Southwest Utah · Dark-Sky Country
Learn to Capture the Night Sky
A unique five day / night astrophotography masterclass in beautiful Southwest Utah — open to all skill levels and requiring no knowledge of the night sky. You’ll photograph the Milky Way over red-rock landscapes, run world-class telescopes, and process your own images, guided hands-on every step.
5 nights under dark skies · Hands-on nightscape outings · All levels · Small groups
The emphasis of the Masterclass is on deep-sky photography using iTelescope’s and Utah Desert Remote Observatories’ most powerful state-of-the-art telescopes, night photography and post-processing. The course covers wide-field nightscapes featuring the Milky Way as well as deep space astrophotography. Enrollment is limited to ensure everyone has plenty of time to work with the instructors. Sponsored by iTelescope.net and Utah Desert Remote Observatories.
Next MasterclassAutumn 2026 · St. George, Utah
No experience needed — all levels welcome
What You’ll Gain
A hands-on, do-it-yourself week. You leave with real skills, your own captured data, and finished images you made.
🏜️ Nightscapes under the Milky Way
Go out each clear night to shoot the desert sky at Lamb’s Knoll, Warner Valley, Red Mountain and the BLM Corral — tripod basics to star-tracker, with help at your side.
🔭 Run real observatory telescopes
Control iTelescope’s premier equipment, including the finest 20″ and 24″ PlaneWave telescopes, for your own deep-sky targets — north and south hemisphere.
✨ Fast-track PixInsight
Turn raw data into vibrant colour in a single day with a clear, repeatable workflow — no prior experience needed — that you can use forever on your own collection.
🎨 Photoshop finishing
Layers, masks, blending and detail amplification — the finishing touches that lift a good image into a great one.
☄️ Mosaics, comets & time-lapse
Multi-panel mosaics, moving-target comet processing (processed twice — once for stars, once for the comet) and night-sky time-lapse.
🌌 Behind the scenes & new friends
Tour Utah Desert Remote Observatories, share a closing dinner, and spend the week with a small group who love imaging ancient photons.
Your nights out
The Desert Sky Is the Classroom
St. George is a two-hour drive from Las Vegas — easily reached from anywhere in the world — and is surrounded by Zion National Park, the Grand Canyon (North Rim) and Bryce Canyon, plus millions of acres of BLM land. Utah boasts the most Certified Dark Sky Parks of any U.S. state. Weather permitting, we head out every night to beautiful, easy-access locations, and Christian & Craig are right there to help you nail focus, framing and exposure.
Day by day
Tentative Agenda
| Day | Topics & Activities |
|---|---|
| Sunday Evening | Meet at 5:00 pm / sunset at 7:20. Simple instructions on night photography basics. Simple shooting session – JEM trailhead (directions provided). Tripod and focus techniques for quick success. Data from telescopes – easy processing targets captured remotely, both Northern and Southern Hemisphere. |
| Monday | Choose targets to image remotely tonight by iTelescope and UDRO. Image processing from previous night – single frame, unstacked wide-field. PixInsight basic integration. Advanced image capture techniques. Capture for stacking. Light painting. Basic Photoshop (layers, masks, levels & curves, layer groups). Evening shoot – The BLM Corral on Rt 9. |
| Tuesday | Choose targets to image remotely tonight. Image processing – simple stacking (Sequator, Starry Landscape Stacker). Processing star trails and light painting. Intermediate Photoshop (smart objects, layer blending options, masking tools). Capture simple mosaics. Tour Utah Desert Remote Observatories. Evening shoot at Red Mountain Trail. |
| Wednesday | Choose targets to image remotely tonight. Image processing – mosaics. Processing tracked images in Photoshop. Evening shoot – Warner Valley. |
| Thursday | Choose targets to image remotely tonight. Time-lapse. Comet processing. Special topics of interest. Closing dinner. Evening shoot – Lamb’s Knoll. |
| Friday | Departure with new knowledge and your own collection of astro images. |
Who’s guiding you
Your Instructors
Dr. Christian Sasse
Astrophotographer · Physicist · Educator
An electrical engineer and physicist, Christian brings a deep command of optics and the physics of light to every image — and a gift for making it click for beginners.
