2-night buy-in
$700
Choose 2 specific nights at registration from the 8-night workshop window.
8-Night FlexStarts at: $700
April 3–10, 2027 · Bisti Badlands / Farmington, New Mexico
Bisti Badlands Winter & Summer Milky Way Panorama
An 8-night Flex workshop based in Farmington with a 2-night buy-in, optional 4-night upfront reservation, and weather-managed add-on nights.
Why this workshop exists
A stranger, wilder Milky Way world than Southern Utah.
Bisti exists because it gives us a completely different desert night-sky world than Southern Utah. Southern Utah is red, orange, and yellow. Bisti brings white, yellow, red, gray, and strange eroded textures that feel almost alien.
The rock shapes are different too. Instead of only arches, canyons, and red sandstone walls, Bisti gives us cracked eggs, flat-topped hoodoos, narrow pillars, petrified wood, strange formations, and the Alien Throne, which looks like a massive trophy jammed into the badlands.
This workshop is for photographers who want Milky Way panoramas, winter Milky Way opportunities, single-image compositions, low-level lighting, and truly unusual foregrounds that do not feel like the standard Utah desert experience.
America's 250th Celebration Sale
Bisti Badlands Winter & Summer Milky Way Panorama
Get 2 Nights for $500
Lock in this workshop now, then Aaron will help you choose the best shooting nights after purchase.
Reserve This Workshop for $500
2 spots already claimed. Reserve before the sale ends.
Reserve this page's workshop
Bisti Badlands / Farmington, New Mexico · April 3–10, 2027
Availability
Spots are already being claimed
2 of 16 total spots claimed. 8 students max per night so everyone gets room to work.
2 spots already claimed
Quick facts
Choose your nights
8-Night Flex Calendar
Workshop nights Not selectable
Highlighted dates are the available shooting nights for April 3–10, 2027. Non-workshop dates are muted so the whole two-row week view stays easy to scan.
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Pricing and flexibility
How the 8-Night Flex Works at Bisti
The best part of doing Bisti as an 8-Night Flex is that you can stay in one hotel in Farmington and let the weather tell us which nights are worth using. If the sky is ugly, the wind is brutal, or clouds are blocking the Milky Way, you do not have to burn one of your paid nights just to prove you are tough. Save it, sleep, and come out when the sky gives us a better chance.
More often than not, Bisti can deliver great desert skies. But I have also seen rare workshops where rain, snow, wind, or multiple skunked nights made the fixed-date version painful. The Flex model is designed to reduce the sting of those rare bad nights.
- ✦$700 buy-in reserves 2 shooting nights.
- ✦$1,000 upfront option reserves 4 shooting nights.
- ✦Selected nights are chosen at registration.
- ✦Additional nights can be added on-site for $250/night if weather, space, and schedule allow.
- ✦8 students max per night.
- ✦16 total students possible across the full 8-night window.
Pricing options
4-night upfront option
$1,000
Choose 4 specific nights at registration. The discount is for committing to more nights early.
Add nights on-site
$250/night
Available during the workshop if weather, space, and your schedule make sense.
Availability
Spots are already being claimed
2 of 16 total spots claimed. 8 students max per night so everyone gets room to work.
2 spots already claimed
America's 250th Celebration Sale
Bisti Badlands Winter & Summer Milky Way Panorama
Get 2 Nights for $500
Lock in this workshop now, then Aaron will help you choose the best shooting nights after purchase.
Reserve This Workshop for $500
2 spots already claimed. Reserve before the sale ends.
Reserve this page's workshop
Bisti Badlands / Farmington, New Mexico · April 3–10, 2027
Example itinerary
Example Bisti Itinerary
These are the kinds of nights we will rotate through during the Flex window. If you choose two nights, four nights, or add more on-site, the exact mix depends on weather and group planning.
Night 1
Cracked Eggs
- ✦One of the signature Bisti locations, with cracked formations that feel completely different from the standard red-rock desert foreground.
- ✦Plan on a long hike: about 2 miles out and 2 miles back. It is mostly flat, but dry washes, uneven steps, distance, and darkness all matter.
- ✦Great for cracked formations, single-image Milky Way work, and possible focus-stacking practice. Typically no low-level lighting is needed or used here.
Night 2
Photo by Steve Luther, Instagram: @spaceweatherphotoguy
Milky Way Canyon
- ✦A short-walk location, roughly 0.3 miles, and one of the more accessible Bisti nights compared with the longer hikes.
- ✦Excellent for low-level lighting, panorama practice, and single-image Milky Way compositions.
- ✦This is the kind of location where the group can work deliberately without spending the whole night recovering from the approach.
Night 3
Alien Throne
- ✦One of the wildest formations in the whole region, almost like a massive trophy jammed into the badlands.
- ✦Expect a long hike around 2 miles out and 2 miles back, with uneven terrain and more demanding access.
- ✦The composition area is tight, so students may rotate one at a time. Low-level lighting may be used, and focus stacking may help in specific compositions, but the main workflow is getting everyone through the best angles efficiently.
Night 4
Shiprock
- ✦Shiprock is a planned special opportunity with Navajo guide access, not a self-guided casual stop.
- ✦The goal is to include Shiprock at least two nights during the 8-Night Flex window, placing those chances on promising weather nights so both halves of the Flex window have a shot.
