Shoot the Moon
Field course on April 5th, 2023 in the Portland area
Three sessions and an Ebook for just $250
The moon is one of the most beautiful and photogenic objects in the sky. Whether you are interested in capturing a super telephoto close up of the moon at night or using the light of the moon to add drama and light to a wide angle night scape image, this class is designed for you.
Local photographers Brian Chambers and Kirk Keyes are delighted to offer a brand new three part workshop designed to take your photography of the moon to the next level. This class is appropriate for photographers of any skill level.
The course will cover a multitude of topics including using the moon light to photograph the landscape, planning when and where to photograph the moon, time lapse images, gear and technique. All three portions will be taught by Brian Chambers and Kirk Keyes for only $250 per person. They will use their many years of experience to help you improve your confidence and skill while incorporating the moon and moon light in your images. The participants will get more out of the workshop and get much better images if they are comfortable with basic settings on their cameras (which will be covered in initial zoom class). A moderate telephoto lens will be helpful if you wish to capture close up images of the moon but is not required. Please reach out to Brian if you have any questions about gear, techniques or skill level.
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Section one is a 60 minute ZOOM CLASS on Sunday April 2nd 2023 from 5:00pm-6:00pm which will cover the important equipment and camera settings that every photographer should know when trying to photograph the moon. We will cover how to plan the shot using apps such as the Photographer's Ephemeris, PhotoPills, Google Maps and Planit Pro. The necessary gear, camera settings and composition will be discussed to help you take compelling photos of the moon. This class will be recorded to allow participants to watch or rewatch it at their leisure.
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Section two is IN PERSON FIELD COURSE on Wednesday April 5th 2023 from 6:30-8:30pm and will take place in Portland Oregon. The exact location will be decided among a couple of locations based on the interest of the group. Both locations and shooting times have been carefully chosen by Brian and Kirk to maximize our chances of capturing a stunning image of Mt Hood and the full moon rising behind it. Brian and Kirk will be by your side to answer questions and allow for one on one assistance. The field class is limited to 12 participants.
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Section three is a 60 minute ZOOM CLASS on Sunday April 9th 2023 from 5:00pm-6:00pm. This is a more general class that will cover the basic steps of how to process images taken at night in Lightroom. For the more advanced user, we will introduce other software and techniques which can be used to create star stacks, star trails and time blends of the night sky. This class will also be recorded to allow participants to watch or rewatch it at their leisure.
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Bonus E-book Anyone who registers for the class will get access to a 50 page ebook created by Kirk that provides a ton of information on many aspects of photographing the moon, and the stars and beyond. This ebook will be of enormous value to anyone who is interested in improving their photography.
ADDED BONUS- If you are interested in photographing the sun or the upcoming solar eclipse, Brian and Kirk will be briefly covering planning, gear, safety for the solar eclipse and will have examples of solar filters for you to check out during the field course.
For people who are interested in astro-trackers, we will also have several different types of set up for you to learn about and evaluate during the field course. Astro Trackers can be very helpful in achieving high-quality images of the moon and stars.
Cancellation- Brian and Kirk reserve the right to cancel the workshop due to illness, safety concerns, or if there are four or fewer participants. If Brian and Kirk cancel the class due to any reason other than weather you will receive either a full refund or full credit to another workshop by Brian.
Weather Cancellation policy- Photographing the sky in Portland always includes a chance of inclement weather. If the weather on the day of the field class is such that photographing the sky and moon is impossible, Brian and Kirk reserve the right to reschedule the field portion of the class to Thursday April 6th. If you are unable to make the rescheduled time you will eligible for a $150 refund or a $200 credit to one of Brian's future classes. The online portions of the workshop will happen rain or shine and you will still have full access to the online portions. Brian and Kirk will be monitoring weather closely and do our best to decide if the conditions are acceptable or not. You should be aware class will proceed even if conditions are not perfect, for example, some clouds on the mountain or some haze/smoke but visible sky.
There will be no refunds for cancellations for any other reason.
Access- The shooting location so should be accessible to everyone with short walks of around 300 yards and small elevation changes. The shooting locations are in a public area and we will very likely have to share space with other photographers. There may be a fee for parking depending on location chosen and parking can be limited at both locations so we encourage you to arrive early to get a parking spot and stake out your shooting location.
Feel free to contact me with any questions.
About us
I’ve been fascinated with the Moon and the night sky all my life. I
grew up glued to the TV watching the Apollo space missions. I began
photographing the Moon at age 13 – and shot my first total solar eclipse
at 16. I became hooked on photography at that point, especially of the
heavens above us. I’ve had a color darkroom since my teens. By twenty, I
had discovered Ansel Adams and dived into large format film photography,
shooting mainly with a 4x5 view camera. After getting my Degree in
Chemistry, I worked at Portland’s premiere photography lab, making
custom prints for businesses and individuals.
"As a lifelong Oregonian, I enjoy capturing the landscape of this
beautiful state. And I love incorporating the Moon, Sun, and Milky Way
into my images when possible. When I'm not out photographing, enjoying
nature with my wife and daughter, or working my day job at an
environmental laboratory, I'm probably trying to figure out the next
time I can align the Sun, Moon, or Milky Way with an awesome
foreground.
Brian has been living full time and photographing in the Columbia River Gorge since 1997. He is a member of one of the premier art galleries in Hood River (301 gallery) and has been published in several magazines and has been teaching photography classes and workshops in the Columbia River Gorge for several years. When not out photographing, he is a part time veterinarian (recently retired!), home remodeler and spends as much time as possible outside in nature, with his wife Kelly, enjoying the beauty of Oregon.
Testimonials-
"Wanna shout out and say a HUGE thank you for wonderful presentation. The group absolutely loved, loved, loved it!!" -Noel
"I thought you were the best instructor ever." -Lois
"I highly recommend any course run by Brian and Steve. I took their 2.5 day course in Bandon in 2021 and it was excellent. I had taken a 6 day course run by another company earlier in the year. In Brian and Steve's course they were there to teach you new techniques and help you resolve any problems you were having. In the other course the instructor was just a tour guide and did very little teaching. If you are looking for someone to be right there helping you improve your photographic skills, then any course taught by Brian and Steve is for you. The course I took with Brian and Steve was thoroughly enjoyable and I met some really nice people." -Marvin
"The Bandon Coast Workshop was an awesome experience led by two very experienced, knowledgeable and entertaining photographers. Brian Chambers and Steven Michael took us to amazing sites and worked with each of the workshop participants so that we got the best shots. I appreciated their flexibility on selecting our sites and how long we stayed at each place. I never felt rushed throughout the weekend. I highly recommend any workshop these two offer. You will definitively come away with numerous photographs that you would be to frame and hang on your wall." -Pat
"If you have a passion to become a better landscape photographer, enrolling in one of Brian Chambers photo workshops you won’t be disappointed. The personal attention one receives from his three person team is unparalleled! Brian also has over twenty years living in the Hood River Oregon area, so he knows all the good spots to go to get a great shot; even some secret locations not to disclose to maintain the natural beauty of the area. The level of caring and attention a student receives was amazing. Thanks Brian!" -Marc
Kirk has been my guide on several photography trips. He is super well informed about all aspects of photography and equipment. He also is very knowledgeable about implementation of astronomical apps so that we are always in the right place at the right time. On top of all this, he has patiently helped me to understand different developing programs including time lapse videos. He helped me set up my camera for Time-lapse as he also helped with photographing the lunar eclipse. I would choose Kirk as my guide anytime!