"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." - Psalm 19:1

Beginners Deep Sky Astrophotography Workshop In Canyonlands National Park


Deep sky or deep space often means photographing astounding deep-sky objects in the night sky such as the Andromeda Galaxy, Orion Nebula, Pinwheel Galaxy and Star Clusters through telephoto lenses or telescopes using tracking mounts. It can all be accomplished for less than you think!

Objects are often faint and underwhelming when viewed through the camera eyepiece, yet explode with color and detail when photographed.

The main techniques needed for this particular form of astrophotography include comprehending camera settings required to capture long exposures, how to achieve and maintain sharp focus, and of course, post processing! 

This is a beginner to intermediate deep sky astrophotography workshop. It is necessary to be familiar with your tracker and be able to operate your camera in the dark. 

This is a great place for the beginner deep sky astrophotographer to start their journey or the intermediate photographer to hone their skills before moving on to the more advanced techniques.

Join us in Canyonlands National Park in May 2021 around new moon for three nights of great astrophotography imaging under some of the west's darkest skies.

Some of the more popular spring targets we will shoot include:

Equipment, Equipment, Equipment : Equipment is EVERYTHING in Astrophotography

Required Equipment and Accessories :

Astrophotography requires a professional level camera and lens in order to be successful and get the image results you are looking for.

If you do not have a professional level camera or lens, we would highly recommend purchasing or renting them. 

If you need to purchase or rent ANY of the required equipment - please, feel free to contact Craig at 719.930.1301 to help you get set up.

Recommended Items: 

What You Will Learn:

Post Processing Demonstration: 

Digital processing is a crucial step in astrophotography for creating striking images.

One afternoon I will demonstrate processing RAW images using Deep Sky Stacker and Adobe Lightroom Classic CC.  If you would like to follow along during this post processing demonstration I recommend you bring a laptop with you.

If you don’t already own Deep Sky Stacker or Lightroom Classic CC - you can download a trial for free.

Deep Sky Stacker  Download here.

Lightroom Classic CC   Download here. 

More Details: 

Participants: Limit 4

Experience Level:  Who will benefit from this workshop?

This is designed for the beginner to intermediate astrophotographer as defined below:

  • Beginner I : Someone having a strong knowledge and firm understanding of their camera with "little to no" experience in deep sky astrophotography.
  • Beginner II : Someone having a strong knowledge and firm understanding of their camera and have "tried" their hand at deep sky astrophotography.
  • Intermediate : Someone having a strong knowledge and firm understanding of their camera with "some" experience in deep sky astrophotography.

Workshop Dates:

Canyonlands Workshop I Dates: May 7, 2021 to May 10, 2021 *Departure on May 10th.   

Canyonlands Workshop II Dates: May 10, 2021 to May 13, 2021 *Departure on May 13th.   

These workshops are sponsored by Mike's Camera of Denver, Colorado and go on sale January 1, 2021.

Check back to get registered.

Lodging:  Our home base for this workshop will be located in Moab, Utah where we will reserve a block of rooms at a reduced rate.

You are free to stay anywhere in the area.

What is Included? 

The cost of the workshop DOES include:

This workshop DOES NOT include:

Price:  $ 1,995.00

This workshop is sponsored by Mike's Camera of Denver, Colorado and goes on sale January 1, 2021. 

Hope To See You There!  ~ Keep Looking Up!  

Please feel free to contact Craig if you have any questions or need any help with your gear or equipment requirements. I am happy to help!

I also offer Private One on One Milky Way Photography Instruction. Please, feel free to contact me.