into the labyrinth
a backcountry exploration of lake powell
The Milky Way galaxy rising over Reflection Canyon.
When and where?
May 30th - June 2nd Exploring the backcountry of Lake Powell based out of Page, Arizona! If you fly into Page or Flagstaff we can pick you up early on the 30th, which may require you to fly out and stay at a hotel the night before on the 29th so you can be ready!
overview
Spend 3 nights with Derek Culver and Andrew Imhoff exploring and capturing the backcountry wonders of Lake Powell! No other workshop exists like this one, we tour you around to exclusive backcountry spots that are typically extremely complicated or arduous to reach. This workshop is hands down our most immersive and adventerous trip we do, and is one of my favorites because of it’s uniqueness and the profound beauty of Lake Powell we get to enjoy and teach you how to capture. Cowboy camping (or in a tent) on backcountry beaches, emerald green water, warm desert air, and colorful sandstone formations will uplift your soul and inspire you artistically. We provide all the logistics as well as comfortable camping and healthy food while on this epic boating and 4x4 trip. We have Lake Powell mastered with all the backcountry camping spots, secret hiking paths, secluded beaches, and even the best floating bathrooms spots!
Shooting Locations:
Reflection Canyon, Rainbow Bridge, Alstrom Point, Cathedral in the Desert, and various backcountry beaches and canyons.
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! We also teach advanced techniques like tracking, blending, stacking, and more.This workshop is fantastic for all levels of astrophotographers and adventurers as we keep our group sizes much smaller than other tours allowing for lots of hands on attention helping you reach your artistic goals.
Words will never do this place justice! We’ll spend most of a day eating lunch, swimming, and enjoying this remarkable spring fed waterfall and canyon that feeds into Lake Powell.
Itinerary
We will meet in Page, Arizona at 10am on Friday May 30th and finish on Sunday June 2nd at 7am after sunrise. This photography tour pairs extremely well with the Jewels of Kanab trip the week after June 2nd - 8th.
what will you learn & difficulty
This workshop is great intermediate to advanced night photographers and adventurers who crave an extremely unique astrophotography adventure. You must be able to hike on uneven surfaces for about 3 miles (only 1 time) with some of your camera gear. We will be teaching fundamentals to night photography from planning your shot, focusing, and proper settings all the way to blending images, using star trackers, and stacking images!
Lodging
We will be camping on pristine backcountry beaches on Lake Powell! We provide all the comfortable backcountry camping gear, meals, water, and snacks you will need for the duration of the trip. Pack it in, pack it out: we do bathroom runs to the floating bathrooms on Lake Powell but also carry an emergency toilet set up (with discreet wagbags) for any untimely calls of nature!
Logistics
We handle all the complex logistics and guiding so you can focus on enjoying the immense beauty and learning the art of photography. This includes shuttling from airports, all boating logistics, and 4x4 transportation to Alstrom Point, and mostly involves you relaxing on an extremely comfortable and premium pontoon boat while you enjoy the scenery! If you fly in and out of Page or Flagstaff, both in Arizona, we can pick you up early on the 30th and drop you off on the 2nd.
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, with a $500 deposit to reserve your spot, with the discount applied when the remaining workshop balance is collected!
ITINERARY
Please email us with any questions regarding logistics, lodging, etc- derek@blazingheavens.com
We will meet in Page, Arizona at 9am on Friday May 30th and finish on Sunday June 2nd at 7am after sunrise at Alstrom Point.
friday may 30th
We will load up on our badass Pontoon boat at 9am and head out to Rainbow Bridge! Exploring and stopping at several canyons and swim spots on the way to soak in the beauty. We will enjoy Rainbow Bridge at sunset and get familiar with the landscape, then head out to our camp spot for a short night sleep, then return later when the Milky Way is rising through and over the massive sandstone bridge!
saturday may 31st
We will sleep in a bit on our pristin backcountry beach, have breakfast and coffee, then head out to explore some awesome canyons including the Desert Cathedral! We explore most of the morning then take late lunch, relaxing swim, some photos, and nap inside the shade of this arm of the Escalante River! From here we will then go explore Reflection Canyon. We will head deep into Reflection Canyon to the sneaky “backdoor” way up to the top of the Canyon. If it isn’t too windy, we will cowboy camp up on top of the canyons. Otherwise we have a 2 mile 700 foot elevation (total) hike up for sunset and then later on for the Milky Way rising over the canyon.
We have comfortable backcountry camping set ups for every one, but you can elect to “Cowboy Camp” like this with no tent under the stars! It’s an amazing experience out on Lake Powell with the warm weather, calm lake, and dark night skies.
sunday june 1
We will shoot sunset, astro, and sunrise up at Reflection Canyon! It’s one of my favorite places on Earth and we completely skip the typical 16 mile grueling hike and have easy boat access. After sunrise, coffee and breakfast, we will begin our boat ride back to Page stopping at several arches, beaches, and canyons along the way.
Once back in Page around 12-2pm, we will grab lunch, shower/clean up, and get an editing session in. We will be 4x4ing you up to the magnificent Alstrom Point this evening where we will be enjoying a sunset dinner overlooking Lake Powell! We will sleep a bit, then wake back up for astrophotography lessons to shoot the Milky Way galaxy rising over the lake and focus on panoramas and clean tracked shots here! If you have the energy, we will shoot sunrise here as well.
The Milky Way rising over Lake Powell about 5 steps from my tent at Alstrom Point. (I cowboy camped with out a tent but you get it)
monday june 2nd
The trip officially ends at 7am after sunrise- we’ll be able to sleep in a bit but we’ll make sure every one 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 as well.
If you are joining us for the photo adventure trip in Kanab after, we will head over to Kanab for a night of recovery and editing, then begin the kanab photography tour the next day!
Keep an eye out for alumni discounts at future workshops as well as our annual alumni star party!