Travel Photography: Desert Road Trip

Course details

Every type of location presents its own photographic challenges. For the stark wilderness of Death Valley National Park, these can include harsh desert light, stark landscapes, and a vastness that can be daunting to capture in a single frame. In this course, travel along with author, teacher, and photographer Ben Long to Death Valley to learn about the challenges and techniques behind capturing the exotic beauty and surprising details of the desert.

Learning objectives
Looking at the light
Composing a shot to show rock texture
Taking a shot with haze and working it in post
Shooting sand dunes in changing light
Exploring the vistas for a more dramatic shot
Understanding the pace of a place

Concepts

Introduction

Intro to desert landscape photography
Understanding where this course will take us

Desert Roadtrip - Day One

Looking at the light on day one
Getting a shot that includes the road
Why shoot in places you've shot before
Shooting in the old mining town of Ballarat
Working a shot with an old truck as a subject
Composing a shot to show texture in Devil's Golf Course
Racing the light to get the last shot of the day

Desert Roadtrip - Day Two

Exploring the plan for day two
Taking a shot with haze and working it in post
Shooting the sand dunes in changing light
Wrapping up the sand dune shots

Desert Roadtrip - Day Three

Planning out the third day
Exploring the light in the dry lake bed
Working the light in the dry lake bed
What to do when the good light is gone
Exploring the vistas for a more dramatic shot
Composing the vista shot
Evaluating the vista shot

Wrapping Up the Trip

Understanding the pace of a place
Wrapping up the trip