A red rock wonderland containing some of the most scenic and inspiring landscapes on Earth, Arches National Park contains the world's largest concentration of natural sandstone arches. Although over 2,000 arches are located within the park's 76,518 acres, the park also contains an astounding variety of other geological formations. Colossal sandstone fins, massive balanced rocks, soaring pinnacles and spires dwarf visitors as they explore the park's viewpoints and hiking trails.
Canyonlands National Park, Utah's second largest national park, is a primitive geological wonderland preserving hundreds of colorful canyons, buttes, fins, arches, spires and hoodoos. The centerpieces of the park are the two great canyons carved through flat layers of sedimentary rock by the Colorado and Green Rivers, which meet here in Canyonlands. The park is divided into four regions -- Island in the Sky, The Needles, The Maze and Horseshoe Canyon.
These arches took millions of years to form through extremes of temperature, water and wind erosion. Today’s arches continue to erode and will eventually collapse, which is why it’s more important than ever to capture these magnificent structures of nature for future generations. Under conditions of constantly changing light, the red rock landscape provides limitless photographic opportunities.
Arches National Park:
• Delicate Arch: the most celebrated arch and a symbol of the American Southwest. We’ll watch as this treasured arch changes colors with the sunset and capture the La Sal Mountains framed in the background as well as Twisted Donut Arch
• Park Avenue and the Courthouse Towers: these large, rock monoliths bear an uncanny resemblance to city skyscrapers.
• Balanced Rock: precariously balanced atop a 73 foot sandstone spire, this boulder is one of the park’s famous landmarks and a true marvel.
• Windows Section: this one mile loop trail leads through a cluster of pinnacles and monoliths called the Garden of Eden, continuing to Turret Arch (the whole crop of rocks that make up the Arch seem to glow when the morning sunlight hits them), making its way to the Tunnel Arch, and finally to the famous Double Arch and the Spectacles, located side-by-side.
• Fiery Furnace: a dense array of red fins that appear to ignite when the sun is low in the west. Here you see a world standing on end – hoodoos, spires and slabs 200 feet high. We’ll explore this maze of deeply grooved slots and dead-end passageways.
• Devil’s Garden: this area contains several of the park’s most beautiful arches, including the celebrated Landscape Arch, a slender curve of sandstone more than 300 feet long, which appears to defy gravity as it floats in a graceful span above a steep dune.
Canyonlands:
• Island in the Sky, including sunrise at Mesa Arch: this section of the park sits atop a massive 1500-foot mesa - quite literally an Island in the Sky. Twenty miles of paved roads leads to many of the most spectacular views in Canyon Country. From these lofty viewpoints visitors can see nearly 100 miles in any given direction, resulting in panoramic landscapes that encompass thousands of square miles of Canyon Country.
• The Needles: a ten-mile, paved, scenic drive that gives visitors a wonderful taste of what The Needles was named for - beautiful sandstone spires that jut out of the ground creating an unforgettable spectacle. For those willing to venture off the paved roads, however, this section offers an amazing diversity of terrain. Arches, canyons, grabens, and beautiful sculpted rock formations await hikers, backpackers and 4WD enthusiasts. The scenic drive can be done in an hour or two, however hikers and 4 wheel drive enthusiasts will need at least a day or two to get a good taste of this section.
• To get the most out of the workshop, you'll need an interchangeable lens camera that has control over exposure, and be familiar with its basic controls and settings. Please see workshop preparation for details on other camera equipment to bring. Lorne can give you a complimentary personal consultation on what equipment to bring, rent or buy before the workshop.
• We do not provide transportation during the workshops as it would add $100-$150 minimum to the workshop fee for each participant. In addition, some national parks require commercial drivers licenses and/or separate permits to function as a tour operator. Each participant is responsible for having or renting their own car. As for local transportation, we usually carpool to the various shooting locations. This makes things very convenient as for the most part we will usually be having all of our meals together as well. Please indicate on the registration form whether you'd like us to help you connect to other participants in the interest of sharing a room and/or carpooling to help reduce costs.
• Each participant is responsible for making their own hotel reservations, although we do (if requested) connect participants so they may share lodging in order to save money.
• Immediately after registration, you will be emailed a receipt and confirmation indicating that a spot has been reserved for you. Shortly after that you will be emailed the location and time of the initial meeting and a comprehensive checklist of what to bring for the trip.
• For more information see the about the workshop, workshop faqs, terms and conditions and workshop preparation.
Traveling by Car: The entrance to Arches is located five miles north of Moab, UT along Highway 191.
Commercial airlines serve Grand Junction, CO and Salt Lake City, UT. By car, these cities are roughly two and four hours (respectively) away from the park entrance. Commercial air service is also available between Denver and Moab.
There are no hotels available within Arches National Park. All accommodations and dining are found in Moab with these three hotels providing close access to the park entrance and affordable yet quality rooms with a bit of flair either in their décor or their location.
• Best Western Canyonlands Inn 16 S Main St., Moab, Utah 84532 Ph: 435.259.2300
• Big Horn Lodge 550 S Main St., Moab, Utah 84532. Located just four miles from Arches National Park Ph: 800.325.6171
• Archway Inn 1551 North Highway 191 Moab, Utah 84532 Ph: 435-259-2599
• Sleep Inn 1051 South Main, Moab, UT 84532 Ph: 435-259-4655
• Hampton Inn, 488 N. Main St., Moab, UT 84532 Ph: 435-259-3030.
Shortly after registering for the workshop you will be emailed the name of the hotel Lorne will be staying at. You are encouraged to stay at the same hotel to make it easier for us to all convene and conclude the activities of the day with a minimum of travel, however you are not required to stay at any specific hotel.
In summer, June through September, temperatures may exceed 100 degrees F. In winter, December through February, temperatures often drop below 32 degrees F. Temperatures may range 50 degrees in a 24-hour period.
For many workshops Lorne will have sponsor partners provide products and/or product discounts to give or raffle off to workshop participants. These are always products that Lorne has tested and worked with extensively and highly recommends to his participants.
The list of sponsors will be updated frequently and can be found here.