- ✦Access depends on guide availability, conditions, road access, and weather, so the plan is exciting but never overpromised.
Potential Special Night
A Shiprock night may be possible with a Navajo guide. If arranged, the goal is to have at least one Shiprock opportunity in the first half of the Flex window and one in the second half, weather permitting. This is not a casual self-guided stop: access and approach depend on guide arrangements and conditions, and the group may consolidate into fewer suitable vehicles if road conditions require it.
This is a perfect-weather example, not a guaranteed route. Bisti plans depend on weather, wind, group energy, hiking ability, access, and which nights students choose in the 8-night Flex window.
Typical rhythm
What to Expect Typically Each Day
Farmington home base
- ✦Stay in Farmington. This is one of the big advantages of Bisti compared with Southern Utah.
- ✦Students can book one Farmington hotel and stay there for the full workshop window.
- ✦Do not accidentally choose a nearby town that adds awkward driving. Aztec may look nearby, but Farmington is the simplest and most useful base.
Self-driving
- ✦Everyone drives themselves to Farmington and during the workshop.
- ✦Students may coordinate rides with other attendees if they want.
- ✦Some locations may benefit from grouping into higher-clearance vehicles.
Night rhythm
- ✦Many Bisti nights are early-morning Milky Way sessions.
- ✦A typical rhythm may include dinner, rest at the hotel, then a late-night or early-morning meet-up at the trailhead.
- ✦After the shoot, everyone returns to Farmington and sleeps.
Hiking reality
- ✦Expect at least two major hike nights if you attend several nights.
- ✦Major hikes can be roughly 4 miles roundtrip. The terrain is often flat, but distance matters.
- ✦Knees, stamina, warm layers, and carrying your camera bag all matter. Other nights may be much shorter, around 0.3 miles.
Weather reality
- ✦Bisti is a desert and often gives us clear skies.
- ✦Rain, snow, wind, blowing sand, and clouded-out nights can happen.
- ✦Wind can be especially brutal because sand and dust can hurt image clarity and comfort. This is why the Flex model is useful.
Meals
- ✦Expect at least one group meal most days when schedules allow.
- ✦Some days may include breakfast/lunch and dinner.
- ✦We will not promise exact restaurants because the sleep and shooting rhythm can shift with the sky.
What you’ll photograph
- ✦Cracked Eggs and other strange eroded formations
- ✦Alien Throne
- ✦Milky Way Canyon
- ✦Potential Shiprock night with Navajo guide, if access/weather allow
- ✦Winter Milky Way panoramas
- ✦Early summer Milky Way core panoramas
- ✦Single-image Milky Way compositions
- ✦Low-level lit foregrounds
- ✦Hoodoos taller than you and smaller than you
- ✦Petrified wood and strange badlands textures
- ✦Desert skies with minimal light pollution
- ✦Efficient turn-taking at tight compositions
- ✦Long-hike and short-walk Milky Way locations
Focus stacking is not the main workflow for most Bisti compositions, but it may be useful in a few specific situations.
Practical expectations
Terrain, lodging, and transportation
This workshop has more hiking than most Photog Adventures workshops. Students should be comfortable walking several miles in the dark with camera gear, including longer Cracked Eggs and Alien Throne nights.
Flying
- ✦Albuquerque is a common airport option.
- ✦Expect about a 3-hour drive from Albuquerque to Farmington.
- ✦Plan that travel time seriously, especially before or after early-morning shooting.
Lodging
- ✦Stay in Farmington. Farmington has many hotel options.
- ✦There is no need to change hotels during the workshop.
- ✦Be careful not to book somewhere that looks close but adds awkward driving.
Driving
- ✦Everyone handles their own transportation.
- ✦Most Bisti access is easiest from Farmington.
- ✦Some locations may involve longer drives, roughly 45 minutes to over an hour depending on the trailhead. Special access nights may require grouping into vehicles with better clearance.
Hiking
- ✦This workshop has more hiking than most Photog Adventures workshops.
- ✦Some locations are short walks. Cracked Eggs and Alien Throne are longer hike nights.
- ✦Students should be comfortable walking several miles in the dark with camera gear.
Cold
- ✦April nights in the desert can get cold.
- ✦Bring layers, gloves, and warmth for standing around after hiking.
- ✦Cold and long hikes are the two main comfort challenges.
After the workshop
After the workshop, you’ll also get a 1-hour Zoom processing help session. I’ll send out scheduling options after the trip, and there is no expiration date. You can use it right away or wait until you are ready to work through your images.
Before you arrive
Review the Workshop Prep Guide
Use the prep guide for camera skills, lenses, clothing, footwear, and field expectations before any workshop.
Open the Prep GuideWorkshop scenes
Bisti Badlands / Farmington, New Mexico workshop gallery
America's 250th Celebration Sale
Bisti Badlands Winter & Summer Milky Way Panorama
Get 2 Nights for $500
Lock in this workshop now, then Aaron will help you choose the best shooting nights after purchase.
Reserve This Workshop for $500
2 spots already claimed. Reserve before the sale ends.
Reserve this page's workshop
Bisti Badlands / Farmington, New Mexico · April 3–10, 2027
Ready to talk details?
Ask Aaron whether this workshop fits your goals.
Already booking
2 of 16 total spots claimed. 8 students max per night.