Description: Dreamy landscapes come to life at White Sands National Monument, a unique and creatively challenging destination for landscape photography in New Mexico. Here, expansive dunes of gypsum sand resembling the form of waves engulf 224.6 mi2 of desert, creating the world’s largest gypsum sand dunes. Cool to the touch, this unique dune field is composed of gypsum and calcium sulfate, providing a serene backdrop for beautiful landscape photography. Each visit to the dunes is visually different every time!
White Sands National Monument is a U.S. National Park, preserving a major portion of the dune fields along with the plants and animals that live there. The backdrop of the mountain ranges to the east and west makes the location a scenic delight with surreal photographic opportunities for image making.
White Sands National Monument is a great location to visit because of its special set of creative challenges. This is a perfect location to strengthen your landscape photography skills! Using light and shadow, composition and creativity come to the fore when interpreting the dune fields. Nikhil will help you hands-on in the field and push you to think outside the box with your photography.
Early in the morning and late in the evening, white sand reflects color from the sky which is the perfect condition for creating beautiful photos. There is not much plant life at White Sands National Monument, but yucca plants are present and a great way to add anchors of interest to photos at this remote area.
What You’ll Learn on this White Sands Photography Workshop
Capture Dreamy, Intimate Landscapes
- Creative landscape photography and working with unique challenges
- Special focus on capturing fine details and intricate patterns
- How to balance light and the angle of the sun
- Working with shadows and contrast
- How to create the perfect composition
- Black and white photography
Itinerary
First Evening
During our first evening together, Nikhil will give a presentation on what to expect during your White Sands photography workshop. Everyone will get to meet each other, discussing strategy and creative photography during the upcoming days.
Daily Sunrise, Sunset, and Classroom Sessions
Every morning before sunrise and evening for sunset we will take trips into the field to focus on creating images. During midday we will have classroom sessions at our host hotel where Nikhil will work with you on your images and teach you new photographic techniques so you can create your best images ever.
December 13
7:00pm–9:00pm: Orientation meeting and presentation at the hotel.
December 14–15
5:45am–9:30am: Sunrise field trip
10:00am: Return to hotel for breakfast
10:00am–1:00pm: Break
1:00pm–2:30pm: Classroom session
3:00pm–5:30pm: Sunset field trip
6:00pm: Dinner
December 16
5:45am–9:30am: Sunrise field trip
10:00am: Return to hotel for breakfast (end of workshop)
This itinerary is subject to change based on weather conditions and other factors. Participants should be comfortable hiking 1–1½ miles round trip into the dunes.
Weather: Early morning the temps will be below freezing (in the 20’s) with warmer afternoons (in the 50’s and 60’s)
Itinerary Includes:
- All in-the-field and classroom instruction.
- Private board room provided for daily critiques and image editing as well as classroom instruction.
- Early entry into the park.
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Itinerary Does Not Include:
- Discounted lodging has been arranged; confirmations will be provided upon registration and receipt of deposit.
- Cost of lodging or meals.
- Transportation throughout; we'll encourage carpooling to/from the park as it is a 30 minute drive from the hotel.
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Registration through Naturescapes |
Please contact Nikhil if you have any questions about any of the workshops listed above.
Back to Workshop page |
