Landscape & Nature Photography

Light Chasing Photo Tours

2024 COLORADO FALL COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

Oct. 1 -Oct. 5th, 2024 Ouray, Colorado


Colorado Photography Workshop with Joe Garza and Nick Selway

Amazing views of an snow covered mountain surrounded with brightly colored yellow, reds and oranges forest trees. Pink and red morning clouds fill the sky.
'Wilson's Glory' | Mount Wilson | Telluride, Colorado | Mountain Photography

The San Juan Mountains are a high and rugged mountain Range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado. The San Juan and Uncompahgre National Forest cover a large portion of the San Juan Mountains. This area has some of the largest and most breathtaking aspen groves in the state and endless back roads for countless opportunity's for large landscape and intimate scenes.

It’s our goal to provide you a comfortable, fun environment to create powerful, unique compositions, and explore photography settings and techniques to help you enhance your photography skills as we chase the light on this incredible photo tour. If you’re looking for assistance with editing after the workshop to bring out the absolute best of your images, we’ll be there to help with that as well.

'Leprechaun' | Aspen Tree Images | 2022 Colorado Fall Color Workshop


Colorado Fall Color Photography Workshop Information

Instructors: Led by Joe Garza and Nick Selway, this incredible Light Chasing Photo Tours Workshop is one you don't want to miss. Both Joe and Nick are professional landscape and nature photographers with years of experience leading workshops and helping individuals at all levels enhance their photography skills. (See bios below)

Group Size: Limited to 10 people

Cost: $3,150 for Double Occupancy | $3,450 Single Occupancy

Deposit: 50% deposit due at the time of registration which can be completed at the bottom of this page.

Included: Lodging, Permits, Guiding, as much laughter as possible, and our wealth of photography knowledge making sure everyone is in the best possible locations for light and compositions to capture their own stunning images.

Not Included: Airfare, meals, transportation to and from the airport.

Booking: The workshop will need to be paid in full 90 days prior to the workshop start date. Refunds are not available after the 90-day mark unless we can find another person to fill your spot.

Workshop Instructors

Located in the Uncompahgre National Forest these very special trees knows as Swurvy curvy aspen trees are amazing to see. These bent trees have their own story,
Swurvy Curvy Trees | Telluride, Colorado | Colorado Fall Color Photography Tour

Led by Joe Garza and Nick Selway, this incredible Light Chasing Photo Tours Workshop is one you don't want to miss. Both Joe and Nick are professional landscape and nature photographers with years of experience leading workshops and helping individuals at all levels enhance their photography skills. (See bios below)

Joe and Nick create a relaxed, fun environment where you feel comfortable asking questions about your camera gear, settings, techniques, and composition so you can bring your photography skills to the next level. Workshops are a great opportunity to learn as the guided photography tour will bring you right to the best locations and sites so you can focus on your photography and taking in the breathtaking views that will surround you. We hope you'll sign up so we can hit the ground with you in one of our upcoming workshops! Feel free to contact Joe directly with any questions.

Workshop Locations for Best Colorado Fall Color Landscape Views

Early morning light peaks thru the clouds shining on old Colorado barns on the country side. The snow covered mountain as the backdrop to this scene.

'Time Traveler' | Telluride, Colorado | Mount Wilson | 2022 Colorado Fall Color Workshop.

During the workshop we will be visiting some of the most vibrant fall colors and iconic locations you can see in Colorado including but not limited to:

  • The Famous Million Dollar Hwy
  • The Famous Last Dollar Road
  • Mount Sneffels
  • Mount Wilson
  • Dallas Divide
  • Ouray
  • Telluride
  • Chimney Rock
  • Owl Creek Pass
  • Hot Springs at the hotel

Lodging Information | Colorado Photography Workshop

We will be staying at the Twin Peaks Lodge and Hot Springs at 125 3rd Avenue, Ouray, Colorado, 81427. We have reserved a group of rooms at The Twin Peaks Lodge and Hot Springs. You do not need to make a hotel reservation. We have secured rooms with standard double occupancy or single occupancy and will assign single or double occupancy rooms based on your selection when you register for the workshop. We will reserve your room for you and send you a reservation number for your room prior to the workshop.

A bonus with this hotel is that it has Hot Springs on site for daytime and evening relaxation.

Check in will be on September 29th, with checkout on October 3rd. If you will be staying additional nights before or after the workshop you are responsible for your own lodging and reservations. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Travel & Transportation Information | Colorado Photography Workshop

The nearest airport is in Montrose Reginal Airport, a 45min drive to Ouray. You will need to rent a car or find other transportation to and from the airport to Ouray.

For transportation during the workshop we will be renting 2 large SUVs to take everyone from the hotel to our shooting locations each day.

