Santa Barbara Wine Country
Day & Night Photography Workshop
Solvang, California
August 24-28, 2022
Five Day / Four Night Workshop
$3095
Ground Transportation & Accommodations Included
8 Participants Max
Workshop Highlights
Indulge yourself in this first-ever day and night photography experience deep in the heart of gorgeous Santa Barbara Wine Country!
Dozens of world-class wineries adorn the beautiful, picturesque hillsides surrounding the small towns of Santa Ynez, Los Olivos, Solvang, and Los Alamos in the Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County. They offer not only some of the finest wines available but incredible photography opportunities as well.
Join a small group of enthusiastic photographers to experience “California’s Rhône Zone” - the best the Santa Barbara wine country has to offer. You will spend five full days and four nights in this unique day and night photography workshop with all ground transportation and accommodations included.
Mike lived in Santa Barbara County for five years and neighboring Ventura County for another fifteen years. He has visited your shooting locations countless times and they are among his favorite places on the planet. Now, for the first time, he will open these incredible locations to you.
New to night photography? This workshop is perfect for you! You’ll learn everything you need to know to set up your camera and practice using it to capture stunning images of the Milky Way, stars, Moon and much more.
Dr. Mike Shaw will be your workshop instructor and guide. He is the author of the best-selling night photography books “The Complete Guide to Landscape Astrophotography” and “Creative Nightscapes and Time-Lapses.” He is also the co-creator of the video tutorials embedded in the Planit Pro app.
Workshop highlights include:
Five days of guided access to incredible photography locations in Santa Barbara wine country
Four nights of night photography over stunning wine country scenery
Photograph plump grapes on the vine near their peak and possibly at the start of veraison
Capture stunning rows of vineyards, stretching over rolling hills to the horizon
Your choice of shooting the Summer Milky Way, star trails, constellations, panoramas, time-lapses, deep-sky objects - or all the above!
Enjoy a private tour and photography of the iconic Zaca Mesa winery. Meet the vintners, see the wine-making operations and, of course, special access to spend time exploring and photographing the gorgeous Zaca Mesa vineyards.
Opportunities to sample and purchase limited-run wines only available from local Santa Barbara wineries
Private evening at the Zaca Mesa lakeside, where we will enjoy stunning views of the summer Milky Way gracing the skies above.
Options to visit Pacific Ocean beaches and Santa Barbara’s downtown
Pre-workshop Meet & Greet, 7 - 9 pm, Tuesday, August 23, 2022 at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott, 5855 W Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045•(310) 641-5700
Workshop Itinerary
Tuesday, August 23, 7 - 9 pm, Los Angeles Airport Marriott, 5855 W Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045. Meet and Greet - We will meet during our orientation meeting and review the workshop and rough agenda. We’ll also discuss your goals for the workshop, and the camera systems you’re using.
Wednesday, August 24. We meet in the early morning in lobby of the Los Angeles Marriott, address above. We board our workshop bus and begin our exploration up the Southern California coast to our destination in Solvang. En route, we will discuss the specific day and night photography topics of interest. The Welcome Packet you will receive when you register includes a questionnaire for you to provide us with the subjects you are the most interested in learning about.
We arrive in time to check into our rooms, quickly unpack and then drive to a nearby location to enjoy and photograph our first sunset over the gorgeous Santa Barbara Wine Country scenery. We return, grab some dinner (or have a to-go dinner on the road) and then capture our first set of nightscape images. Here, you will receive personal instruction on how to properly focus your camera in the dark, compose in the dark, and what are the best camera and exposure settings for night photography. You can also explore the effects of different lens focal lengths and lens filters for the best composition and depth of field.
Thursday, August 25. We awaken early to photograph our first Santa Barbara Wine Country sunrise. After breakfast, we then depart for a morning exploring the fantastic Santa Ynez Valley, including several favorite winery photography locations. After returning to Solvang for lunch and a brief rest, we then visit Zaca Mesa Winery for a private tour of the winery and surrounding vineyards during the afternoon and early evening. As we fill our memory cards with incredible images, we keep an eye on the sky, since we will spend the evening at the Zaca Mesa private lakeside enjoying a wonderful night of nightscape photography in their private vineyards.
Friday, August 26. Depending on how late we stay out the night before, we awaken early to see if the fog (over the hills!) has cleared enough for us to photograph the sunrise. After breakfast, we then depart for a full day exploring the nooks and crannies of the Santa Ynez Valley and surrounding areas, including several favorite winery photography locations. We keep an eye on the weather to see if any high clouds, or fog, appear to be developing, so we can plan our sunset shoot accordingly. Again, we grab a quick meal before another epic evening of nightscape photography!
