Eastern Sierra Photography Workshops
We’ll offer multiple small group Bodie night photography workshop itineraries for 2026. All include two practice nights in stunning places before our first night in Bodie (the minimum required for fellow workshop participants not to be trashing your foreground with their lights, and for everyone to be shooting efficiently so we can all capture more compositions in our limited time in Bodie). Current itineraries include:
- 1 night in Bodie in a 3-night workshop
- 2 nights in Bodie in a 4-night workshop
- 1 night and one morning/interior session in Bodie in a 4-night workshop
We feel that a maximum of 8 photographers is warranted for the spaces we’ll be shooting in, and that two guides/instructors, each with several dozen nights experience in Bodie, is best to keep a group with mixed experience and various cameras productive. All of our Bodie workshops are conducted with proper permits, including Inyo National Forest to shoot at Mono Lake, to enable us to shoot the best locations in the area.
Note: Inyo National Forest permits are required for Mono Lake, much of the High Sierra, most fall colors locations, and for the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Few have this permit; after about a decade maintaining this permit annually, we were one of the 3 organizations offered a 5-year renewal cycle. Don’t risk your trip by signing up with fly-by-night operators who run workshops without the required permits, first aid certification, and insurance!
Bodie Night Photography Workshop plus Mono Lake, High Sierra
Four nights with the last two in Bodie
June 10-14, 2026
$2195 New, register now here!
Our two nights in Bodie will feature no moon in the sky, for pristine dark sky shooting conditions until we have to work our way back to the parking lot to be off Park lands by 1am. The Milky Way will be low to the horizon, on the east side of Main Street. We can capture compositions with the Milky Way prominent across the sky, as well as Milky Way arch panoramas.
With dozens of nights experience shooting in Bodie, Lori and I can help you cover more subjects in the time we have available, as well as compositions optimized for the time of night as the Milky Way rises.
Lori and I are avid astrophotographers. We’ve captured the aurora borealis numerous times in the area, including on 3 nights in Bodie and at Mono Lake during one of our 2025 workshops. In recent years we have updated our lighting, our exposure technique, and our post-processing workflow, tools and techniques. You’ll benefit from our knowledge and experience.
We have two additional practice nights with interesting subjects in the area before our two Bodie nights. You capture more images when the group is shooting competently and efficiently together, and stray light is minimized.
We pursue daytime landscapes, wildflowers, wildlife, and sunsets as well. We conduct post-processing sessions to make sure that you get the best possible results with your images.
Bodie and Eastern Sierra Night Photography Workshop plus Bodie Interior Access
Four nights with the last one in Bodie, plus a morning interior access session
July 7-11, 2026
$2145 New, register now here!
Our night in Bodie will feature no moon in the sky, for pristine dark sky shooting conditions until we have to work our way back to the parking lot to be off Park lands by 1am. We can capture compositions with the Milky Way prominent across the sky in landscape and portrait orientation compositions, as well as Milky Way arch panoramas.
Each with 75+ nights experience shooting in Bodie, Lori and I can help you cover more subjects in the time we have available, as well as compositions optimized for the month and time of night as the Milky Way rises.
Lori and I are avid astrophotographers. We’ve captured the aurora borealis numerous times in the area, including on 3 nights in Bodie and at Mono Lake during one of our 2025 workshops. In recent years we have updated our lighting, our exposure technique, and our post-processing workflow, tools and techniques. Our images are 100% real, never faked in Photoshop with sky substitution, our Milky Way reflection shots are photographs, never faked, including Milky Way reflections. Integrity is important to us. You’ll benefit from our knowledge and experience.
We have two additional practice nights with interesting subjects in the area before our two Bodie nights. You capture more images when the group is shooting competently and efficiently together, and stray light is minimized.
We pursue daytime landscapes, wildflowers, wildlife, and sunsets as well. We conduct post-processing sessions to make sure that you get the best possible results with your images.
We maintain permits to be able to lead you on lands administered by Inyo National Forest (such as Mono Lake) and Yosemite National Park, so we can take you wherever the weather and light are best.
Night Photography Weekend Bootcamp
Two nights plus post-processing sessions
October TBD, 2026 (contact us)
$695
An intensive weekend of guiding, instruction (if you like), daytime landscape photography, dark sky night photography / landscape astrophotography, multiple post-processing demonstrations for day and night photography, feedback, and more photography!
We’ll cover composition, black and white conversion, special exposure techniques for highest quality results (day and night), lighting, post-processing tools and workflow, star trails composite images, even the generation of time-lapse videos if you like.
Jeff won a coveted special prize in the 2011 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition conducted by the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Lori and Jeff have been pursuing astrophotography and teaching photography to others in well over 100 dark sky night photography workshops since!
This is like our Bodie workshops, without the extra nights and fees of accessing Bodie. We run this workshop with permits to operate on USFS lands (including Mono Lake) and in the High Sierra region of Yosemite National Park, all within a short drive from our home. Take a night photography workshop with the locals, the professionals, the best!
More information and registration here.
2026 Workshop Schedule, Great Basin School of Photography
We limit group size to 8 photographers, with both owners Jeff and Lori, for a 4:1 guide to client ratio. (Click on the blue text to navigate to each workshop.)
March 2-6, 2026 Death Valley Spring Wildflower Landscape Photography with Total Lunar Eclipse $1595 4 nights Enroll now!
Landscape, full moon rise and set, total lunar eclipse. *BEST ODDS OF A SUPER BLOOM IN 10 YEARS!*
April 18-23, 2026 Nevada Backcountry Adventure Photography $1995 5 nights New!
Some of our favorite remote locations, comfortable spring weather with dark Milky Way nights. High clearance with sturdy tires advised.
May 26-31, 2026 Oregon Coast Photography $2495 5 nights Full!
We start by staying in a lighthouse keeper’s quarters, and it just gets better from there.
May 31 – June 3, 2026 Redwoods & Rhododendrons Photography $995 3 nights Enroll now!
Light rays shining through redwood trees, with the rhododendrons in bloom.
June 10-14, 2026 Bodie, Mono Lake and High Sierra Photography $2195 4 nights, 2 in Bodie New!
Our only workshop with two nights in Bodie in 2026.
July 7-11, 2026 Bodie Night, Building Interiors plus Mono Lake & High Sierra Photography $2145 4 nights, 1 in Bodie, 1 morning in Bodie New!
Our only 2026 workshop with one night in Bodie plus one morning building interior access session.
August 9-17, 2026 High Sierra Photography Week via Horsepacker $4595 About a week in the High Sierra, multiple locations, layover days
Catered with horses and mules. We hope to include dark skies for Milky Way, during the Perseid meteor shower. Limit 6. NEW!
October 24-29, 2026 Yosemite Fall Colors & Moon Photography $1995 5 nights New!
Possibly the best full moon rise on 14 years, fall colors on the elm, dogwoods and bigleaf maples too.
Jeff has identified a special opportunity that he’s been wanting to capture for over a decade (shh). This is that trip.
December 9-14, 2026 Death Valley Winter Light Photography $1995 5 nights New!
Color, black and white, night, plus dark skies all night after 8pm for the Geminid meteor shower.
March 7-12, 2027 Death Valley Backcountry Adventure Photography $1995 Enroll now!
The Racetrack, Eureka Dunes, and more with dark Milky Way nights.
Use our contact form to get on our interest/new release list, to hear if/when we release new itineraries/destinations: Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Oregon Coast, Washington Coast, California Redwoods & Coast, and so on. We’ve scouted most of these areas for years for our own photography, so we can plan custom itineraries for small groups.