June 20th – June 22nd

Workshop duration: 2 full days  

$595/person

Spaces: 4 participants (2 spaces left!)

Instructors: J Smilanic & Matt Williams

We’re super stoked to offer a two-day workshop shooting the blooms of the Roan Highlands! Anyone who has been to Roan knows just how incredible it is! We’ve been shooting here for many, many years and know exactly where and when to find the best blooms. We’ll show you how to properly photograph this beautiful landscape! You literally can’t take a bad photo at this place in June.

Where:

We’ll set up a basecamp at Roan Mountain State Park, just down the mountain from the Highlands on Monday, June 20th. We have reserved a group campsite (tents only) for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights of that week. We’ll convene at the campsite on the evening of Monday, June 20th. Tuesday morning we set out for the magnificent views and blooms of Roan Mountain. We’ll rinse and repeat on Wednesday, focusing on different sections of the Roan Highlands. Officially the workshop concludes Thursday morning when we have to pack up camp.

What:

We’ll spend two full days exploring all there is to see. We’ll explore all of the photography options along the Appalachian Trail across the balds, the Rhododendron Gardens, and Cloudlands.

The Roan Highlands is just stunning – our personal favorite. Some hiking is necessary to access the points of interest. There are some good options along the first mile of the hike which we would categorize as “easy”. The views and rhododendron opportunities become more favorable the further you hike, with the hike totaling five miles round trip, with short sections that we would categorize as “difficult”. You will be rewarded for your efforts! In order to fully participate in this workshop, you should be in decent shape and able to hike all of your camera equipment up to five miles in one day over mountainous terrain.

Weather conditions during this time of the year at Roan can change quickly. You should come prepared to get wet. Just know that the rain can provide some incredible shooting opportunities!

The campground is very beautiful and peaceful! LOTS of fireflies at this time of the year! We’ll be camped at a group campsite that will be more than spacious enough for the four participants and two instructors. The campsite is situated right next to the Doe River. No electrical hookups are offered at the campsite. We will have access to a bathhouse with showers and running water. The Roan Mountain State Park Campground is a short 13-minute drive to the parking area of Roan Highlands.

The exact itinerary of the two-day workshop will be dependent upon weather conditions and everyone’s input on how they would like to approach our time spent during this workshop. We’ll discuss this on Monday evening when we meet at the campground.

Each person will be responsible for their own food and other necessities. We may try to coordinate a group meal at the end of each day.

We will spend time at the end of the workshop going over each other’s photos, offering critiques and feedback for anyone who is interested in participating.