We check out of our hotel and head into the nearby Wasatch Mountains to take advantage of the morning light. The North Fields in the Heber Valley will be our first stop. In the distance towering above the lush green farmland is Mount Timpanogos which will still be covered in snow. In the meadows, we’ll have horses, old barns and perhaps sandhill cranes as possible subjects to photograph.

Leaving the Valley we head east and then south on the remote back highways to Moab. After checking into our hotel and taking a brief rest, we will take a drive deep within a canyon along the Colorado River to visit The Fisher Towers, Castle Rock and other fantastic formations in and around Castle Valley. If conditions are right we’ll fine-tune your sunset shooting skills including instructions on how to capture the details in the darker regions of the canyons as well as the brilliant colors in the sky.

We’ll enjoy our “Welcome Dinner” in Castle Valley along the Colorado River prior to our sunset shoot. (B) (D)

Note: Each night during your adventure we’ll assess the weather conditions and for those interested, there may be a late night or very early morning wake up call to head out to do some night sky photography. Timing will be determined by the position of the Milky Way.

We get an early start with a drive into Canyonlands National Park to one of the scenics overlooks high above the Colorado and Green Rivers. Dead Horse Point State Park may be taken in as we explore the “Island in the Sky” region of the National Park”. A breakfast picnic may take place since we will not be returning to Moab until afternoon.

For a view from below the cliffs, we’ll be taking a drive down the Shafer Trail and possibly along part of the White Rim Trail, “roads” once used during the uranium mining boom of the 1950s. Looking high up on the surrounding cliffs you’ll be viewing the spot where we photographed from earlier in the morning.

We return to our hotel for lunch, rest up and possibly do a review of your images to date. Later we’ll head to Utah’s best-known scenic attraction, Arches National Park. In the spring wildflowers will make for a great foreground with massive sandstone buttes everywhere you look. This is a wonderful time of day to capture Balanced Rock, the Three Gossips and the Courthouse Towers. When we arrive back in Moab we’ll have dinner before retiring for the day. (B)

We return to Arches National Park to photograph the early morning light as the sun appears over the La Sal Mountains. The famous Turret and Double Arch formations in the Windows District will be the main subject this morning with the snow-capped La Sal Mountains as a spectacular background and a dramatic contrast to the red-rock desert landscape before us.

Your guide and instructor is always there to point out composition and camera setting options. Small adjustments in either case or both, can make a big difference in the quality of your photographs. Identifying and understanding possible options and fine-tuning these skills is the goal of PWA, along with having a wonderful time! There are many easy to reach photographic opportunities within the Park and we’ll cover as much ground as possible but the emphasis here, as will be the case during the entire adventure, is to capture quality images, not quantity.

After our morning in Arches, we return to Moab for breakfast. The destination for photographing sunset will be determined by what we’ve managed to capture so far and as always by the weather conditions. You won’t be disappointed! (B)

A chance to sleep in… kind of! We will have breakfast at the hotel before checking out as we leave Moab behind and make our way south towards Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.

We’ll have lunch along the way before driving on a short distance to a seldom visited area called Valley of the Gods. Here we will have freestanding sandstone pinnacles towering above us rising hundreds of feet from the desert floor. If our timing is right and Mother Nature cooperates we should also have wildflowers to work with as a foreground to your images. We can perhaps practice macro photography but that will be an option and technique considered during the entire workshop.

We check into our hotel then spend time photographing sunset around the Navajo Tribal Park before dinner. (B)

We have a very early start today as we join a local Navajo guide for a private tour into a restricted area of the Park for sunrise. Our native guide will be happy to answer your questions and help educate us on the landscape as well as the traditions and life of the Navajo people.

We return to the hotel, have breakfast then check out before we start our journey back to the North then West with the destination of Capitol Reef National Park for the night. If time permits, we make take a drive to The Goosenecks which shows the power of the San Juan River as it winds its way through the desert far below. Hold On!  Where’s the road?! Hidden in the sheer cliff walls east of Valley of the Gods appears a steep switchback road, an incredible feat of engineering called the Moki Dugway. As we climb higher and higher along this gravel road rising above the desert floor we’ll stop to take in the view, take a breath and of course to take some photographs.

Continuing our journey we enter the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area as the road crosses over the Colorado River just before it enters Lake Powell. The water level of the lake has dropped quite dramatically in recent years exposing the once submerged twist and turns of Glen Canyon. We’ll take time here to wander around exploring this amazing landscape before continuing our journey towards Capitol Reef National Park. A

fter a drive through the National Park, we arrive in the small town of Torrey which is located right at the west entrance. We will check-in to our hotel and after resting up, we return to Capitol Reef for sunset at Panorama Point or some other appropriate location depending on lighting conditions. We then return to Torrey and enjoy a much deserved night’s sleep. (B)

We start this day retracing our way through Capitol Reef to photograph sunrise around the lunar-like landscape of Factory Butte within the Caineville Wash. There are many options for photography and your guide will help in determining where the best locations to the head might be.

After checking out we once again turn to the South making our way along what to many is the most scenic highways in the United States to our next destination Bryce National Park. Along the way, we cross through the Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument with several vistas showing the twist and turns of the water carved sandstone canyons far below.

We check-in then have dinner before heading to the nearby rim of Bryce National Park to photograph the delicate formations below-called Hoodoos at Sunset and Sunrise Point. (B)

The morning starts at Sunrise Point for what else, sunrise! Breakfast snacks will be provided as time is short and the light changes rapidly. Next, it’s over the rim and into the canyon we hike. Going down is the easy part. It’s the climb back out that’s more difficult as we are at a deceivingly high altitude of 9,000 feet. The effort is well worth it and we will never be in a rush. Should you decide not to join the hike there’s plenty to see, photograph and enjoy along the rim of the canyon.

We’ll check-out of our hotel, have “brunch” and move farther south to Zion National Park. As we drive from the east entrance of the Park to the west, we’ll make stops along the way to take in the view and make some photos. At the opposite end of the park is our lodge in the town of Springdale. After checking in we’ll make the short drive back to the Park somewhere along the Virgin River to photograph the sunset illuminating the steep red canyon walls that surround us.  Dinner back at our hotel. (B)

No visit to Zion is complete without venturing deep into the canyon where the Virgin River exits the world famous “Narrows”. A shuttle will take us to end of the road where we’ll get out and walk first up the narrow canyon before returning downstream to capture some of the other dramatic landscapes the Park has to offer.

Photographing in these very narrow canyons can be a challenge and we’ll show you the tricks to capturing the stunning scenery before you. There is plenty to see and photograph within the Park. As always, we’ll assess the conditions and adjust the itinerary accordingly to get you to the best locations for the given light so you have the opportunity to return with spectacular images.

Lunch will be in Springdale where afterward you’re free to rest up and or explore the small town. Next, we’ll return to the Park for the late afternoon light. The high red rock walls streaked by “Indian varnish” seem to glow in the light late in the day and we’ll explore locations along the Virgin River to capture this spectacle.

We’ll return to Springdale for our “Farewell Dinner” then retire for much needed and deserved rest. (B) (D)

On our final day together we’ll enjoy a nice breakfast in the town of Springdale. During that time we’ll have a discussion about our trip, answer any questions and trade contact information. After checkout, we’ll head west to Las Vegas and either drop you at the airport or at your hotel, where we’ll bid you farewell.

We urge you to extend your stay in Nevada and make good use of everything you have learned on our photo adventure. (B)