Wrapping up 2025's Photography Workshops
- joshua6029
- Nov 23
- 11 min read
2025 started strong around here. Full workshops, lots of new places visited and enjoying it all along the way. By mid summer though, I found myself at odds with social media and decided to take a much needed break from it, from marketing and put a huge emphasis on time with my loved ones and giving lots of time to the other art mediums I work in.
After 13 years of working toward a specific style for my photo work AI comes around and in just a second worth of typing can create an image that looks just like it. Then despite avoiding it like the plague, alot of the comments I get on social media revolve around AI, or over-processing which at the end of the day kind of takes the wind out of the sails of an artist like me. Not to mention the algorithms are designed to favor the consitent and often poster, which I certainly am not. I post images when I feel inspired and I try to never force an image for the sake of posting work and I work very hard for the images I create. Oftentimes spending days or weeks at a location over the course of years to achieve the vision in my mind. I understand the desire for more naturalistic imagery in the midst of the AI wave but how does one differentiate themselves from the rest of the world if not through the style in which one photographs and post processes their imagery? If I werent to edit the images the way I do then it wouldnt feel as though those images had my imprint. They'd feel generic, like any old photo.
All of this to say sorry if you havent seen me posting on social media or reaching out via newsletters and emails and that I'll be getting back to it starting with this blog writeup recapping the last few workshops of the year accross the new mexico badlands, the oregon coast & redwoods and the Columbia River Gorges plentiful waterfalls adorned in autumn gold. Its been a fantastic year and the workshop season couldn't have ended any better!
The Alien World - September
the Alien World workshop based in the otherworldly landscape of Northwestern New Mexico is and has always been a popular workshop for me and one of my favorites to host every year. I think accumulatively I've now spent about a years worth of time out there soley camping and exploring for both photographs and fossils. Guiding groups out there now since 2017 never gotten old. Every year a new group of eager adventurers signs up to join me for 3 days of camping and adventuring but leave the workshop far more enriched than simply learning a few things about photography in a cool place. I teach them about the history of the landscape, both from a paleontological perspective as well as the deep archeological history of the area, going back to the cretaceous. We tour abundant dinosaur bone and other fossil outcroppings and you may even see ancient pottery while searching for interesting compositions by day and night. This falls group was one of the best, too. Six students, 2 spouses, epic off road rigs, even better fireside meals and outstanding weather for it. Although we could've had a few more clouds for sunset and sunrise, we had plenty of amazing light and clear skies for astro photography and bright stars and Milky way!
Usually theres a fair mix of alumni and new guests on these trips and this one was no different. An even split of returnees and new comers from all around the country. We had a pair of geologists from Ohio, a trauma nurse from colorado, a tech guy from NC, a lawyer from Vegas and a husband and wife team of sports and portrait photographers who have become like family after several years of trips together. I always feel so grateful to gather these folks for the common purpose of seeing an amazing place ad capturing cool, unique images. And some, come for the S'mores. Larry, one of the geologists ate 4 or 5 of them in one night! Everyone seemed to enjoy the Fajitas, tacos and burgers we had for dinner and deluxe full breakfasts each morning complete with pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs and potatoes. You definitely do not starve on these back country trips!
The days were long, mornings chilly and days, warm. We rose each morning around 5am to ensure that we made it out to our target areas before morning twilight, and when I say "we rose" I mean some of us, as some of my alumni, and even a couple of newcomers found it hard to wake up in the mornings, but I wont say who! Ha!
I really like to promote a relaxed and slow paced atmosphere when we arent shooting, but once we leave camp and start the hikes out to shoot, its all business. Like I always say, being in a place for a period of time allows you to "get to know it" in a sense. How often do you arrive at a new location feeling overwhelmed but by day two youre finding your groove? Which I believe is why the camping based trips are so productive! We focus on 3 main areas during this workshop, camping and basing within 2 miles of the amazing badland formations that make this area so famous.