Saturday, August 27. Today we continue our exploration and photography of the Santa Barbara Wine Country. We may detour through Santa Barbara itself and visit its scenic beachfront and downtown locations. We may also stop along one of the stunning beaches of Santa Barbara County to soak up some sun and sand; and to line up an epic sunset over the Pacific Ocean. After dinner, we find ourselves again enjoying some beautiful nightscape photography whether along the coastline or inland amongst the vineyards.
Sunday, August 28. We enjoy our last sunrise photography over the beautiful vineyards of the Santa Barbara Wine Country. We return to our hotel, grab breakfast, pack our belongings and spend a few hours editing images together. After reviewing our favorites, we board our bus a final time and leisurely wind our way back down the coast to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where we will arrive at approximately 5:00 pm.
Workshop Structure & Accommodations
We’ll first meet on Tuesday, August 23, 7 - 9 pm, Los Angeles Airport Marriott:
Pre-Workshop Meet & Greet Orientation
7 - 9 pm, August 23, 2022
Los Angeles Airport Marriott
5855 W Century Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90045
We will review the workshop goals and rough agenda during this orientation meeting.
Your accommodations for the night of Tuesday, August 23 are not included in the workshop price. You may choose to stay at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott, or another nearby hotel, of which there are many. Contact us if you need assistance choosing a place to stay.
Our workshop begins on the morning of Wednesday, August 24. We’ll meet again and depart from the Los Angeles Airport Marriott, 5855 W Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045. We will travel together in our workshop bus along with our luggage.
For the nights of Wednesday August 24 through Saturday, August 27, we will stay at Svendsgaard’s Hotel:
August 23 - 27, 2022
Svendsgaard’s Hotel
1711 Mission Dr
Solvang, CA 93463
Your Solvang accommodations (August 24 - 27) are included in the workshop price.
We will depart from Svendsgaard’s Hotel on Sunday, August 28, 2022.
We will return to the Los Angeles Airport Marriott no later than 5 pm on Sunday, August 28, 2022. You can catch an airport shuttle from the Los Angeles Airport Marriott or you can be dropped off at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) airport during our return on Sunday.
Food is not included in this workshop. You are free to bring your own food, or visit nearby restaurants or shops. We will generally have meals together, although there is no requirement to do so.
Be sure to bring warm clothes, warm boots or shoes, a raincoat, a warm hat and gloves. It can get surprisingly chilly late at night!
Please contact us with any questions about your travel or other preparations. We are here to help!
Pricing
$3095/Person
Ground Transportation & Accommodations Included
Workshop Includes:
Five days round-trip ground transportation from the Los Angeles Airport Marriott to all workshop locations.
Four nights hotel accommodations in Solvang, California
Five days of professional nature & landscape photography guiding and instruction
Four nights of expert night photography instruction
Private wine-tasting and behind the scenes photography tour of Zaca Mesa Winery
Mike Shaw’s original Night Shooting Plan and instructions for use
Welcome Packet with a complete gear list and other useful information
Workshop Does Not Include:
Hotel accommodations for Tuesday, August 23, 2022. The Los Angeles Airport Marriott is recommended (5855 W Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045). There are also many other options nearby. Please contact us if you need assistance
Transportation to/from your home to Los Angeles
Meals, beverages & snacks
As you complete your registration and payment process, you will be given the choice of either paying the full amount or a 50% deposit. If you pay the deposit, the balance payment is due no later than 90 days prior to arrival.
Recommended Gear Lists
(You will receive a detailed gear list in the Welcome Packet when you register)
Camera Gear - the Basics:
DSLR or mirrorless camera (must have ability for manual focus and to set exposure (ISO/f-stop & shutter speed) manually
Wide-angle lens (in the 14 - 24 mm range); 18-55 mm kit lenses work just fine.
Tripod / ballhead - the sturdier the better!
Headlamp with a red bulb
Extra batteries
Extra memory cards
Lens/camera cleaning kit
Camera Gear - Nice to Have:
Loupe for focusing
Cable release
Tiffen Double Fog 3 lens filter
Remote intervalometer
Extra flashlight
Personal Gear:
Snacks
Water
Portable chair
Hand warmers
Laptop for downloading images for review
Warm clothes in layers
Warm boots, hat & gloves
Warm jacket & raincoat