A wooden zig zag fence leads this dirt road to a snow covered mountains. Yellow aspen trees glow with sunlight shines on them.
Mountain Photography | Fall Colors Photography Tour | Colorado 2022 Workshop

Workshop Schedule and Difficulty | Colorado Fall Color Photo Tour

Towering aspen trees with rich yellow peak colors fill the San Juan mountains forest with amazing views.
'Aspen Tower' | Telluride, Colorado | Aspen Tree Photos

The tour will begin on Sept 29th and we will be meeting at The Twin Peaks Lodge and Hot springs by 4pm. From there we will be checking in to our rooms and getting our camera gear ready so we can head out and shoot our first sunset. Before we take off, we will have a meeting downstairs meeting in front the lobby by 5pm for introductions and to answer any questions before we head on out and let the fun begin.

We will be shooting sunrise and sunset every day and if the weather is in our favor we will shoot later into each morning. After each morning, depending on how everyone is feeling, we can head back to the hotel to rest and grab some breakfast. We will head back out in the afternoon for shooting additional locations and sunset. Each day we will be shooting different locations depending on weather conditions and what areas have the best views of the aspen trees and mountains for peak Colorado fall colors and mountain landscapes.

Some areas will require short hikes thru mountain terrains with some mild elevation gains less than 400 ft. Our shooting areas will give you the most remote breathtaking views to enhance your photography experience. Hiking boots and small backpacks are encouraged. Also make sure you always bring water and some snacks for the day.

Most importantly we aim to create a relaxed, fun and enjoyable atmosphere for an incredible experience. You will feel comfortable and confident taking your photography skills to the next level. Our Colorado fall color photography workshop will end Oct 3rd after we shoot sunrise by about 9am.

Recommended Photography Gear

White Aspen tree trunks point directly towards the blue sky. Bright yellow leaves fall from the trees with yellow streaks to the ground.
'Gold Rush' | Telluride, Colorado | Aspen Tree Images | 2022 Colorado Fall Color Photography Workshop
  • DSLR or mirrorless camera
  • Recommended lens 16-35mm, 24-70mm,70-200mm,100-400mm, macro lens, if desired
  • Solid tripod with ballhead
  • Remote shutter release
  • Filters (Circular Polarizing Filter, Graduated ND Filters and Solid ND filters for long exposures)
  • Memory Cards
  • Extra camera batteries
  • Lens cloths, rocket blower, etc.

Instruction Provided During the Colorado Photography Workshop Includes:

  • A fall colors photography tour and workshop in Colorado
  • Shooting in manual mode (Shutter speed, aperture, ISO, depth of field)
  • Lens selection for composition and lighting
  • Creating stunning compositions (rule of thirds and simplicity)
  • Finding foreground elements
  • Creating intimate, abstract images
  • Capturing grand landscape photos
  • Creating panoramic images
  • Filters - how and when to use them
  • Technical tools (e.g. bracketing, focus stacking, histogram usage)
Early morning steam rises off a lake small lake with a reflection of a silver Airstream camper. Yellow fall color trees fill the forest.
'Airstream Magic' | Molas Lake | Colorado Mountain Photography | 2022 Fall Colors Workshop

    Colorado Fall Color Photography Workshop



Cancellation Policy

We reserve the right to cancel the workshop if minimum participants are not met or in the event of an emergency. If a cancellation does occur, participants me either use the fee towards a future workshop or receive a full refund. We are not responsible for travel expenses and therefore we strongly recommend travel insurance to cover such costs.

THE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP INSTRUCTORS

JOE GARZA

Born and raised in Westland, Michigan, Joe has always had a passion for photography. It started while serving in the United States Navy in the early 90's when his travels brought him all over the world. He was able to turn his passion into his profession and continues to focus on bringing you amazing images through his collection of images from National Parks, Hawaii, and the U.S. from the east coast lighthouses, Colorado mountains, and canyons and deserts across the southwest. Joe resides in Madison, Wisconsin with with his 3 children.





NICK SELWAY

Born and raised in Lake Stevens, Washington along the Northern Cascade Mountains, he grew a profound appreciation for the natural world at a young age. He spent his childhood traveling and exploring the Pacific Northwest with his family as his love for mother nature grew. He has been photographing for the last 18 years. He'd lived in Kailua Kona, Big Island of Hawaii for the last 14 years where he ran 2 photography galleries "Lava Light Galleries" and did photo tours to the volcano and around the island. In 2018 Nick moved with his beautiful wife Sarah Buzzetti and embarked on a new journey his lifelong dream by opening his very own photography gallery on June 1st, 2018 located on main street in Breckenridge, Colorado. He currently travels up to 150 days a year photographing mother nature’s beauty and teaching a variety of photography workshops.

Best Colorado Fall Color Photography Workshop