Welcome to Joshua Tree, where clashing deserts forge wonder

Embark on a nocturnal workshop March 12-15, 2026 with night photographers Jeff McCrum and Shehab Hossain in Joshua Tree!  This national park spans the Mojave and Colorado deserts and has some of the darkest night skies in California, with a Bortle scale of 2, and a concerned local populace dedicated to preserving the beauty of the night sky!

Join us for three nights in this majestic national treasure as we explore the vast desert and work on various light painting techniques under the open skies. We will explore miles and miles of two of America’s astonishing deserts, the California and Mojave, each with their own fascinating climate, history, and terrain. We will capture the natural interactions of these deserts while observing, recording, and celebrating the astonishing dark skies.

The workshop includes locations that echo the history of the pioneers who came before, as we visit abandoned farms, mills, and mines. Joshua Tree’s history goes back to the Pinto Culture of 8000 BCE, then later Native American tribes, Spanish explorers, Mexicans, fur trappers, cattle rustlers, gold miners, and ranchers. The eponymous Joshua trees come from the higher Mohave side to the west that meets the eastern Colorado Desert and its scrub brush, Cholla cactus, and California’s only native palm, the California fan palm. This clashing of deserts also created geological upthrusts of rock and arches throughout. All of these are perfect for light painting and crafting interesting foregrounds, using handheld lights, remote panel lights, and light orbs.

The best reason for visiting this particular park comes from the interplay of these foreground opportunities with the breathtaking Milky Way stretching overhead, as the night sky comes alive with ancient constellations. Participants will receive instruction in capturing star trails, high ISO star points, and a better understanding of how stars move across the sky, along with the challenge of capturing the foreground without moonlight. We will also discuss post-production techniques like star stacking, denoise programs, and combining stacked images to help you capture your vision in the field. Additional classes will discuss an array of night photography techniques like panoramas, Little Planets, reflections, and creative techniques to use anywhere in the world. Don't miss this unique opportunity to paint the desert nightscape with your lens!