Southwest Utah Premium Astrophotography Masterclass

Book Today

Learn night sky photography from two masters of the art
while surrounded by the natural beauty of Southwest Utah

Experience the beautiful red-rock and night sky while learning to capture and process dramatic images of the night sky. The course will cover wide-field nightscapes featuring the Milky Way as well as deep space astrophotography using state-of-the-art telescopes. Enrollment is limited to ensure everyone has plenty of time to work with the instructors.

What do Previous Attendees Say?

“This past September, I had an opportunity to take my astrophotography knowledge and skills to new level at the iTelescope Masterclass hosted by Dr. Christian Sasse and Craig Stocks in beautiful southern Utah. <click to continue reading>

As background, I joined iTelscope in 2020 as a way to explore the exciting world of Astrophotography from my Class 9 Bortle home in Indianapolis. Over the years, I had worked to understand the details of both imaging and processing, allowing my monthly credits to mostly accumulate awaiting a time when I could to attend a Masterclass to bring together the best approaches to target selection, telescope operation, and processing to completed images. The Masterclass delivered this and much more. Our evenings were filled with opportunities to travel to scenic locations to photograph the night sky and Milky Way using our own camera gear. With days focused on best practices of image processing of our own night sky images and iTelescope images. Each day offered an opportunity to arrange an imaging session for the evening using one of the telescopes based in Utah. I will admit that although I had attempted using PixInsight, I 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. Both Christian and Craig are fine instructors; taking the time to ensure that I along with my three fellow attendees were comfortable with our understanding of the materials being presented. A highlight of the class was the opportunity to travel to Utah Desert Remote Observatories to see up close the operation of the facility and telescopes. Finally, it was indeed a fun time not only in terms of the knowledge gained but the opportunity to spend time in the excellent company of our instructors and students that share a love of imaging ancient photons.”

Paul Brandenburg, Indianapolis, Indiana

---

---

“I attended the iTelescope Utah Masterclass in St George, Utah … What a great experience, <click to continue reading>

the class size was small and allowed for a very personal learning experience that was led by Dr Christian Sasse and Craig Stocks who runs the Utah Desert Remote Site. We spent our days in class learning how to process with Pixinsight and Photoshop. At night we went to several different photo shoot locations to take astro landscape photos. During one of the days we took a trip up to Craig’’s Desert Remote site and was able to see the telescopes and how the operation is run from basically anywhere. My wife also accompanied me to Utah and was able to tour Craig’s site and accompany me on our night shoots. We also had a farewell dinner the last night which was a great time to go over all we had experienced and learned the last few days.. I highly recommend attending any Masterclass run by Christian or Craig.”
Mike

---

The masterclass location in St. George, Utah provides the perfect setting. It’s a two hour drive from Las Vegas – which is easily accessible from anywhere in the world. Southwest Utah is home to numerous state and national parks, including the Zion National Park, the Grand Canyon (North Rim) and Bryce Canyon National Park. It’s also surrounded by millions of acres of federal land managed by the US Bureau of Land Management; the St George field office alone manages over 629,000 acres or land. Utah also boasts the most Certified Dark Sky Parks of any state in the US making it the perfect destination for a dark sky vacation.

---

We’ll also explore comet processing during the Masterclass. Comets aren’t particularly difficult to process with PixInsight, but we do need to apply some additional processing steps. The challenge is that the comet is moving through the field of stars in the background, so actually process the image twice, once for the stars and one for the comet.

---

Tentative Agenda for St George, Utah Astrophotography Masterclass

Day	Topics and Activities – Schedule may change based on weather and participant input
Sunday Evening	Meet at 5:00 pm / sunset at 7:20 Simple instructions on night photography basics Simple shooting session – JEM trailhead (directions will be provided) Simple tripod and focus techniques for quick success Data from telescopes – easy processing targets will be 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 by iTelescope and UDRO 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 by iTelescope and UDRO Image processing – mosaics Processing tracked images in Photoshop Evening shoot – Warner Valley
Thursday	Choose targets to image remotely tonight by iTelescope and UDRO 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

Meet the Instructors

Dr. Christian Sasse

Craig Stocks

Dr. Christian Sasse’s passion encompasses both eagle photography and astronomy. His academic background as an electrical engineer and physicist, particularly his knowledge of optics and the physical properties of light, has shaped his photography. His photography uniquely captures colors and patterns due to his keen sense of how his objects reflect, refract, diffract and transmit light.   Dr. Sasse runs a popular YouTube channel and Facebook page where he uses innovative techniques to bring wildlife and astronomy to his subscribers – an experience that immerses his viewers into an active dialogue during his live events. In 2017 and 2018 Christian’s photography was featured in National Geographic articles, Earth Sky Magazine, and by Nikon USA.