I feel so blessed and fortunate to be able to lead groups in this place each year and next year, 2026 for the first time ever I am hosting not only a fall group, but a spring group as well with an emphasis on panoramic astro imagery in this amazing place. As always I'll be your guide, teacher and personal chef for the workshop!
If you would like to join one of the groups and I next year, click below!
The Journey West
As always I travel in my custom camper van that I built out back in 2019 and have since travelled the north american continent in. From the Dempster highway north of Dawson City in the Arctic circle and south to the beaches of Baja. To the swamps of texas and back east to the familar landscapes of new england. This trip started out like any other, packing the van to the gills, double and triple checking the packing list and ensuring the pups are loaded in maximum comfort for the long journey. Being that I've made this drive 10 or so times now over the years I try to pick a different route and on this trip we priorotized epic campsites and rest. Normally we'd be searching out fossil hunting locations and awesome scenes to photograph but most of the drive through utah, Idaho and Nevada was very brown, the shoulder season had set in, fall was fully gone, until we hot oregon and the deeper we got into the state the better the colors seemed to get. Each day we'd drive 5/6 hours and stop at every antique store and rock shop we came by. Its a great way to stretch the legs and the dogs get all kinds of love and treats!
The Oregon Coast & Redwoods with Blake Rudis
Where oh where do I start? This workshop was AWESOME! Although I normally work with groups of 5-6 students this group of 10 felt just as intimate and fun thanks to my pal Blake Rudis of the F64 Academy and the wonderful people that joined us! If youve ever lead a workshop with a group as large youll know that it can sometimes be challenging logistically. We based the first 2 days of the workshop at the famous Bandon beach in Oregon. Where we focused on capturing the thunderous waves as the tide was on its way toward a king tide a week later, pacific storms had the sea churning. Perfect for dramatic photography!
When we arrived to our beachfront lodgings, we quickly threw out the initial plan of a relaxing meet and greet, and some casual classroom stuff before a nice dinner and set a plan to head to the beach asap as sunset had great potential and the forecast for the following few days looked difficult. I dont typically like to start a workshop racing the light but sometimes thats the way it goes and the sunset we were greeted with I think all would agree was well worth it.
Each morning and evening we tackled the beach with the sole objective of capturing immersive images. In order to capture immersive images at the sea you must be "in it". Months before the workshop I asked the group to find an inexpensive pair of chest waders so that they could experience the freedom it gives you when photographing watery scenes. And admittedly they all thought I was crazy. For those two days I urged folks whenever the tide seemed safe to push their boundaries and wade out into the sea, closer to the sea stacks with their wide angle lenses. Something I find not EVERY landscape photographer is willing to do and I was SO proud of everyone that pushed themselves. By the end of the workshop almost every person said they were so glad they had the waders and that they went out into the ocean. We even had one guy, one of Blake and I's beloved alumni, who thought his jeans and leather jacket would work instead of waders. He claimed he wasnt cold but I am not sure I believed him! Check out all of these behind the scenes images of the Bandon portion of the workshop!
For two days we battled the misty weather and waves to capture Bandon in all of its majesty. It is the PERFECT place to cut your teeth on seascape photography and there is always something to photograph! Once our time there was up we headed south to the Redwoods and based in Brookings, Oregon right in the bay. The plan was to spend all of our time in the forest but as it would go we had a couple of nice evenings wandering the beach there, too! Sometimes you just have to roll with the weather and prioritize capturing images. Thankful for Zoom and the ability to gather afterward to review our images and work on post processing because sometimes we just dont get the time! By the end, were all absolutely wiped out.
We got really, really lucky with the weather on this portion of the workshop as well, initially it was not looking good but the photography gods smiled upon us. we only wished for a little more fog in the forest. We visited 2 main groves within the redwood state and national parks, and the mix of autumn color and jungle like shrubbery amidst the mushroom covered-giant redwoods and wild rhododendron was magical. We even got out the macro lenses and lights to photograph some mushrooms and even a large bright yellow banana slug.
