Registration Opens in January 2027 - Join the Waitlist Below
The Big Sur Experience
Photograph California’s Legendary Coast
Big Sur is a landscape photographer’s playground—rugged cliffs, windswept cypress trees, rocky coves, wild beaches, and the endless movement of the Pacific Ocean.
This workshop is your opportunity to experience that landscape with a small group of photographers and hands-on guidance throughout three full days. We’ll study the light, respond to changing coastal conditions, and create photographs that capture more than a beautiful location. We’ll look for the mood, structure, and story that make a Big Sur photograph feel alive.
When registration opens, I’ll contact photographers in the order they joined.
May 11th - 13th, 2027
$2195
Limited to 5 participants for personalized, 1-on-1 coaching.
This Isn’t Just a Visit to Big Sur.
It’s Time Dedicated to Your Photography.
Big Sur offers no shortage of impressive scenery. The creative challenge is deciding what matters within that scenery—and turning what you see and feel into a strong photograph.
During the workshop, I’ll help you slow down, study the landscape, and make more deliberate choices about composition, light, exposure, and timing. You’ll have room to experiment, ask questions, review your work, and return to the landscape with new ideas.
See The Landscape Like A Storyteller
Read a scene for emotion, story, and visual structure
Recognize the elements that create depth, balance, and movement
Simplify complicated coastal scenery into stronger compositions
Move beyond documenting a location and express what drew you to it
Build Reliable Shooting Techniques
Choose exposure settings that support the feeling you want to create
Focus confidently for sharp landscape photographs
Manage the extreme contrast between bright skies and dark foregrounds
Use filters purposefully when they help realize your creative vision
Photograph Water, Light & Motion
Control the appearance of waves with shutter speed
Capture water as smooth, powerful, energetic, or calm
Anticipate wave patterns and recognize the right moment to release the shutter
Work with fog, marine layers, changing light, and unsettled weather
Strengthen Your Editing Decisions
Review your photographs with a more critical and constructive eye
Identify which frames best communicate your original idea
Develop coastal photographs without over-processing them
Use post-processing to emphasize light, atmosphere, and story
A Workshop Headquarters Unlike Any Other
Our home base is the historic Mission Ranch in Carmel, a beautiful property overlooking meadows near the California coast.
We have the entire Farmhouse to ourselves. Each participant will have a private bedroom and bathroom, while the shared living area gives us a comfortable place to review images, talk through creative decisions, and simply spend time together as photographers between our outings.
That shared space changes the character of the workshop. Our conversations don’t have to stop when we leave a location. We can return to the Farmhouse, look at what we captured, work through editing ideas, and prepare for the next outing without moving to a hotel meeting room.
I will coordinate room selection individually with each participant. Your lodging is separate from the workshop tuition. You will check in and pay Mission Ranch directly when you arrive.
Plan Your Stay
Check in at Mission Ranch on Monday, May 10th, 2027. We’ll meet in the Farmhouse that evening for workshop orientation, allowing us to begin photographing first thing Tuesday morning. The workshop concludes Thursday evening, so plan to check out Friday, May 14th.
How We’ll Work Together
I limit this workshop to five participants so everyone receives individual attention. You won’t be competing with a large group for the same composition or wondering where to point your camera next.
Hands-On Field Instruction
I’m there beside you to help refine compositions, find stronger perspectives, evaluate the light, time the movement of the ocean, and work through technical questions as they arise.
Guided Image Reviews
We’ll review photographs together at the Farmhouse. You’ll receive practical feedback about what is working, what could be strengthened, and how your choices in the field affect the finished image.
Approachable Photo Editing
We’ll work with the photographs you create during the workshop. My emphasis is on why an image needs an adjustment and what will make it stronger. The exact mechanics can be handled in Lightroom, ON1, Luminar, Photoshop, or the editing software you know best
Time To Talk Photography
The Farmhouse gives us a relaxed common space for conversations that don’t always fit neatly into a scheduled lesson. Bring your questions. The more curiosity and enthusiasm you bring to the workshop, the more you’ll take away from it.
