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Showing posts with label workshop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label workshop. Show all posts

Monday, May 2, 2022

Private Night Photography Workshops by Royce Bair



Private Night Photography Lessons in the Field. For years I've done up to 10 group workshops a year. These 5-day group workshops typically cost about $1,995 (or about $400 a day). In 2019, I went into semi-retirement, doing only one group workshop a year (my group workshops often fill up in 48 hours or less). For the rest of the year, I only do private workshops. Private instruction allows greater flexibility for teaching and offers many additional opportunities for my clients! We can sometimes do as much photography in two or three nights than you can do in a group situation during four or five nights. Of course, we can also do as much daytime photography as you want (depending on how much sleep you require).

One of the biggest advantage of a private workshop is that my time is shared only with you and the friend(s) you choose to attend with you (I cannot tell you how many times I have seen one "bad apple" in a group workshop try to monopolize my time at the expense of others in the group).

Private instruction is only a little more expensive than a group workshop, but it can actually be equal to or less expensive, when you invite a friend or two to share the costs. A maximum of three photographers are allowed in a private group (you and up to two of your friends). Let me illustrate...

Day rate: I charge $1,200 for the first day of instruction and $950 for each additional day (some photographers book just one day). "Weather" days are $500. Here's a typical fee cost EXAMPLE for two or three photographers:

 1st Day/night .......... $1,200.00
 2nd Day/night ..........    950.00
 3rd Day/night ..........    950.00
                          ---------
   Total fee cost ....... $3,100.00
   Cost/photog (when 2).. $1,550.00
   Cost/photog (when 3).. $1,033.33
   (This is less than $345/day!)       

Definitions: A "Day/night" of photography includes up to 8 hours of my time in guiding and teaching. At least two (2) of those hours will be doing starry night photography. The daytime instruction can be in the field or in the classroom (i.e. image post processing). A tag-along spouse or friend, without a camera, is not considered a "photographer".

Weather Days: In many of the workshop I've ever conducted, there are nights where we have so much cloud cover that few stars can be seen or photographed. Although we always try to make good use of the night with "Blue Hour" photography and demonstrating light painting (or Low Level Lighting) techniques, this is probably not what you signed up for. When this happens in my private workshops, we just call it a night and rest up for better nights. If I cannot give you at least 30 minutes of starry night photography, I will charge you a flat $500 fee to cover my expenses for that day. Note: This "weather day" discount does not apply to the first day. The "weather day" discount is also NOT something I offer in my group workshops.

Travel Expenses: You will cover your own travel expenses for transportation, lodging and meals.

Locations for private workshop lessons can be any place in the world! Any workshop location within 350 miles of my residence includes my travel expenses in the first day rate fee. Examples of workshops that are within this 350-mile radius: Arches National Park, Grand Teton N.P., Yellowstone N.P., Zion N.P., Bryce Canyon N.P., Capitol Reef N.P., Canyonlands N.P. and Grand Staircase-Escalante N.M.

You will also cover my travel expenses for any workshop that is greater than 350 miles from my residence in Salt Lake City, Utah. I will cover my own lodging and meals. For distances greater than 350 miles, you will be charged the following travel expenses, in addition to my day rates:

 351-800 miles (car travel one 
    way): $0.95 per mile*
 Over 800 miles: Actual airfare
    charges + actual car rental
    fees (we can share this
    vehicle).
   
*Example: One of my favorite places in eastern California are the Alabama Hills, near Lone Pine. From this area, you can also visit Mono Lake and the ancient Bristlecone Pines. Google says it's 582 miles from Salt Lake City to Lone Pine —that's 232 miles over my free base distance of 350 miles. At 95 cents per mile, that would be a travel expense of $220. As for your own travel expenses, you would want to fly into Las Vegas and rent a car for driving to Lone Pine (232 miles).

Reserving your date: I charge a $300 deposit to reserve a date. You can reserve up to a six days at a time. There is a deposit fee of $300 for each day you wish to reserve. This one deposit covers all the photographers in your group. I am happy to help you with your travel arrangements and hotel recommendations.

CALL: 801-558-2701 to make your reservations, or EMAIL me at royce.bair[AT]gmail[DOT]com (to prevent spam email, I ask you to substitute the "[AT]" with the "@" symbol and the "[DOT]" with the "." character).

Final payment: I request the balance of my fees (and any travel expenses) 90 days prior to the starting day of your private workshop.

Cancellations and Refunds: You can cancel and receive a full refund (less credit card fees), up to 90 days prior to the event. If you cancel between 60 and 89 days prior to the event, I will refund all but $100.00 of the fees you have paid. If you cancel between 30 and 59 days prior to the event, I will refund 50% of your fees, unless we can find a replacement attendee to take your place. If you cancel less than 30 days prior to the event, none of your fees will refunded, unless we can find a replacement attendee to take your place. The workshop participant acknowledges that if Royce Bair cancels this event, all fees paid will be refunded. Other than this refund, no guarantee or warranty is given or implied.

