Yellowstone National Park

Dates

August 16-20, 2025.
During the peak of the Perseid Meteor shower!

Overview

Join Derek Culver and Andrew Imhoff for 5 days and 4 nights of guided group astro + photography adventures and hands-on photography instructions in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks during peak Milky Way season! This is a bucket list trip exploring world class geologic wonders with a group of like-minded adventure and photography lovers while learning the techniques and artistic philosophies we us implement to create emotion evoking images of the night sky.

Shooting locations

Jenny Lake, Grand Prismatic Pool, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Thermal Pools, Old Faithful, and more!

Difficulty

This astro + photography workshop is great for all levels but lends itself especially well for beginner to intermediate level photographers and adventurers! A base level of photography fundamentals is recommended so we can teach you more advanced techniques, but is not required. We simplify our workflow and help you master focusing, exposure settings, editing, and much more as we move into tracking and image blending.

physical difficulty

Be capable to fight off Brown Bears with your tripod… Just kidding! Some short hikes around 1-2 miles at a high elevation, on paved pathways, and at night to access our locations. Most spots are within a close proximity of our cars, and we always hike as a group out to our shooting locations.

What you will learn

Our mission is to guide you on bucket list photography adventures while teaching you tools that will unlock your creative visions, and allow you to further express yourself as an artist and human being. Our workshops provide a safe, accepting, fun, and relaxed learning environment with the proper amount of nature and challenge to stimulate the best version of your creative self to bloom! We will build upon shooting and editing fundamentals like optimal settings and focusing your camera at night as we incorporate more advanced photography techniques like tracking and image blending. We will show you how to capture stunning images and timelapses and how we process them Lightroom and Photoshop.

logistics & lodging

All lodging and camping accommodations are included in the cost of this workshop as well as some meals while we camp! Transportation is not included, however we can very often arrange carpools between other group members to save on costs and add to the social aspects of the trip. For this workshop we can provide all transportation for a fee. We will caravan to and from our shooting locations together- you do not need any 4x4 or off-roading capabilities. We provide all camping and hotel accommodations with some meals (while camping) to provide an immersive natural experience while also gaining closer access to our shooting locations! There are hotel alternatives for those who prefer a bit more comfort while shooting.

Group size

This workshop is limited to 8 students to ensure that there will be plenty of individual attention for each guest.

You are welcome to bring a friend or family member along on the workshop as a non-photographer guest. (Some fees may apply) If you would like to bring a friend or family member who is interested in operating a camera during our workshop lessons, please contact us for a discount! Repeat clients, public servants, and veterans are eligible for a discount as well :)

cost

The tuition for this workshop is $3,200 total. A non-refundable deposit of $750 is required to reserve your spot. Alumni price is $2,500 with a $500 deposit. Full payment is due 2 months before the workshop begins, or else your forfeit your spot, Alumni apply their whopping discount when the remaining balance is collected!

Itinerary / operating plan:

We will meet on Saturday August 16th between 3-6pm at the Canyon Campground in Yellowstone and will end our workshop on Wednesday August 20th at 8am at the Madison Campground near West Yellowstone. We recommend flying in early on the 16th to enjoy the sights along the way to our meeting point, and flying out after 1pm on the 20th so you have plenty of time to get to the airport.

august 16th

Meet in the Canyon Campground August 16th between 3-6pm! We will leave the campground at 7pm to shoot. It is about a 2.5 hour drive from Bozeman, Montana, I recommend taking highway 89 through Mammoth at the North Entrance (check road conditions, sometimes there can be road work) if you have the time, the drive is spectacular and there are nice stops along the way! Once you all arrive we will set up camp, do an introduction, grab a quick bite, then head out to our first shooting locations for sunset and astrophotography lessons! Campground has showers and bathrooms.

august 17th

In the morning we will sleep in a bit, pack up, and grab breakfast on our beautiful drive down to the Grand Tetons! We wanted to add a bit of a drive so we can see more geysers, animals, and views! We will set up camp in the Grand Tetons- Camping with showers and lake access with views of the Mountains. We will shoot astro at a nearby lake then from our campground with views of the Milky Way and mountains.

august 18th

After sleeping in and breakfast, we will break camp and head back up into Yellowstone! We will have camping with shower access in close proximity to amazing geothermal pools, geysers, and views. Canyons, geysers, epic geyser pools, stars! We will shoot the grand Prismatic spring tonight.

august 19th

We will sleep in and head into West Yellowstone for breakfast and an editing session! In 2022 we got crazy Aurora in August and September, lets hope for some of that with the Solar Maximum! We will head to shoot several colorful geothermal pools tonight.

august 20th

The workshop officially concludes in the AM but unofficially concludes when all you night photographers conk out after shooting stars, meteors, and stinky fart geysers for the last 4 nights! We will be departing from the Madison Campground this AM, about 2-2.5 hours to Bozeman Airport, MT.