Join our In-Person Photography Workshops: Explore, Learn, and Capture Stunning Moments!
Exciting news – we've got Nature Photography Classes happening live and in-person! Join us for some awesome sessions, and once in a lifetime trips, where you can learn the art of capturing nature's beauty up close. This is an opportunity to work directly with Nic Stover, founder of Nature Photography Classes, and a small group of photographers. Together we will work through all the fun and challenges of capturing outdoor, landscape photography.Â
Don't miss out on this chance to enhance your photography skills in the great outdoors!
When:Â December 12 - 15, 2025-FULL to be added to waitlist email me [email protected]
My favorite way to experience the desert is not in hotels getting up and going back to the hotel at ungodly times just so I can be in the right place at the right time. My favorite way to photograph in the desert is Vehicle Based Adventure Travel or as many people call it Overlanding.
This is a unique way to spend more time within the landscape and get access to the very best places at the ideal times. I have long dreamed of being able to bring people into the wild to experience the freedom and connection you feel being in remote areas where it is often times just you and your travel partners.
For 2025 I will be able to accommodate 7 people to participate as part of this unique workshop. We will be split between 2 Jeep’s that are completely outfitted to go anywhere we want to go, a fully outfitted Toyota Tacoma and an off road camp trailer.  Â
Dates:Â December 12 - 15, 2025
Cost: $2,695
Class Size: Limited to 7 students
I will provide all the necessary sleeping arrangements, cooking utensils, water, and food. You will be very comfortable but expect to help with cooking or cleaning. All you need to bring is your camera bag and a small duffel bag with appropriate outerwear. I have everything you need to sleep, cook, go to bathroom, relax at camp and everything you need to charge your devices.
Sleeping arrangements are as follows:
Jeep Gladiator (Gobi)
- 1 person will sleep on the fold down bed within the canopy.
- 1 person will sleep in a provided tent with an off the ground cot.
Jeep Wrangler (Jack)
- 1Â person will sleep in the top portion of the canopy
- 1 person will sleep in the lower portion of the Jeep on a secure sleeping platform.
- 1 person will sleep in a provided tent with an off the ground cot.
Smittybilt Scout Trailer (Mandala)
- 2 people will sleep on the top of the trailer in individual sleeping pods / rooftop tents.
Our Fully Set Up Vehicles
I also will carry with me an AED, EpiPen, Advanced First Aid Kit, along with a satellite communicator. Each night at camp you will have access to Starlink High Speed internet to keep in touch as you will not have any cell coverage in these parts of Death Valley. Each vehicle is also equipped with recovery equipment like shovels, winches, traction boards, and full size spare tires.
What is included:
All lodging
Transportation
All meals / snacks / water
I will need a second driver, please contact me if you have any 4WD experience and we can talk about what it entails. Nothing is sketchy or life threatening.
Exertion / Physical Fitness level:
This is a pretty tame trip. The only place that has any type of physical exertion as an OPTION (Not needed for most of the images) is the Eureka Dunes where you can climb to the top. Other trips are much more strenuous than this one. That being said you should be comfortable in an off road Jeep that bounces around and can be jarred by rocks and ruts. I have good suspension but if you have back problems or get uncomfortable riding in vehicles for moderate durations over dirt roads this might not be the trip for you.
Price:
The price for the entire trip including food, gas, 4 nights of camping in the vehicles, my services, necessary safety equipment, permit for Death Valley National Park, and all other necessary equipment $2,695. Yes, you read that right. It’s a bargain but I so want to show people these amazing places I want to keep it affordable. You can’t do this on your own for that price!
50% is due now and 50% is due 90 days out. The deposit is refundable if cancelled within 6 months of the trip. Â
Day One: Alabama Hills
Arrive in Lone by 12 noon
Group Lunch before loading up and setting out.
Sunset Shoot @ Alabama Hills
Camp @ Alabama Hills
The Alabama Hills is a must stop place on the Eastern Sierra in Lone Pine, CA. Not only do you have amazing views of Mt Whitney (The highest peak in the lower 48) but you get the opportunity to explore various arches and other interesting rocks. This is a great starting point for our adventure and depending on moon phases we might have the opportunity for some early morning Milky Way.
Drones welcome here.
Day Two: Eureka Dunes
Sunrise shoot @ Alabama Hills
Evening shoot @ Eureka Dunes
Camp @ Eureka Dunes
This is really where things get fun. There is no way to safely get to the Eureka Dunes without these types of rigs. There is certainly no way to be there for sunrise or sunset without camping and the drive to get there will take us through some seldom seen parts of Death Valley to the Eureka Dunes. The Eureka Dunes are 3 miles long by 1 mile wide and are the largest dunes in California, possibly the US at over 600 feet high.
Last time I was there I did not have a vehicle capable of going to the south end of the dunes where we can expect to see much more variation and interesting sand. The other thing that makes the dunes unique is that the 4,000 foot walls of the surrounding valley which give you opportunity for longer periods of time of photography before we get direct light on the sand.
Total drive time about 4 hours. 117 miles.
Day Three: The Racetrack
Sunrise shoot @ Eureka Dunes
Evening Shoot @ The Racetrack
Camp @ The Racetrack
If you are not familiar with the Racetrack. It will blow your mind. The rocks literally move across the floor of the playa and we are not talking little pebbles. We are talking rocks the size of small fridges. Getting to the racetrack is part of the adventure but we have the right vehicles and rather than driving hours in the dark to be there at sunrise or sunset we can be leisurely and spend time both for sunset AND sunrise at this incredible place.
Total drive time will vary based on conditions over Steel and Lippincott Passes or if we elect to backtrack to Big Pine / Death Valley Road. If we go over the passes we will be able to check out the Saline Valley Sand Dunes and the Warm Springs Hot Springs.
Day Four: Trona Pinnacles
Morning Shoot @ The Racetrack
Evening Shoot @ Trona Pinnacles
Camp @ Trona Pinnacles
Our final full day takes us out of Death Valley and to one of my favorite places the Trona Pinnacles. The they are an unusual geological feature consists of more than 500 tufa spires, some as high as 140 ft, rising from the bed of the Searles Lake basin. You might recognize them from any of the 30 movies that have been filmed there from Star Trek, Planet of the Apes and others. It is an interesting place to work on different compositions and we can camp right among them.
Drones welcome here.
Drive time about 5 hours. 159 miles.
Day Five: Head for home
Morning Shoot @ Trona Pinnacles
Drive to Lone Pine ~ 2 hours
Our final morning will be a great time to come back together and hopefully squeeze out some last minute keepers before we set off for Lone Pine and bid each other ado.