Eliminating days from your scheduled event: If, after completing at least two of your reserved workshop days, it is decided that you no longer need one or more of your additional reserved days, you will be refunded up to $450.00 for each of those unused days (less credit card processing fees). Travel expenses cannot be refunded.

Extending your workshop: If we are less than two weeks away from your workshop, and you wish to extend the length of the workshop (and I can make arrangements to do so), you will pay my first day rate ($1,200/day) for each additional day. You may also be required to pay my lodging expenses for any extra days (as last-minute lodging costs are often at a higher rate).

Recommendations: Read what others have said about my workshops.


PRIVATE INSTRUCTION: In addition to private workshops, I also offer:

This is currently priced at $75.00/hour. Please text me at 801-558-2701 or email me at royce.bairATgmailDOTcom for details.


My photography expertise goes beyond astrophotography: three decades of full-time magazine and commercial photography.























Monday, December 28, 2015

Grand Canyon Milky Way Photography Workshop


Starry Night Photography and Colorado River Rafting in the Grand Canyon — all in one photo workshop. This could be the trip of a lifetime! Our adventure is scheduled for September 20-23, 2016.




Everything is provided for in this workshop: prepared meals, air transfers from Las Vegas to the river and back, camping equipment, entertainment, and dedicated photo instruction by NightScape Photographer, Royce Bair.

For more information on our itinerary and costs, go to this NightScape Photography Meetup page.

All three of these Milky Way "NightScapes" used a 2nd exposure technique to add starlight detail to the foreground. Learn how on this page and in my workshops ~ all images © Royce Bair










Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Testimonials for Royce Bair's Workshops

Unsolicited testimonials about my workshops are a treasure. It is hard to place a value on goodwill like this, but I truly appreciate my association with each photographer and their thoughtful comments! The follow comments are listed below in no particular order:

Simply amazing! Thank you so much, Royce--the workshop was absolutely fantastic. I learned so much and came away with some incredible photos. I appreciated your patience and energy as well as your generosity in sharing your knowledge with us. And yes, what an excellent group of people! I couldn't have asked for better companions for this adventure. I had so much dang FUN it's ridiculous. I appreciated how willing everyone was to help each other--I learned quite a bit from each of you as well, so thank you. And keep in touch please! — Nicole Fernley

This was my third workshop with Royce Bair. I learn more each trip from his knowledge and mentoring - he is a master of Night Sky Photography. The experience was terrific and the I really enjoyed the group. I look forward to the next workshop with Royce! — George Manlove

© George Manlove • Canon 6D • Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 @ 33mm • f/2.8, 15 sec, ISO 800 (click to enlarge)
It was an informative and fun workshop. We had a wonderful group and I learned so much. — Denise Waterman

Milky Way over John Moulton Barn, Mormon Row, GTNP ~ © Denise Waterman
Nikon D600, Rokinon 24mm • f/1.4 • 15 seconds • ISO 6400 (click to enlarge)
Excellent workshop! Received way more than I expected. Thank you so much for the wonderful workshop in the Tetons. I learned everything I hoped for and more! Your instruction in the field was right on and your post-processing savvy brings the raw images to life exquisitely.  I enjoyed photographing the sights from vantage points only someone intimately familiar with the area could have shown me, saw the stars and Milky Way like I have never seen them before and shared it all with some entertaining and talented folks that made up our little group. — Steve Slinger

Fun, informative, and we had great luck with the weather overall. — David Hoelscher

Royce’s Zion National Park Milky Way Workshop was my first exposure to the art and science of astrophotography. I was thoroughly impressed with Royce’s classroom post-production lecture and hands-on field photography workshop. He revealed a lot of tips and techniques that make for stunning nighttime photography. Every aspect of trip was handled with professionalism—from pre-workshop communications that included useful eBooks on astrophotography to detailed trip itinerary, in-class and in-field instruction to post-trip follow up. Our May Zion participants made for a fun and compatible group. Thanks, Royce for making this workshop so much fun and a great educational experience! I look forward to participating in another workshop in the near future.
— Christopher Wray


"Watchman under the Milky Way" - Zion Canyon, Zion N.P. ~ © Christopher Wray (click to enlarge)
Awesome! Wunnerful, wunnerful, wunnerful! Thanks, Royce and all the other photographers, I had a great time! — Steven Sharp

I am a naturalist. I chose to work with you to find out for myself to see if the sky and milkyway could be captured w/o photoshop. many of my fellow photos tried t tell me it was all done in photoshop. I am happy to prove them wrong. Royce you are one intelligent photographer. Hats off to you! — Rita Nielsen

Excellent! — Brian Drake

The Best! Royce is an excellent instructor. He is very thorough, yet makes the technical details easy to understand. He covers each of the camera settings and why they are important. Reviews astronomical information, so you know where and what to look for so you will know when you are on your own. He covers information that is important as the night progresses. He was there visiting with each person to make sure they understood the instructions and were getting good pictures. Then he follows up the class with additional information and resources. If you are thinking about taking one of his classes - do it! Opportunities to learn from such a master are rare. — Doug Lawrence

