Dark Sky Photography

Enjoy the spectacular night skies of Joshua Tree National Park during this evening photography workshop!

Jon Norris is a professional landscape photographer and workshop guide, a JTNPA business member, and a Desert Institute volunteer. As a recovering engineer, he now divides his time between marketing and photography and lives in Lake Forest, OC.

Develop new skills while learning from and shooting alongside an experienced landscape photographer. You’ll learn how to scout and plan interesting astrophotography images, shoot a timelapse to capture star trails, and how to capture the Milky Way best. This dark sky workshop will follow a series of practical lessons but will be a relaxed environment in which you can set your own pace to ensure you get the guidance and encouragement you're looking for. Participants must provide their own photography equipment.

All required items participants need to bring for your course: Water, sturdy walking or hiking shoes, flashlight (preferably a headlamp), appropriate clothing for a significant and rapid change in temperature, food, water, and snacks.

Required photography equipment: Digital camera (DSLR or Mirrorless), wide-angle fast lens with manual focus ability. An f/2.8 (or faster) 14-24mm full frame equivalent focal length is essential for nighttime photography, sturdy tripod, remote shutter release intervalometer, extra camera batteries (charged), spare memory cards, camera/lens cleaning supplies, your camera manual. You must know at least the basic functions of your camera, small backpack or camera bag, headlamp or flashlight (with a red filter if possible), PhotoPills App (download the PhotoPills app onto your mobile phone prior to arriving at the workshop. There is no cell reception in JTNP. We’ll be using this app extensively to scout and plan Milky Way and Star Trail images. You can download the PhotoPills app for iPhone or Android), lightweight Hiking Chair (Optional), this makes the wait for darkness (after scouting locations during twilight) and star trail time lapses far more comfortable.

Photo credit: Jon Norris, Desert Institute Instructor and Volunteer