This Colorado Wildflowers Photo Tour 2023 focuses on capturing beautiful landscape images of the stunning wildflower-filled basins of the San Juan Mountains.
These areas above-timberline host some of the most beautiful landscapes you will ever see!
As we photograph the famous summertime wildflowers of this area, we’ll base out of Silverton. 
Silverton’s historic district is a photo-worthy destination in its own right. (You might even want to arrive one day early so you can explore & acclimate to the elevation.) The town, along with the Durango-Silverton Narrow-Gauge Railroad, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
From our base in Silverton we head out daily to let our lenses loose on the petaled gems of these dramatic mountains.
Once you reach Silverton, transportation to your mountain shot locations is included in the tour. I’ll have 4-wheel drive vehicles on hand to get you to those hard-to-reach locations where the flowers are their best and crowds are non-existent.
Throughout the tour, we’ll take our time. No rushing from location to location! We stay at each sweet spot until every person in our group has had the chance to create the images she/he wants.
LIMITED TO FIVE (5) ~ ~ SOLD OUT ~ Please email me to be on waitlist ~
WHAT YOU CAN LEARN ON THIS TOUR:
- How to create mountain landscape images
- When to use HDR and when not to
- How to shoot unique flower “portraits”
- What to look for when incorporating wildflowers into landscape images
- How to master manual exposure
- How to salvage a photo shoot when it’s windy
- How to get that silky look with flowing water
- How to manipulate light for macro flower photography
- Macro techniques for capturing intimate wildflower images
A note about instruction on my photo tours:
Since skills levels vary so much on photo tours, I don’t typically focus on structured lessons during these events (my workshops, however, are a far different story — they are all about structured instruction). Instead, on photo tours, I tailor my teaching to individual needs. Please do not be shy about telling me what you need.
ITINERARY:
PLEASE NOTE: This is an estimated schedule and we’ll do our best to stick to this itinerary, but certain conditions may necessitate changes. Good photographic experiences will be our goals at all times.
Winter snows have A LOT to do with when the wildflowers peak & what shot locations we’ll have access to.
Saturday, July 22:
We’ll get together for our Welcome Dinner (included in your tour price) to talk about the upcoming days and get to know one another a bit.
Sunday, July 23:
Head out before dawn for your first photo shoot. I’ll lead you up into the gorgeous San Juan Mountains to capture sunrise. Return to town for lunch, nap, downloading, image review, etc. Right after lunch we’ll get some shots of the steam train chugging into town. Then, come afternoon, we head back out to the “hills” in time to catch the sweet light.
Monday, July 24:
We’ll head out long before dawn so we can nestle into our shot location in the San Juan’s in time for first light. When the light grows too harsh for landscape shots, we’ll focus on portraits and intimate macros of the blooming beauties. We’ll head to Ouray for the afternoon to capture more stunning mountain scenes.
Tuesday, July 25:
One more pre-dawn departure as we head to some ponds in the mountains and compose reflections. I’ve saved the best for last as the afternoon will have us traveling to what I consider the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. We’ll stay as long as you want.
Wednesday, July 26:
After yesterday’s action-packed schedule we’ll probably sleep in. It will be time to say our goodbyes and collect contact information from our new friends. 
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
- Ground transportation to shot locations from Silverton.
- Welcome Dinner
- Three full days of photography fun & night shoot (weather permitting).
- My hands-on assistance when you need it
- Image review as desired (there likely won’t be time to do this during the tour, but I am more than happy to do image reviews afterwards via Zoom or email or…?)
- Fun & camaraderie & new friends!
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED:
Lodging, meals (except Welcome Dinner; it IS included), transportation to and from Silverton are NOT included.
LOGISTICS, EQUIPMENT & SUCH:
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:
We’ll drive to all shot locations and the amount of walking you desire to do once we get there will be up to you. None of the shot locations I have in mind will necessitate serious walks or hikes, but hillsides can slope quite a bit. You’ll need to be comfortable with being in a vehicle on dirt roads.
We will be at elevations from 9000 to 12,500 feet. For this reason, if you live someplace with low elevation I highly suggest you arrive a day early so that your body can acclimate to the elevation by the time we head to our first shot location.
AIPPORT:
The closest airports are Durango & Montrose.
The Durago-La Plata County Airport is 63 miles south (about 1 1/4 hours) of the town of Silverton. The Montrose Regional Airport is about 64 miles north of Silverton.
ARRIVAL:
Please plan to arrive at Silverton, Colorado on Saturday, July 22, 2023 in time for our Welcome Dinner, which is tentatively set to begin at 7:00 pm.
LODGING:
You will want to get a hotel room in Silverton for July 22, 23, 24, & 25th (with check out on July 26th).
Vacancies go quickly in late-July, which is peak wildflower season in this region so if you’re considering joining us you’ll want to make sure you can get a room first. And as soon as you sign up with us, we highly suggest that you book your room in Silverton.
Silverton hosts quite a few small, independently owned hotels. Here are some of them (NOTE: We do NOT endorse any of them; this list is simply provided for your convenience):
- Grand Imperial
- The Avon
- Prospector Motel
- The Wyman
- Triangle Motel
- Bent Elbow
- Canyon View Motel
- Teller House Hotel
- Red Mountain Motel (most of their rooms have a kitchen if you don’t want to eat out all the time)
This list is not complete. There are a few other motels/hotels as well. NOTE: Be aware that when using Travelocity, Expedia, Hotels.com, etc. they tend to include hotels in Telluride on your list for Silverton and that’s too far away.
GENERAL INFO / SIGN UP:
- DURATION: 3 days, 4 nights
- DATES: Saturday evening, July 22 ~ Tuesday night, July 25, 2023
- SPACE FOR: Five (5) ~ SOLD OUT ~ Please email me to be on waitlist ~
- PRICE:$1,295
- DEPOSIT AMOUNT: $500
- FINAL PAYMENT DUE: 60 days before start of tour
CANCELLATION POLICY
Please read our Cancellation Policy before purchasing.(Follow the provided link or go to link under “MORE” on sidebar to the right.) Thanks!
LIABILITY WAIVER:
At the start of each event, we’ll ask you to sign this liability waiver. We encourage you to review it before signing up.