Thank you, Royce! An incredible experience! I learned so much and look forward to doing additional workshops in the future. — Jerry Holman


Milky Way over Delicate Arch, Arches National Park ~ © Jerry Holman
The was such a great workshop!! Royce is very helpful and explains details in an understandable way. Can't wait to take another workshop! — Pat Wimpee

This was a fabulous experience. Very well planned for the spots to take photos at the right times, excellent teaching and a great time. I am more amazed at the expert skill Royce demonstrated in putting together an excellent group of attendees who were all wonderful - even the Cannot users were great people who provided valuable information. We need to have a reunion shoot together when our post-processing skills create signature images. — Steve Waterman


Milky Way stars over "The Mask" at Bryce Canyon National Park ~ © Steve Waterman
The work shop was beyond belief-- the information imparted was so much I am not sure I took it all in--the group company was absolutely enjoyable,fun and helpful--would love to photograph with any of you again--hope our lives cross in the future--Royce, I cannot say Thank You enough. I enjoyed you personally and as a teacher--your energy level was outstanding. Hope to do another workshop in the future. — Sara A. Smith

Royce did a wonderful and professional job! He was very knowledgeable and more than willing to share his expertise and time answering questions and working with any individual on their particular questions/concerns. I really enjoyed all the other workshop participants - great bunch of fellow photographers who were very talented in their own photographic skills. I am pleased to announce that the rash I developed from standing too close to the Nikon (Nylon) shooters is almost cleared up. The Dr. said it was pixelated skin or noise from high ISO Nikon deficits.  — C.Y. Roby

Hope I can make another one soon. Still amazed at how you were able to get us around to the best spots and just the right time. — Jean Thomas

Excellent, Royce, thank you so much! — A.M. Ruttle

Royce, it was a fabulous time, I learned lots and enjoyed everyone's company. Despite being sleep deprived, everyone was great and wonderful company. — Joyce Harman

I learned a lot and am excited to go use what I've learned. — Alex Greenfield

Thanks, Royce. I thought that this was a great workshop and was an excellent value. Learned lots, got some great shots, met some neat people...what else could I ask for? — Paul Titus

Thanks for putting on such a great workshop and adapting to the weather conditions. Looking forward to doing it again in Zion. — Benjamin Johnson

Just wanted to thank you again for the outstanding workshop!  I am going back and re-editing some of my older photos with some of your suggestions and it is making a big difference.  I have learned so much from you and greatly appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge. — Mike Darter


Milky Way over Alabama Hills pinnacles ~ © J. Michael Darter (click to see video)
Thanks Royce. Your personal attention and great knowledge added immensely to the success of this workshop. I had never been to Zion before, seeing it and photographing it under your guidance was an awe inspiring experience. Hope I'm able to do another meet-up workshop with you in the near future. I'm recommending your workshops to every serious photographer I know. — Larry Goldman

I learned a lot. The experience was great. — Stan Kaules

Thanks for the fun and educational workshop! Royce, your knowledge, experience, planning and intellect made this trip very fruitful in my quest to be a better photographer. — Robin Perkins


Milky Way over Zion National Park's most famous lone pine tree ~ © Robin Perkins
Canon 5D Mk III • Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens • f/2.8, 30 sec, ISO 6400
The workshop was excellent. I had a blast. Thank you for your excellent teaching and guidance. I am very satisfied with my images and I am looking forward to the next workshop at the Grand Tetons. Thanks again. — Iqbal Mohamed

The workshop exceeded my expectations. Night shooting was of course super, but I also learned other things about photography as well. — Michael Braunstein

Royce's 2014 Workshop, Lecture & Video Conference Schedule: NightScapeEvents.com
Featured Post: Shooting Stars eBook Review — How to Photograph the Stars and the Moon

Monday, September 16, 2013

Light Painting Delicate Arch

Milky Way and light-painted Delicate Arch ~ © Royce Bair
Last week I conducted a 'NightScape' photography workshop at Arches National Park. We had crazy, wet weather! However, patient and persistent efforts by our group members allowed us to pull off some amazing shots during the windows of partial clearing that we were given.

The arch is lighted with a large, stationary, diffused light from the right (about 300 feet away). I'm providing an accent light from behind the arch with a small, hand-held, quartz halogen spotlight.

Our 'NightScape' workshop group photographing a moonscape behind a light-painted Delicate Arch ~ © Royce Bair
Earlier, we photographed a moonscape behind a light-painted Delicate Arch that my lighting assistant (my son, Chris) and I had arranged. (This is a totally different lighting setup than we used in the top photo with the Milky Way. Here, the stationary key light is coming from the left, and we are using small, moving spotlights on the right side to fill in harsh shadows.) A couple of hours after the moon had set, the clouds finally cleared enough to get the Milky Way shot (top) we had been waiting for.

Note: This ultra-wide angle shot, with the people in the foreground, makes the arch look smaller than it really is. Here's a better size comparison by Jaromir Dzialo.