Prepping for Your Adventure

We will be shooting out of three home-base towns for this workshop, starting in Lone Pine, CA and ending in Lee Vining, CA.

We recommend either flying in and out of Reno, NV (traveling to Lone Pine for the start of the workshop) or flying in and out of Las Vegas, NV (and traveling back to Las Vegas after we finish in Lee Vining).

If you are interested in carpooling to and from airports with another workshop participant, please let us know and we can share information. 

During this workshop, we will be starting in three different locations as we move through the Sierra. We have reserved block of rooms in each town where we will be staying. 

• September 20-22, Lone Pine CA: Trails Motel (760) 876-5555. Rooms are $130-$170, based on your room choice. Rooms are being held under "Mike Murray." Please ask for Ish or leave a message.
• September 22-23, Bishop CA: Travel Lodge (760) 872-1771. $125/night. Rooms are being held under "Four Elements Photo Adventures."
• September 23-25, Lee Vining CA: Murphy's Motel (760) 647-6316. $195/night. Rooms are held under "Four Elements Photo Adventures." Rooms are single Queen beds. If you need a double Queen, please let the Motel know.

We will have a Meet-and-Greet at 9:00am on Monday, September 21,  at the Trails Motel in Lone Pine. Immediately after that, we will head out for our first shoot. 

Note: You are not required to stay at the workshop hotel. We will base shooting departures and image processing out of the hotel, however you may stay wherever you like.

Dining is on your own. We will have a workshop dinner the last evening of the workshop. Some suggested restaurants: 

Lone Pine, CA

• Mt. Whitney Restaurant: 227 Main Street 
• Lone Pine Smokehouse: 325 S Main Street 
• Pizza Factory: 301 S Main Street

Bishop, CA

• Holy Smoke Texas BBQ: 772 N Main Street
• Mountain Rambler: 186 S Main Street 
• Jack's Restaurant and Bakery: 437 N Main Street

Lee Vining, CA

• Tioga Pass Resort Cafe: Tioga Pass Resort
• Bodie Mike's BBQ: Hwy 120

Our typical day will be getting up early for a morning in-field session, eventually returning to the hotel so that you can take some time to review and edit your photos. During this time, we will be available for photo editing assistance if needed.

The photo editing sessions are optional, but they are a great way to learn and share ideas. The art of photography is about visually telling a story with your photograph. Constructive feedback is the best way to learn how to tell your story. These sessions are educational and non-judgemental. Remember, photography is subjective. Get creative!

We will have our cameras with us, but our priority is to assist you! We may also take some photos so that we can share our vision of the places we are photographing and to gather group photos. Please do not hesitate to ask any questions at any time. For the most part we will wander amongst the group to assist with questions, compositions and/or suggestions.

Transportation to all locations and any park entrance fees will be handled by us.

We are outdoors for most of this workshop and conditions can be unpredictable, so we want to put safety first. Please let us know if at any time you are unsure about walking a specific trail. Some sites may not be for everyone, but we’ll have some alternative options nearby. Waterproof boots with non-slip soles are suggested and hiking poles can be very useful!

So, please speak up if you don’t feel comfortable at any time. It’s much better to err on the side of safety than push yourself too far.

On the last day we will wrap up after a morning shoot so those traveling can get a jump on heading home.

We will have a wide variety of temperatures during our workshop. We can easily see daytime temperatures anywhere from the 70s to upper 80s with nighttime temperatures in the 40s and 50s. 

Overall, we can expect sunny skies and little precipitation. 

Please note, however, the temperatures and precipitation can be different as we go to higher alitiudes!

Trying to decide what to bring along on a workshop can be an adventure in itself! Certainly bring along what you feel necessary. Here's what we consider important gear: 

• Camera body.
• Lenses - generally from the 16mm-400mm range.
• Camera backpack.
• Tripod. 
• Polarizer filter.
• Memory cards.
• Remote shutter release.
• L-Bracket for camera. (We recommend this model if you don't have one.)
• Batteries, battery charger, cables.
• Camera user manual.
• Camera rain sleeve.
• Laptop computer or tablet with image processing software. 
• Headlamp.
• Water bottle.
• Packable snacks.
• Waterproof hiking boots.
• Rain jacket and pants.
• Hiking poles.
• Bring along layers for all temperatures.

If you're in the market to purchase some of the gear, please feel free to reach out to us - we have recommendations of brands that have a solid reputation and will serve you well.

If you are looking for gear, we encourage you to Shop Small! Four Elements Photo Adventures are proud business partners with The Camera Company in Madison, Wisconsin. As the largest camera company in Wisconsin, they have a wide selection and competitive prices.

We ask that all participants read and sign the liability waiver for the workshop. You can print off a copy in the Downloads section below - please bring a signed copy with you to the workshop.