Craig Stocks is a retired mechanical engineer, but has been involved with photography since the early 1970’s and has been an avid night sky and astrophotography enthusiast for years. He is a frequent speaker for camera and astronomy clubs across the US and has numerous astrophotography tutorials on the Utah Desert Remote Observatories YouTube page. You can also follow the observatory’s Facebook page. In 2022 Craig and his family launched Utah Desert Remote Observatories to host telescopes for clients around the world. As a St George resident Craig is familiar with the best locations in the area and will be our guide.

Recent APOD Images by the Instructors

Our Venue

Classes will be at Wingate by Windham which is conveniently located just off of Interstate 15 at Exit 4.

Daytime classes will start at 10:00 AM or later to allow plenty of time to sleep in after a late night. Evening photo shoots are planned for after dinner. Normally we’ll carpool/caravan to the location.

Lodging

Lodging is not included in the price of the workshop. We recommend staying at Wingate by Windham where classes and social events will be held. We recommend making your reservation there as soon as possible since St George is a popular destination. We have discount rates available by using this link.

Evening Outings (Recommended)

Evening outings for night sky photography are listed as a separate option (this simplifies the record keeping for our US Bureau of Land Management special recreation permit). All locations are on level ground with adjacent parking. Most have restrooms. Weather permitting, we will go out each night to enjoy the beautiful Southwest Utah scenery and night sky. Christian and Craig will be available to help you get the most out of your camera. Registered spouses are welcome to join the evening outings as well.

---

What to Bring

Weather: Plan on warm days and cool nights so you’ll want an assortment of clothing options.

Photo Gear: Bring your favorite camera, tripod and remote shutter lease (wired or wireless is fine). You’ll want a wide angle lens for Milky Way photos. If you have a star tracker mount be sure to bring that as well. [Master class will also have a star tracker with an Arca-Swiss quick release that can be shared.]

Included:
2 Masterclass Instructors (Dr. Christian Sasse / Craig Stocks)
One month  iTelescope Plan-290 premium telescope plan
High Quality Remote Telescopes
In depth Masterclass Tutorials
High Quality Image sets
Excursions to observatories
Snacks and refreshments
Departure Dinner on Thursday evening

Not Included:
Accommodations
Meals
Nightscape DSLR Equipment
Airfare  
Rental Car (optional)
Travel Insurance

US$3,245 per participant.
Optional evening outings for night sky photography, weather permitting – $250 

Spouse attendance for evening outings and departure dinner – $250

What you should bring

1. DSLR/mirrorless  camera.with tripod and batteries with charger and SD cards
2. An Arca-Swiss compatible quick-release adapter for your camera
3. Wide angle lens such as 14-50 mm
4. Shutter release cable (intervalometer).
5. Headlamp / incandescent lamp with a red bulb for illumination (to be used sparingly)
6. Laptop computer for classroom use with PixInsight, Adobe Photoshop
7. RC-Astro plugins for PixInsight (BlurXTerminator, NoiseXTerminator & StarXTerminator)
8. Warm clothing and sturdy shoes

Terms and Conditions

You will be required to agree to the Terms and Conditions before the workshop. A copy will be emailed to each participant for their agreement. You can preview them here – Terms and Conditions.

Cancellation and Refund Policy

All tour cancellations must be submitted in writing. Cancellations more than 60 days in advance of the start date will be refunded 90 percent. Cancellations 60 days or fewer, but more than 10 days in advance, will be refunded 50 percent. Unfortunately we are not able to offer a refund for cancellations less than 10 days or less before the start of the workshop.

Register Now – Attendance is Limited

Use the link below to register for the masterclass and optional evening outings

The price for this masterclass plus evening outings is still only $3,495

Southwest Utah Astrophotography Masterclass Sponsored by