’t win the famous “Wave” permits at North Coyote Buttes. This is a creative blend of sunrise, meteor

Air glow and the Milky Way over the “Brain Rock” of White Pocket, Utah.

ITINERARY

Please email us with any questions- derek@blazingheavens.com

The workshop officially starts Tuesday June 2nd at 4pm in Kanab and finishes on Sunday June 8th after sunrise!

If you would like to see the full detailed itinerary you can email us. Once in Kanab, we’ve basically got you covered on everything :)

tuesday june 2nd - Sunday June 8th

sunday june 8th

The trip unofficially ends after we shoot the night OR after breakfast, but checkout isn’t until 11am- we’ll make sure everyone gets back to the airports on time and grab breakfast on our way out! We follow up the workshop with custom editing videos using the images we captured together.

We recommend booking your flight out later in the day to give you time to sleep in and not have to rush to the airport, but we can certainly accommodate what works with your schedule and flight availabilities.

Keep an eye out for alumni discounts at future workshops as well as our annual alumni star party!

reserve your spot:

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