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, founded of Nature Photography Classes, and a small group of photograpers. Together we will work through all the fun and challenges of capturing outdoor, landscape photography.
Don't miss out on this chance to enhance your photography skills in the great outdoors!
When: November 14-17, 2025
Fall, on the Central Coast, is one of my favorite times of year. With the cooler temperatures inland we don't have as much marine layer and the starts of the winter storms and clearer skies lead to some of the most spectacular sunsets. Join me on this amazing four day, in-person trip. While I can't guarantee great sunsets, I promise you will have a great time and learn new ways to approach your photography.
This will be a small class size and I expect it will sell out quickly. This is my backyard, the area I am fortunate to live, and I can't wait to show it to you. Please read on to discover more!
Dates: Friday, November 14th to Monday November 17th, 2025
Cost: $1,795 if paid in full or $1,895 if paying 50% down and 50% 90 days out.
Class Size: Limited to 7 students
Includes: Complete access to all tutorials on Nature Photography Classes, a free 16x20 metal print, a 1 hour prep meeting before the workshop, and a 2 hour meeting after to talk about post-processing and share your images with your fellow workshop participants.
Inclusions / Exclusions: Includes all drinks and snacks when we are together including 2 group dinners and a welcome lunch. Does not include travel to San Luis Obispo, or lodging. I can take 3 passengers with me comfortably in my Jeep and would only need one other driver.
Note: If you are willing to be a driver, I will pay all of your gas and provide you with a private 2 hour session where we can cover whatever topics you wish to cover.
On November 14th, plan to arrive in San Luis Obispo by 12:00 noon. We will do a lunch at my favorite restaurant (Taste Eatery), followed by a welcome overview of what to expect in the coming days. In addition to the welcome and the opportunity to get to know your fellow participants we will do a gear shakedown / gear check in terms of what you have brought with you and any last minute modifications we should look at making. From here we will set off for the Monarch Butterflies before going to Oceano Dunes state park.
Monarch Butterfly Clusters
Photographing Monarch's can be hit or miss depending on the weather and their numbers. It is an easy place to stop on the way to the Sand Dunes and seeing the clusters is quite interesting.
Oceano Dunes
Oceano State Park is a favorite location of mine to visit and to explore. We will enter from a lesser known and shorter access point to the marvelous sand dunes. This section of the park is closed to vehicles and we will largely have it to ourselves as we explore the different dunes, textures, and other features. Golden hour begins around 5:30 pm and from then till the end of blue hour an hour later we will have lots of opportunities to work with the different types of lighting.
Milky Way
As part of this exciting first day, we will have the opportunity to photograph the Milky Way as the Galactic Core will be visible for a very short period of time. This is where we will be able to use tools like PhotoPills to plan our images.
After we conclude with our Milky Way photography around 7:00 pm it will be about a 30 minute walk back to our vehicles and a 40 minute drive back to San Luis Obispo. You will arrive back at your hotel or AirBnb around 9:00 pm.
Black & White Opportunity Galore
New for 2025! Morning Sunrise in Morro Bay
If the weather is favorable we will be up and going around 6am to go to the estuary for sunrise in Morro Bay. Followed by morning photography of the sea otters that frequent the bay. From there we will head back to the hotels for a break / rest and for you to be able to spend some time with your images before our evening outing to the Elephant Seals and our private cove of Arroyo Hondo.
Elephant Seals of San Simeon
Our Own Private Cove
After spending part of our afternoon with the Elephant Seals at Piedras Blancas we will head just a little further north to a relatively unknown cove I call Arroyo Hondo. We will have a 15 minute walk down into this large bay where we will be free to explore the sea stacks, sand features, and other parts of interest.
After photographing and absorbing all the beauty of the sunset in Arroyo Hondo we will head for dinner 30 minutes away in San Simeon before returning to San Luis Obispo.
Post Processing / Image Review
Today we will grab some much needed and earned rest and sleep in a little, have a nice breakfast and then plan to meet in the classroom for 2-3 hours of image review and post processing.
Montana De Oro State Park
Montana De Oro State Park is my favorite place on the Central Coast for photography but also to connect to the raw beauty of nature. From large waves, to interesting coastal features, and few people there is something for everyone here. Where we go in Montana De Oro will be dictated by tidal, surf and weather conditions.
After photographing at Montana De Oro, we will head to dinner in San Luis Obispo for our final dinner together. You could expect to be dropped at your hotel by 9:00 pm this night.
If we have good weather on this final morning we will head to Avila Pier for some beach / sunrise photography or maybe choose to revisit a previous location or go somewhere completely new!
After our morning adventure we will head back into the classroom for another review of images, final thoughts, and at around 12:00 pm you will be free to return home or continue your exploration of the coast.
Avila Beach
One of our options is to photograph sunrise at Avila Beach taking in the beauty of this calm harbor.
Los Osos Oaks
When: November 14-17, 2025
Fall, on the Central Coast, is one of my favorite times of year. With the cooler temperatures inland we don't have as much marine layer and the starts of the winter storms and clearer skies lead to some of the most spectacular sunsets. Join me on this amazing four day, in-person trip. While I can't guarantee great sunsets, I promise you will have a great time and learn new ways to approach your photography.
This will be a small class size and I expect it will sell out quickly. This is my backyard, the area I am fortunate to live, and I can't wait to show it to you. Please read on to discover more!
Dates: Friday, November 14th to Monday November 17th, 2025
Cost: $1,795 if paid in full or $1,895 if paying 50% down and 50% 90 days out.
Class Size: Limited to 7 students
Includes: Complete access to all tutorials on Nature Photography Classes, a free 16x20 metal print, a 1 hour prep meeting before the workshop, and a 2 hour meeting after to talk about post-processing and share your images with your fellow workshop participants.
Inclusions / Exclusions: Includes all drinks and snacks when we are together including 2 group dinners and a welcome lunch. Does not include travel to San Luis Obispo, or lodging. I can take 3 passengers with me comfortably in my Jeep and would only need one other driver.
Note: If you are willing to be a driver, I will pay all of your gas and provide you with a private 2 hour session where we can cover whatever topics you wish to cover.
