Forest bathe in old growth redwood forests, hike through fern canyons and along beautiful rivers, explore rocky coasts and tide pools with almost daily fog, and search for Ewoks among the ferns and rhododendron. For those that have never experienced these mammoth old growth forests, it truly is a unique experience.

From our home base beach house on the coast in Crescent City, California near the Oregon border, join Rock Light Photo for 4 ½ days exploring Redwoods National Park and three associated California state parks (Prairie Creek, Del Norte Coast and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Parks), as well as the crags and sea stacks of the Southern Oregon coast.

On a typical day, we may start among foggy tide pools, then head into the forest, where we will try to time the rays of sunlight burning through the foggy groves. (Did you know that the giant coast redwoods get 50% of their moisture from fog?) After a break for lunch, and a classroom session or time for image processing, we will head up the Oregon coast to capture the sun setting into the Pacific Ocean, and if it's clear, we will stick around for the Milky Way above the tree covered Sea Stacks!

We will visit a variety of great locations in groves of giant trees, and foggy coastlines, with classroom work to better your photographic craft, including time to process and critique your images.  We will end the workshop with a group slide show and supportive critique.   You'll learn from and be surprised by what images your fellow photographers come up with at the same locations, and that's part of the fun! 

You feel like you're walking into a cathedral, except there's no ceiling; the sky seems supported by columns of unimaginably huge trunks the color of chocolate and caramel, and wider around than you are tall. Sounds seem to drop away, then occasionally echo against the gigantic tree trunks, which creates the combined sound of a perfect, acoustically balanced concert hall and a sound-proofed room.

As you inhale, you catch the subtle, spicy aroma of the forest. Each breath is a bit different - first you detect the distinct, woody scent of cedarwood, then a bit of the aroma of freshly turned soil after a thunderstorm, and lastly a warm sweetness you can't quite place. These scents may actually have clinical value; in studies, people who participate in Shinrin-Roku, or "forest bathing," show significant increases in natural immunity, and decreased stress hormones. After just 15 minutes of walking in the forest, blood pressure drops, anxiety is soothed, and sleep improves...

From A Walk in a Coastal Redwood Forest - a sleep story by Niki Naeve on Insight Timer.

https://insighttimer.com/niki/guided-meditations/a-walk-in-the-coastal-redwood-forest

Colin D. Young is an award-winning photographer who has spent the past decade exploring the red rock Canyonlands of Southern Utah and the mountains of Colorado, after spending 25 year capturing the landscapes of upstate New York.  He has led dozens of workshops in Colorado, Utah and national parks across the U.S. as the founder of Rock Light Photo Tours.   As a lifelong lighting designer for theatre, television and other live events, he has a keen sense and deep knowledge about natural light.   He is a certified and insured photography tour guide in Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands & Rocky Mountain national Parks. He has led two recent workshops in this area. Online gallery:  www.RockLightPhoto.com 

- Recognizing and capturing the natural light in redwood groves & the Pacific Coast
- Making your landscape images pop
- Determining proper exposure

- How to photograph moving water on the coastlines
- Analyzing a scene for compositional options

- Learning to read and capture the light in challenging environments
- Using various filters to improve artistic results
- Capturing the Milky Way with your digital camera

- Making the most of your photo equipment

- Photographic techniques for capturing the unique landscapes of redwood groves and the Pacific Coast
- Shooting and stitching panoramic images
- Adobe Lightroom workflow for getting the most from your images
- Creating great black & white images from digital color captures

- Positive group discussion and feedback throughout and a formal group image critique of images to end the workshop - these are wonderful lessons in composition and seeing the world through other peoples' eyes.  

Skill Levels 

All skill levels are welcome. Participants who have a good working knowledge of their cameras, a basic understanding of digital workflow, and knowledge or exposure to Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop will get the most from this workshop. This workshop is intended for users of crop-sensor or full-frame cameras with interchangeable lenses, such as DSLRs or Mirrorless cameras.

Physical Demands

Though many locations visited during this workshop are readily accessible, we can reach a wider variety of terrain by hiking.  The mountainous terrain requires some moderate hiking (typically 1-3 miles round trip, up to 5 miles in a day, while carrying gear and water). Participants MUST BE IN GOOD PHYSICAL SHAPE and able to climb and  descend moderate to steep inclines. They should wear sturdy boots and use caution on rocky and uneven rocky slopes.  Please contact us with any questions - we want to make sure everyone has good, safe, fun. 