Our last night of the workshop we spent at the beach after spending nearly 7 hours photographing the forest. That day was probably one of the most fun days ove had in a long time! I cant say enough how great this group was! Although we didnt search for fossils on this portion of the workshop at some point or another most of the group had spent some time wandering the tide line and peering into the tidepools in search of critters of which I happily identified. Loads of sea sponges and beautiful sea snail shells littered the beaches, even the occasional intact urchin! We also had a variety of shore birds grace us with some dramatic dives into the water for crabs. Check out Blakes recent shot, that lucky son of a gun! (HERE)
Once the light began to take on its golden hue, sure that the marine layer would snuff us out we got serious and that final sunset was quite a sendoff! The blinding sun set through a veil of thick cloud long enough to make out its shape with the naked eye, perfectly between two sea stacks. Quite a cool moment to end a wonderful day and a wonderful workshop. Although most of us gathered to shoot the following morning, a new gate thwarted us and the sliver of fleeting color vanished as we made our way to the beach, some of the group needed to leave early that final morning to make their flights back home. The golden light was stunning as we shot through the morning, slowly the group said goodbye one at a time.
I have to give a huge shout out to my partner Shawna who's with me on all of these workshops. I couldnt do it without her help. She does so much behind the scenes and most of all takes care of the pups and takes great photos of our groups! A lot of these are her images.
Autumn Falls
Once we departed Brookings we began heading north a couple of days ahead of the autumn falls workshop based in and around the columbia river gorge. The drive up the coast and inland was absolutely incredible! Im not sure I have ever said "wow" more times in a 2 week span ever in my life. The gorge was pure magic. Like an autumn dream. Misty haze, stunning-rich yellows abound. Leaves the size of dinner plates! We mayyyyy have even looked up properties in oregon. Wed be closer to my good friends, a new landscape to be inspired by. Im just not sure I could do the wet and dreary. Im a desert guy I think.
We were back to a small group and a mix of alumni and new folks from Kentucky to Hawaii, Maryland and California assembled for this one. My best friend and extremely talented photographer Michael Linquist joined us as our guide and led us to wonderful locations despite the challenges to come. Another bleek forecast was looming over this workshop as well. Rumors of 70mph gusts and 7+ inches of rain in a day. The color was PRIME and thankfully we managed a LOT of shooting in the misty rain and most of the torrent that was forecasted stayed away. We visited 2-3 falls a day and hit the ground running again on day one. Heavy rains the week earlier brought with it the challenge of increased deadfall and leaf litter which limited some of the falls we could access but we made the most of every second we could of capturing the falls and forests in the moody and misty atmosphere. This crew was all business and wasted no time.
Just like the previous workshop I had these guys come prepared with waders and ice spikes so that they could get around on the mossy terrain without getting wet and we made full use of them. Although they arent great for hiking when youve got a sensitive back we learned. The evening of the first full day ended with some heavy rain which made the next days target creeks flow a little heavy and we ended up visiting a couple of extra falls to make up for not being able to access some of the downstream areas. The spray... was intense! Pro tip* a rocket blower or little electric blower work better for removing spray and water drops than wiping with a cloth!
In all this workshop felt like we dodged a weather bullet and took full advantage of it. We had an awesome air bnb right near the gorge, tucked back into the trees, an artists retreat. Although we had to provide our own TV for classroom stuff, that was interesting. I dont think the last workshop of the year couldve gone better considering the forecast.
Im looking forward to following up with these groups over zoom between the holidays to review their images. Its always so exciting to see how we all interpret things so differently!
Thank you so much to all of the folks that joined me on an adventure this year, or supported my small business! Im still working on ironing out all of next year's workshops but I am excited for whats to come! If youd like to join us on this one next year click below!
If you've read this far checkout some of my images from the trip! It was all about color for me! As always you can purchase any of the images you see on my site by simply sending me an email! Joshua@WildLightExposures.com
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