He runs a popular YouTube channel and hosts live imaging events worldwide, with work featured by National Geographic, EarthSky and Nikon USA.
Craig Stocks
Astrophotographer · Founder, UDRO
A retired mechanical engineer behind a camera since the early 1970s, Craig is a dedicated night-sky imager and a frequent speaker for camera and astronomy clubs across the U.S.
In 2022 he launched Utah Desert Remote Observatories, hosting telescopes for clients worldwide. A St. George local, he knows every dark-sky vantage and will be our guide all week.
What previous attendees say
I had an opportunity to take my astrophotography knowledge and skills to a new level at the iTelescope Masterclass hosted by Dr. Christian Sasse and Craig Stocks in beautiful southern Utah. Our evenings were filled with opportunities to travel to scenic locations to photograph the night sky and Milky Way, with days focused on image processing of both our own night-sky images and iTelescope images. I had attempted using PixInsight before but was seldom successful until seeing the workflow presented by Christian and Craig — a few hours of our daily processing sessions were more enlightening than hours of watching video instruction. A highlight was the trip to Utah Desert Remote Observatories to see the facility and telescopes up close.
Paul Brandenburg, Indianapolis, Indiana
I attended the iTelescope Utah Masterclass in St George, Utah — what a great experience. The class size was small and allowed for a very personal learning experience led by Dr Christian Sasse and Craig Stocks, who runs the Utah Desert Remote site. We spent our days learning to process with PixInsight and Photoshop, and at night we went to several different photo-shoot locations for astro-landscape photos. My wife also toured Craig’s site and joined the night shoots. We had a farewell dinner the last night which was a great time to go over all we had experienced. I highly recommend attending any Masterclass run by Christian or Craig.
Mike
What’s included
Everything for the Five Days
- Two Masterclass instructors with you all week — Dr. Christian Sasse & Craig Stocks
- High-quality remote telescopes
- In-depth Masterclass tutorials & high-quality image sets to keep
- Excursion & tour of Utah Desert Remote Observatories
- Snacks and refreshments
- Departure dinner on Thursday evening
- Not included: accommodations, meals, nightscape DSLR equipment, airfare, rental car (optional), travel insurance
Tuition
$3,245
Venue & Hotel
Classes and social events are held at the Wingate by Wyndham, conveniently located just off Interstate 15 at Exit 4. Lodging is not included; we recommend staying there since St. George is a popular destination — book early. Discounted group rates are available here →
Evening Outings (Recommended)
Evening outings for night-sky photography are listed as a separate option (this simplifies record-keeping for our BLM special recreation permit). All locations are on level ground with adjacent parking, and most have restrooms. Weather permitting, we go out each night to enjoy the Southwest Utah scenery and night sky. Registered spouses are welcome to join.
What to Bring
- DSLR / mirrorless camera with tripod, batteries, charger and SD cards
- An Arca-Swiss compatible quick-release adapter for your camera
- Wide-angle lens such as 14–50 mm
- Shutter release cable (intervalometer)
- Headlamp / lamp with a red bulb for illumination (used sparingly)
- Laptop for classroom use with PixInsight and Adobe Photoshop
- RC-Astro plugins for PixInsight (BlurXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator & StarXTerminator)
- Warm clothing and sturdy shoes
Terms, Cancellation & Refunds
You’ll be asked to agree to the Terms and Conditions before the workshop (a copy is emailed to each participant). All cancellations must be submitted in writing: cancellations more than 60 days before the start date are refunded 90 percent; 60 days or fewer but more than 10 days, 50 percent; 10 days or fewer, no refund. Attendance is limited — early booking is recommended.