Group Size

Maximum 6 photographers

Registration/Tuition fee: $1400 per person plus lodging

Deposit to reserve a your place on the workshop: $600+ lodging deposit (varies). 

Dates and Times
Workshop begins Thursday, June 11th, 2026 at 5pm, and ends Monday, June 15th at 11am. Lodging available starting Wed, June 10th.

Non-photographer/tag-along rate:  $500 - for a spouse/partner/friend who wants to come along, share housing, eat meals with the group, and travel to and hike with us to some of our shooting locations.

Where to Meet
We will be based and meet daily at the fabulous 5BR/3BA rental property at 520 N Pebble Beach Dr, Crescent City, CA 95531, USA, right on the Pacific Ocean.  Directions and details will be sent well in advance of the workshop, but it is only steps to the beach, with multiple ocean views!

Cancellation policy

See the bottom of this page: https://rocklightphototours.com/photography-workshops/

For all of my workshops, I rent a 4-5BR house that will be our home base, giving us a place to gather for classroom sessions, a  kitchen to use for meals, and a chance to mingle with and learn from your fellow photographers.  UPDATE: Thank to a cancellation, we have two rooms available in the beach house that will be the home base for this workshop. You can also book your own accommodations if you prefer.

There will be a limited number of rooms available at the 5BR vacation rental property in Crescent City, CA that will  be the home base for the workshop. The property is available starting on Wed, June 10th if you wish to arrive a day early to settle and explore the area. This oceanside house is only steps from the beach, with multiple ocean views!

• King Bedroom with private bathroom - $175/night +tax - 1 avail

• King Bedroom with a shared bath - $150/night  - 0 avail

• Queen Bedroom with shared bath - $130/night - 0 avail

• Twin Bedroom (2 twin beds can be pushed together to form 1 King-ish sized bed, or kept separate as a budget option) - $110/night - 1 available

• Garage/Cabin studio - a private, spacious converted garage space behind the main property with a queen bed (Note, shared bathroom is inside main house) - $130/nt - 1 avail

No Accommodations Needed (3 available)

There is a package option for 'no accommodations', which is for people sharing a room with someone who has booked a room already, or for folks who plan to stay somewhere else locally.

Please contact us with any and all questions.  We'd love to talk about any aspect of any of our workshops, and nearly any aspect of photography!  And Coffee.  We love Coffee, too.

colin@LightandPhoto.com

What to bring:

• ·         A digital SLR or mirrorless camera capable of manual exposure settings.  

• ·         Plan to bring all of your lenses, from 14mm to 200mm (full frame equiv.) or even longer if you want to shoot some shore birds, as the variety of daytime locations will put all your gear to work! (beaches, sea stacks clifftop coastal views, tide pools, waterfalls, sand dunes, epic sunrises and sunsets)  A wide angle lens (somewhere in the 14mm to 35mm range) capable of an aperture of f/2.8 or lower is best for capturing the Milky Way. 

• ·         A sturdy tripod 

• ·         Circlular polarizer filters and ND filters.  A circular polarizer filter can be a useful tool for controlling glare and reflections for the wet sand on the coast and Crater Lake. ND filters and grad ND filters are great for making waterfalls silky, darkening brights skies, and coastal loveliness.  NOTE: Colin is a rep for NiSi Filters, which makes an excellent circular polarizer filter, and he can get you a 15% discount off retail prices.  https://nisiopticsusa.com/shop/nisi-circular-filters/round-cpl-circular-polarizer-filter/ti-enhanced-cpl/

• ·         Hiking boots or other sturdy shoes: while the hikes to locations we will visit will be fairly short (typically less than 1-3 miles round trip) a good set of sturdy hiking boots is good for protecting the ankles on rocky trails and slippery rocks. Hiking poles are useful for navigating tricky slopes.

•           Shoes for shooting on the coast - the Pacific Ocean is not warm, but plan on getting your feet wet.  I plan to bring a pair of sandals I can get wet, waterproof high-rise hiking boots, and a pair of low rise shoes as well.

• ·         Lots of clothing layers – Northern CA/Oregon weather can be finicky, and temps can be chilly at night and early in the morning, especially in the fog, and much warmer during the day, so plan for everything from 40s to 80s.  A good rain layer is going to be essential.

• ·         A headlamp, preferably with a red light setting, to participate in optional night photo sessions.  A dimmable headlamp is a bonus.

• ·         A laptop computer or tablet, ideally loaded with Adobe Lightroom Classic, or whatever other programs you use to process images to best take advantage of the Lightroom workflow instructional session.  Cables and devices necessary to download your images from camera to laptop.