MILKY WAY & NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY ON THE OUTER BANKS

The Outer Banks of North Carolina is renowned for its beaches, sand dunes, lighthouses, salt marshes, wildlife, and recreational opportunities. Photographers come to the Banks in droves and shoot the same subjects in the same manner as everyone else. This workshop is different. You’ll photograph some of the same subjects, but you’ll shoot them at night, using light painting and other techniques to create unique and exciting images. A highlight of this workshop will be photographing the Outer Banks under the summer Milky Way. This will be a special treat!

This will be a combination field and classroom workshop. During the afternoon, you’ll learn night-photography techniques in the classroom, and at night, you’ll apply those techniques in the field.

Attendees should have a firm understanding of how to change the exposure settings on their camera and be able to switch between manual and autofocus. And they should be able to do all this in the dark, without using a light. I’ll take it from there.

Imagine photographing one of North Carolina’s majestic lighthouses with the Milky Way shining in the sky above. Now, imagine a Perseid meteor streaking across the sky in the image. Pretty cool, eh? Well, that’s what you will experience during this photo tour. The Perseid Meteor Shower peaks on the night of August 12/13, creating an unforgettable photographic and visual experience.

The photo tour begins at 2:00 pm on Friday and ends around 11:00 am Sunday. On Friday, we will have orientation where I will give a program and discussion on the subjects you’ll be shooting during the photo tour. We will have dinner as a group and then spend the rest of the evening in the field photographing. We will stay out as late as the group, or any individual, desires.

Saturday morning is on your own. You can sleep as late as you like and then photograph as you wish along the coast. We will meet again as a group on Saturday afternoon around 1:00 pm. We will have a classroom session where I give a general night-photography program and then I will demonstrate post-processing techniques using some of the photos that participants shot the night before. We will have dinner as a group and then spend the rest of the evening in the field photographing. We will stay out as late as the group, or any individual, desires.

We will meet again as a group on Sunday morning for a final discussion of shooting and processing techniques.

We will not be doing anything strenuous during this workshop. You only need the willingness to alter your normal day/night routine for a weekend. We will be staying out at night as late as everyone in the group can stay awake. If you get tired, you are free to go back to the hotel at any time. This is more important than you might realize. You are paying to learn how to photograph at night, not during the day. If you get sleepy and decide to go back to the hotel at 10:00 pm, that’s certainly not a problem for me. But it sure will be a waste of your money. Please, take advantage of this opportunity! We do not have any group-related activities planned during the morning on Saturday, so you can use that time to catch up on sleep or as you wish.

With any night-photography event, we are at the mercy of the weather. All events will go on rain or shine, and we will just have to make do the best we can if the weather does not cooperate. If it’s cloudy, you won’t be able to incorporate the Milky Way in your composition, but you’ll still be able to shoot scenes at night. If we have a steady rain on both nights (unlikely at this time of year), we will have to improvise. Refunds cannot be issued because of the weather.

Lodging is not included and you are free to stay wherever you like. However, it is recommended that you stay at our host hotel, where we will have our meetings. We will provide hotel info after you register. Transportation is not included. Carpooling to shooting locations will be encouraged.

Full payment is required at the time of registration. You can register online by clicking the “Register Now” buttons on this page. If you prefer to pay by personal check, please contact me.