Classes, Workshops & Tours list

Light Painting at Shaniko Ghost Town 2025

August 23, 2025

Milky Way and Night Sky Photo Workshop

With Zack Schnepf

Join us for an evening of creative photography at Shaniko Ghost Town. A historic Old West setting in the Oregon Outback.
Enjoy photographing this historic town in the late afternoon. We will light paint the buildings in combination with the night sky and Milky Way.

This Workshop is limited to 8 participants to give everyone enough space to shoot.

Don’t get discouraged by uncertain weather situations. Expect the unexpected. “The best sunset ever” This happened at the Light Painting Photo Workshop in August 2024. See photo from Zack Schnepf on the left.

If you want a more private experience, book one of our Private Night Sky Photo Tours.

$210 per person

Max 8 participants

Beginner to intermediate

Car pool

Itinerary:

Saturday, August 23, 2025

4:45 pm: Meet in Bend at a location disclosed after booking and self drive/car pool to photo location.

5:00 pm: Drive to Shaniko.

6:45 pm: arrive in Shaniko. Shoot town during low light

8:25 pm: Sunset, then Light painting and Milky Way Photography in Ghost Town

10:50 pm: head back to Bend

Book

What to bring:

nights cool down in the High Desert. Bring a jacket or warm sweater
mosquito repellent
sturdy tripod
camera with wide angle lens. Ideally with f.2.8
fully charged extra battery
flashlight/headlamp with red light

INQUIRY

POLICY

Spring in Central Oregon Photo Workshop 2025

June 20/21/22, 2025

Landscape Photo Workshop

With Zack Schnepf

Enjoy the beauty of the Central Oregon Cascades and photograph pristine river and lakes with towering mountains during Central Oregonâ€™s fleeting spring season. While the mountain peaks are still snow covered and the first blossoms and flowers appear in the area, Central Oregon is magical.

Local professional Landscape photographer Zack Schnepf will guide you to some of the area’s most photogenic locations. Zack will teach you how to frame and capture stunning landscape photos.

$325 per person

Max 8

Beginner to intermediate

Car pool

Itinerary:

Friday, June 20, 2025

5:30 pm : Meet in front of Starbucks @ 320 SW Century Dr #200, 97702 Bend, OR. Itâ€™s a standalone Starbucks, not inside the supermarket. Carpool to shooting location. Introduction and sunset photo session.

Saturday, June 21, 2025

4:55 am: Meet in front of Starbucks. Carpool to shooting location. Possible Sparks Lake.

After sunrise shoot, breakfast (not included) at local restaurant. Photo talk.

6:00 pm: Meet on Bend’s north side and carpool to Smith Rock State Park for a sunset photography session.

Book your own accommodation early!

Sunday, June 22, 2025

4:45 am: Meet in front of Starbucks. Carpool to Dillon Falls. Sunrise and morning photography session.

After sunrise shoot, breakfast (not included) at local restaurant. Photo talk. Questions and answers

11:00 am: Approx. end of Workshop

Zack will adjust timing and shooting locations according to conditions at the time of Workshop.

INQUIRY

BOOK

POLICY

Oregon Dark Sky Photo Safari 2025

Oregon Outback Dark Sky Sanctuary

July 24-28, 2025

with Zack Schnepf

The Oregon Outback, part of the Great Basin of North America, is one of the darkest places in the world. Far from light pollution, you can see the starry sky in all its splendor.

The Milky Way, close enough to touch, rises from the sage steppe and transforms the sky into a sparkling sea of stars.

What also makes the area photographically attractive are several ghost towns and bizarre juniper tree forests, which are ideal as subjects for light painting in this western landscape.

Professional photographer Zack Schnepf leads a small group on a 5-day tour of some of the best places to see and photograph the breathtaking night sky and landscape.

The Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary, it covers 2.5 million acres.

US$ 2,275 / per person / shared room

US$ 350 / additional cost for single room

US$ 200 / transportation from Bend, OR with Zack, limited space

US$ 75 / per person / online post-processing

If we can’t find you a room partner, the cost of a single room applies.

4-6 persons

Beginner – Advanced

Self drive

Included

Workshop fee
4 nights accommodation in Motels.
Guided by Zack Schnepf

Not included

Meals
Entry fees, because of self drive arrival
Personal expenses
Tips
Transportation

What to bring:

nights cool down in the High Desert. Bring a jacket or warm sweater
sturdy tripod
camera with wide angle lens. Ideally with f.2.8
fully charged extra batteries, or charger
flashlight/headlamp with red light

inquire

make deposit

Thursday, July 24

Overnight in Madras, OR.

Arrive late afternoon at the Motel.

Photograph Night Sky with light painting in Grass Valley, Kent and Shaniko Ghost Town.

Friday, July 25

Overnight in Prineville, OR.

Night Sky at Painted Hills and in Mitchell.

Saturday, July 26

Overnight in La Pine, OR.

Astro photography at Fort Rock

Sunday, July 27

Overnight in La Pine, OR.

Astro photography at La Pine State Park or Sparks Lake

Monday, July 28

Check-out of Motel in La Pine and end of Photo Workshop

USA, Oregon, Central, Fort Rock, sagebrush

policy

Lost Places of the American Desert 2026

April 13 – 27, 2026

Ghost towns, deserts and wild landscapes

Photo trip with Swiss photographer Thomas Heitmar.

This varied photo tour leads through the desert areas of California and Nevada. We start in the gambling metropolis of Las Vegas and follow the historic Route 66 through the Mojave desert. We photograph ghost towns and “lost places” such as dilapidated snack bars, gas stations and motels. In between we visit the national parks, Joshua Tree and Death Valley, where we devote ourselves to nature and landscape photography.

The round trip leads behind the Sierra Nevada, to the rocky pinnacles of the Alabama Hills, the Mono Lake and other photogenic ghost towns.

Swiss photographer Thomas Heitmar shows you how to effectively capture the many impressions with the camera.

In addition to the big highlights, we also visit the photogenic desert parks, Valley of Fire and Cathedral Gorge on the way back to Las Vegas.

It is a journey full of surprises, scenic beauty, vastness and “on the road feeling”.

15 days / 14 nights

US$ 10,030 /per person/double room sharing

US$ 1,550 /single room surplus

Maximal 8 participants

We drive in two SUV and or minivans.

Included:

transportation from hotel in Las Vegas
14 nights in middle class hotels
Entrance fees to attractions mentioned in itinerary
Photographic supervision by Thomas Heitmar

iNQUIRY

Not included: