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Night Sky Workshop by Randy Halverson

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Date – August 22-24, 2014 – Badlands National Park, South Dakota

This workshop is over, but I can still give private workshops. Contact me if interested.

Class size limit – 6 Students

Badlands National Park features a rugged landscape and dark skies. In August, the summer traffic has died down, the nights are longer, and the Milky Way will be visible as soon as it is dark (9PM), making it a great time to shoot the Milky Way. We will take short hikes into the formations and capture the night sky. During the night we will shoot 2-3 different locations, with me giving instructions throughout the night. This workshop will focus on still photography, with some timelapse basics thrown in.

Huelux from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.


What is covered in the workshop:
Night sky overview
Scouting locations
Moon Phases
Camera settings
Sunset Photography
Night Still Photography
Timelapse basics
Lighting the foreground
High ISO tips and noise reduction
Focusing at night
Weather and shooting tips
Post processing

Gear Required
DSLR with wide angle lens, f2.8 or better. You can rent if necessary.
Solid tripod
Memory cards and extra batteries
Headlight and small flashlight
For Post Processing – Laptop with Adobe Lightroom for still processing. LR Timelapse for timelapse post processing of individual clips.

Cost – $1050 per person, limit 6 students in the workshop. South Dakota sales tax included in price. 50% deposit of $525 required to hold spot. The remainder is due by June 22, 2014.

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Workshop Overview

August 22 and 23
Meet at first location 2 hours before sunset. Go over shooting sunset and night setup.
Shoot Sunset
Setup for night shoot
Night Shoot – 2-3 locations throughout the night, ends at 2-3AM

August 24
Meet at 12PM to cover post processing – 4 hours
Night shoot if we were clouded or rained out on any of the first 2 nights.

Schedule changes are possible due to the weather. For example if it looks like it will be 100% cloud cover on the 23rd, we may shoot sunset but not the night. We would then shoot on the night of the 24th.

Getting there
If you are flying, Rapid City Regional Airport is the closest to the Badlands. Car rental is also available there.

What is not provided or covered.
Park entrance fee.
Meals/Snacks – You may want to eat an early dinner before we shoot. Bring snacks or anything else you may need with you.

Cedar Pass Lodge has cabins and camping in the park. The next best lodging is in Wall, SD. Rapid City, SD has more hotel options and is a 45 minute drive from Wall. The post processing on the 24th will be held in a meeting room in Rapid City.

Additional Information:
A commercial use permit is required to hold workshops in any national park, I have a permit for Badlands National Park. I can not guarantee clear skies, but have scheduled an additional night of shooting, should one of the nights be rainy. We will try to shoot no matter what the cloud cover is. In long exposures, often the stars are still visible through thin clouds, even though it appears cloudy. If it looks like it will only be clear the first night, we may want to shoot all night that night.

Refund Policy and Conditions:
I am unable to give refunds due to weather. Deposits are non refundable, but for cancellations done within 60 days of the date, the remainder of payment will be refunded. If you cancel less than 60 days from the date of the workshop, a refund will not be given unless your spot can be filled. Dakotalapse, LLC is not responsible for any costs you incur during or travelling to or from the workshop. In the unlikely event the workshop is cancelled, Dakotalapse, LLC is not responsible for travel costs you incur.

If you have any questions about the workshop, email Randy Halverson

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