Northern Lights in the Mid-Atlantic

Photography Workshop

First available Date - blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia

If a G3+ forecast is issued, but no cloud-free locations are forecasted within a reasonable distance, the workshop will be postponed till the next G3 event.

Backup Dates

Astrophotography requires clear skies. Significant cloud cover for the duration of the scheduled night will require a re-scheduling of the workshop to a later date. A weather re-scheduling notification will be sent no later than 24 hours before the scheduled start time.

Weather

Maximum of seven persons

Group Size

This workshop is dependent on the northern lights forecast. The workshop will be hosted the first available day when aurora is forecasted at a G3 level or higher.

Notifications will be sent via email as soon as an official forecast from the SWPC is issued. This is usually 1-2 days before the event. Details about time, location, and meeting points will be shared via email 12 hours before the event.

Date and Time

Workshop Details

This is a Intermediate Level workshop. Some experience with night sky photography is recommended, but not required. Prior knowledge of using a DSLR or mirrorless camera is required.

You will join me in the Blue Ridge Mountains at a dark sky location for one night. You will be guided through the following topics:

-Night sky photography fundamentals
-Tracking and applying aurora indices
-Tracking and applying solar wind data
-Tracking and applying magnetometer data
-Finding a composition for northern lights with a landscape
-Successfully responding to quickly-changing weather and aurora conditions
-Photographing aurora substorms

At the end of the night you will walk away with:

-Aurora photos of your own
-Skills to set you up for success in aurora photography on your own

What to Expect

Do you want to learn to photograph and experience northern lights photography from the Mid-Atlantic? This workshop is designed to teach aurora photography basics, and introduce you to the wonder of capturing the northern lights. You'll be guided step-by-step with me, teaching you this technical but spectacular field of photography.

You'll learn to forecast northern lights, set up long exposure photographs, compose and frame the aurora with the mountains, and track celestial events for unique photo opportunities.

Location: Shenandoah National Park or Blue Ridge Parkway - More detail provided week of workshop.
Date: First available date with visible northern lights. More detail provided below.
Price: $400

This is a Weather Dependent workshop. More detail provided below.

This is a workshop designed for people who want to photograph the northern lights. The aurora is usually much brighter and more colorful on camera than it is in person.

About this workshop

A location on the Blue Ridge Parkway or Shenandoah National Park in Virginia will be selected the day before the workshop. A best effort will be made to select a location within three (3) hours of the Washington, DC metro area. The final location is strongly dependent on the cloud cover forecast.

locatioN

Book Here

Interested in Joining?

It'll be nighttime! Make sure that you can stay awake and focused for the duration of the night, and that you can safely drive home.

Energy Drinks or Caffiene

An external or internal timer will reduce camera shake and give you more flexibility for stacking identical photographs in post-editing.

Intervalometer

This workshop will focus on wide-field photos, so a wider lens is better. Anything wider than 24 mm is preferred.

Bright lenses, with apertures less than f/3, are best for night skies.

Wide Angle/Low Aperture Lens

If you have this gear accessible, consider bringing it along to make your overall workshop experience better.

Gear recommendations

Clear sky nights in the winter are often very cold. Be prepared for wind chills below 20 degrees up in the mountains. Wind and ice/snow on the ground are not grounds for rescheduling. Bring gloves, hats, a heavy-duty jacket, hand warmers, blankets, etc.

Warm Clothes

Long-exposure photography requires a stable platform for your camera. Small "desktop" or pocket tripods are not suitable for this workshop. Tripods for astrophotography should be stable, adjustable, and reach approximately chest-height for best results.

Tripod

A camera capable of manual shutter control. Most name-brand DSLR and mirrorless cameras qualify.

Phone cameras are not suitable for this workshop.

Camera

In order to attend this workshop and have a complete, valuable experience, you need to bring the following gear. If you're unsure about your gear's specifications, send me a contact form and I'll give you direct feedback.