Our base for this workshop will be the quiet village of Hanksville, Utah. To many folks passing through on their way to Lake Powell, this small windblown southern Utah town at the base of the 11,000' Henry Mountains may look like it has nothing more to offer than a place at the side of the road to stop and fill up the gas tank. While Hanksville does provide very minimal services (you can count the number of restaurants & motels on one hand), it is surrounded by some of the most beautiful, often-overlooked, other-worldly geologic formations. So while you shouldn't expect anything fancy regarding your meals or accommodations, you should expect to see a remarkable variety of bizarre landforms and photo opportunities galore. For three days, we'll explore this region's eerily eroded hills of Blue Gate Shale and outcrops of brilliantly-hued, red-and-white striped Morrison formation; reminiscent of Arizona's Painted Desert. We'll photograph serrated towers of Entrada Sandstone above rippled sand dunes in the heart of the San Rafael Desert. We'll capture the first rays of light illuminating the immense 1,500-foot-tall monolith of Factory Butte and explore water-sculpted slot canyons sliced through the sandstone ramparts of the San Rafael Reef. At the end of the day, we'll photograph evening light on the bizarre hoodoos of Goblin Valley. As we spend our days exploring this remarkable landscape, Jim will also provide information drawn from his knowledge of the geology of this region to help explain just how it came to be. After this trip you'll see why the term "badlands" depends on your point of view. These are certainly "greatlands" when it comes to photography! This area has become one of Jim's favorite photo locations in southern Utah. Join us and find out why.

 

WORKSHOP FEE: $975.00  Includes 4 Nights Lodging. Meals and transportation to and from Hanksville not included. 

 

 Register now with a $200.00 deposit.  Register before July 12, 2012 and receive a 5% discount on the full workshop fee.

We will charge your card for the balance 30 days prior to the workshop. (See cancellation policy below.)

(Note: When you register, choose the option "Ship to this Address" in the Billing Information section and then in the next window, choose the option "Workshop - No Shipping Fee".)

 

Photography Skill Level: All levels - Novice to semi-pro - Jim will work with each participant based on his/her individual needs. Each participant should be familiar and comfortable with the functions and operations of his/her camera equipment.

Lodging: Whispering Sands Motel - Single Occupancy - We've already reserved a block of rooms for everyone. All you need to do is show up and tell them you're with our group and they'll assign you a room.

Physical Difficulty - Easy to Moderate: Most hikes will involve short walks of less than 1/4 mile from our vehicles to access vantage points; one hike will involve a total of perhaps three miles round-trip hiking with minimal elevation gain. See schedule below for more details.

Upon registration, participant will receive a detailed clothing and gear list and other pertinent information.

 

 

WORKSHOP ITINERARY

Friday October 12, 2012
6:00pm - Meet at Whispering Sands Hotel in Hanksville.
6:30pm - Dinner and orientation.


Saturday October 13
6:50am - Depart our motel for our sunrise photography location. We’ll photograph first light as it illuminates water-sculpted hills carved from the colorful red-and-white striped Bentonite Clays of the Morrison Formation (Reminiscent of Arizona’s Painted Desert). This setup will involve a short walk from our vehicles with a 100-foot elevation gain.
9:00 - Breakfast in Hanksville.
11:00 - Leave our motel for our photo location at a spectacular viewpoint overlooking another remarkable canyon carved from vividly-colored Bentonite Clays in the Morrison Formation. Once at the overlook, Jim will take the first 60-90 minutes of this session to discuss and demonstrate some of the most important techniques we will be using over the next 3 days. For the remainder of the time, we will explore and photograph this wonderful landscape. The low-angle light at this time of year provides ideal side-lighting to accentuate the contours of these colorful eroded ridgelines and gullies. Accessing this location will involve a ¼ mile walk from our vehicles with 100 feet of elevation gain.
3:00 - Arrive at our motel to regroup and grab a snack before our evening photo session.
4:00 - Depart motel for our evening photo location. We’ll capture last light on serpentine ridgelines of Blue Gate Shale below the towering ramparts of Caineville Mesa. Blue Gate Shale is a textbook example of erosion and provides a limitless palette of shapes, contours and shadows for photographic composition. This area is a photographer’s paradise. Accessing our vantage point will involve a 20-minute ½-mile walk with less than 100 feet of elevation gain.
7:30 - Dinner in Hanksville


Sunday October 14
6:20am - Depart Hanksville for our sunrise photography location below Factory Butte. Carved from Blue Gate Shale and capped by a resistant layer of Emery Sandstone, this towering monolith presents a dramatic profile as it rises 1,500 feet from the desert floor. We’ll shoot from a vantage point which will require a 2/3 mile walk from our vehicles over mostly level ground. After shooting Factory Butte, we’ll take a short drive out to a dramatic overlook of the serrated San Rafael Reef; one of the most remarkable formations on the entire Colorado Plateau.
10:00 - Breakfast in Hanksville.
11:00 - Depart our motel to explore and photograph a vast area in the heart of the San Rafael Desert where eroded layers in the Morrison Formation have created an otherworldly scene more like the surface of Mars than Earth. We’ll be surrounded by kaleidoscopic-colored slopes of red, white, blue, gray, green and maroon Bentonite Clays as far as the eye can see.
3:00 - Arrive at our motel to regroup and grab a snack before our evening photo session.
4:30 - Depart motel to capture evening light as it illuminates a group of Entrada Sandstone towers rising from small sand dunes in the San Rafael Desert. This is the same sandstone formation which forms the arches in Arches National Park and the hoodoos of nearby Goblin Valley. This location will involve a ½ mile walk from our vehicles with minimal elevation gain.
7:30 - Dinner in Hanksville

Monday October 15
6:35am - Leave motel to capture first light at a new location below Caineville Mesa. Accessing our vantage point will involve a 10-minute; ¼ mile walk with less than 100 feet of elevation gain.
9:30 - Breakfast in Hanksville
11:00 - Depart our motel for the 45-minute drive north to the towering formations of the San Rafael Reef. Early settlers in this region coined the term “reef” to describe these impenetrable barriers of jagged sandstone jutting hundreds of feet above the desert floor.   
12:00 - 4:00 We’ll explore the serpentine narrows of one of the most dramatic slot canyons in the region as it slices through the Navajo Sandstone of the reef. We’ll search for warm reflected light illuminating the water-sculpted walls. In places, the canyon is so narrow that we may need to remove our packs to squeeze through. This will involve and easy to moderate two-mile round-trip walk with little elevation gain and some minor scrambling over boulders to negotiate the narrow portions of the canyon.
4:30 - 6:30 Few places on the Colorado Plateau have a greater concentration of pinnacles, hoodoos or goblins than Goblin Valley. As sunset approaches, we’ll explore these bizarre Entrada Sandstone formations in search of our evening photo. This flat-floored valley is about one mile long and ½ mile wide and easy to negotiate.
7:30 - Dinner in Hanksville. 

 

 

OUR CANCELLATION POLICY
When you register more than 30 days prior to a workshop, we will charge your credit card for the deposit only. We will then charge your card for the remaining balance 30 days before the workshop begins. If you cancel more than 60 days prior to the workshop we will refund 75% of your deposit. If you cancel within 30-60 days of the workshop, we will refund 50% of your deposit. If you cancel within 30 days of the workshop, and we can fill your spot, we will refund 90% of the full workshop fee. If we cannot fill your spot, we will refund 70% of the full workshop fee.

TRIP INSURANCE
In the event of a medical, family, or other emergency, we strongly recommend purchasing trip insurance. For these same reasons, we may also need to cancel a workshop on short notice. If we cancel, we will refund 100% of all monies collected from you.