Capitol Reef National Park, Utah   May 1-7, 2022

This is a field workshop and as you can see from this itinerary, we’ll spend our time out in the field capturing images throughout the entire day for 5 full days. We will likely need to adjust this itinerary to accommodate weather and field conditions.

Sunday May 1, 2022
5:15pm – Opening-night reception at our hotel in Torrey, Utah.
6:30pm – Dinner in town.

Monday May 2, 2022
6:15am – Depart for our sunrise hike into the heart of the Waterpocket Fold where we’ll capture first light as it illuminates a labyrinth of sandstone domes and arches. This will involve an easy/moderate 2-mile round-trip hike with a total elevation gain of 400 feet.
9:45 – Breakfast
11:15 – Depart for our afternoon session exploring and photographing reflected light in a deep, sinuous canyon where few people venture. This hike entails an easy walk along a sandy canyon bottom with little elevation change over a round-trip distance of 1.5 miles.
4:00 – Arrive back at our vehicles.
5:30 – Dinner
6:45 – Depart for our sunset location where we’ll capture last light as it illuminates an amphitheatre of beautifully-sculpted sandstone formations. An easy, short walk from our vehicles.
9:00 – Arrive back at our hotel.

Tuesday May 3, 2022
5:30am – Depart our hotel and proceed to our trailhead in the Waterpocket Fold where we’ll spend the morning photographing warm, early-morning reflected light in one of the most beautiful canyons in the park. Reaching this location will involve an easy/moderate hike with a round-trip distance of 3.5 miles with minimal elevation change.
12:00 – Lunch
2:00 – Depart for our afternoon photo session along the Fremont River where it cuts through the deepest portion of the Waterpocket fold with sandstone formations towering above the river. This will involve a short stroll from our vehicles.
4:45 – Arrive back at our hotel.
5:30 – Dinner
6:45 – Depart for our sunset location beneath the dramatic escarpment of the Waterpocket Fold. We’ll capture last light as it illuminates a wild expanse of Navajo sandstone domes, fins, towering cliffs, and colorful eroded slopes of the Chinle formation. An easy, short walk from our vehicles.
9:00 – Arrive at our hotel.

Wednesday May 4, 2022
5:20am – Depart our hotel to explore the remote southern canyons of the Waterpocket Fold; arguably the most spectacular section of this 100-mile long formation. During this full-day excursion, we’ll travel over 100 miles – mostly along hi-clearance 4WD routes or graded dirt roads – to photograph locations few people ever see. We’ll capture warm, reflected light in a narrow slot canyon; hike to dramatic overlooks with tremendous views of the surrounding country; and travel beneath the jagged crest of the Fold through one of the most geologically unique valleys on earth. As a testament to how isolated this location is; it was the last area explored and mapped in the 48 states. Accessing our photography vantage points will involve 2 easy, short walks of less than 2 round-trip miles each.
4:30 – Arrive back at our hotel.
5:30 – Dinner
6:45 – Depart for our sunset photo location with its expansive 360 degree-views from the rim of a 1,500-foot deep canyon. An easy walk from our vehicles.
9:00 – Arrive back at our hotel.

Thursday May 5, 2022
After 3 long days in the field, this will be an easy day.
7:30am – Breakfast
8:45 – Depart for our morning photo location at a small waterfall hidden within the folds of a deep canyon as it fills with warm, golden reflected morning light. A short, easy walk with little elevation change.
12:00 – Lunch at a restaurant in town.
1:30 – Depart for our next location where we’ll photograph a fantastic, kaleidoscope-colored landscape reminiscent of Arizona’s Painted Desert with its swirling formations of red, green, blue, maroon, & white bentonite clays. This will involve a short, easy walk with minor elevation gain.
5:30 – Dinner
6:45 – Depart for our sunset location where we’ll capture last light as it illuminates beautiful formations along the Waterpocket Fold. This will involve a short, easy walk from our vehicles.
9:00 – Arrive back at our hotel.

Friday May 6, 2022
4:30am – Pre-dawn departure for our full-day excursion into the remote northern reaches of the park. Our early departure will allow us to capture the first rays of unobstructed light as it illuminates one of the most unique landscapes on the Colorado Plateau. This isolated region at the northern fringes of the Waterpocket Fold contains a remarkable assortment of enormous dagger-shaped sandstone towers, kaleidoscopic formations of bentonite clay, snow-capped plateaus, black basalt boulders, and breathtaking overlooks with 100-mile views. This excursion will involve a 100-mile drive; half of it along a 4WD backcountry route into one of the most off-the-beaten-path locations in the American West. Accessing all of our vantage points will involve short, easy walks from our vehicles.
7:00 – Approximate arrival time back at our hotel.
7:30 – Dinner

Saturday May 7, 2022
8:00am – Breakfast; end of workshop.