You’ll leave with stronger photographs, greater confidence, and a clearer understanding of how to translate your experience of a landscape into an image.
“A perfect combination of work out on location followed by great instruction indoors on how to effectively post process.”
Why Big Sur?
Few places offer this much photographic variety in such a concentrated area:
Rocky headlands and dramatic coastal cliffs
Cypress trees shaped by years of wind and weather
Beaches, sea stacks, arches, and crashing surf
Wildflowers and intimate landscape details
Fog, marine layers, and rapidly changing coastal light
Forests and wooded areas that provide a quieter contrast to the open coast
We’ll select our locations according to the weather, tides, light, accessibility, and the creative opportunities available each day. Possibilities include areas around Point Lobos, Soberanes Point, Garrapata, Carmel, and the Monterey Peninsula.
We may return to a location when the conditions make it worthwhile. A familiar place can produce a completely different photograph when the tide, light, weather, or your own creative approach changes.
Physical Requirements
You should be comfortable walking for one to two miles over uneven ground while carrying your camera gear. Some coastal trails include steeper grades, and wet rocks or sandy surfaces may require extra care.
There are no epic hikes planned. However, the return from some locations may include a steady uphill walk for 10 to 15 minutes.
I will never force you to go somewhere outside your comfort zone. If a location isn’t appropriate for you, we’ll work out an alternative.
Is This Workshop Right For You?
What You’ll Need
A mirrorless or DSLR camera
A sturdy tripod
A selection of lenses from wide-angle to telephoto
A polarizing filter
Neutral density filters if you enjoy longer exposures
A laptop with your preferred photo-editing software
Sturdy footwear suitable for uneven or wet ground
Warm layers and weather-resistant clothing
An open mind and a willingness to experiment
Photography Skill Level
This workshop is for photographers who are serious about improving their craft. You do not need to be an advanced photographer, and all skill levels are welcome.
You’ll get the most from the experience if you understand the basic operation of your camera. You should be comfortable changing aperture, shutter speed, and ISO and be willing to experiment with new ideas.
More important than your current skill level is your curiosity. Come ready to ask questions, try different approaches, and think carefully about the photographs you want to create.
What’s Included
Three full days of field instruction
Editing and image-review sessions
Personalized coaching and feedback
Guidance on safety, tides, weather, and coastal conditions
Water and snacks during workshop activities
Required entrance or parking fees for workshop locations
A carefully planned photographic experience throughout the Big Sur area
Exclusive use of the Farmhouse common area for workshop sessions
What Is Not Included
Transportation to and from Carmel, California
Transportation during the workshop
Lodging at Mission Ranch **
Meals
Travel insurance
Anything else not expressly listed
** I will coordinate room selection individually with each participant. Your lodging is separate from the workshop tuition. You will check in and pay Mission Ranch directly when you arrive.
Your Big Sur Experience Awaits
Three days in one of California’s most remarkable landscapes. Five photographers. Individual coaching. A beautiful shared headquarters where the photography conversations continue between every outing.
Come ready to explore, experiment, and create photographs that express what Big Sur feels like—not merely what it looks like.
Space is extremely limited
Registration, Cancellation & Liability
Registration
The workshop cost is $2195. That includes personalized one-on-one instruction, on-location guidance, image critiques, and post-processing lessons.
A deposit of $250 reserves your space. Per the workshop cancelation policy, deposits are non-refundable. You will be invoiced for the remaining $1945 prior to the workshop. If you need a payment plan, contact me and we’ll make arrangements.
Signups within 90 days of the workshop pay the full workshop price at registration time.
Cancellations
Please review the cancellation policy. This policy covers cancellations from both students and the instructor(s) and refund information.
Deposits are non-refundable.
Liability
Participants agree to join the workshop at their own risk and must sign a waiver of liability. By its nature, outdoor landscape photography has inherent risks. I’ll never lead you into an area that is unduly dangerous. If at any time during the workshop you don’t feel comfortable, certainly let me know.