Southern Utah photography workshop

Lynn Radeka and Mordy Dunst

October 13 - 17, 2025

Open to film and digital photographers of any experience level.

Registration below

 

Sunset and Storm Clouds, Utah. Copyright ©Lynn Radeka

Please join us for our 2025 Southern Utah photography workshop! Lynn Radeka and Mordy Dunst will be hosting this popular photographic workshop again, open to all photographers, traditional and digital, of any experience level. This year we will be returning to the canyons of Southern Utah in the autumn season when cottonwood trees are at their peak fall foliage colors. This is truly a unique American West experience and photographer's paradise. Our new itinerary has been tweaked to include only the finest areas, all easily accessible without lengthy strenuous hiking!

The first 2 days of this workshop will be in Capitol Reef National Park. Lodging and camping are available either in the park or just west of the park. Our main photographic objectives (depending on road conditions) will be Capitol Gorge, with it's stunning striped cliffs and truly amazing detail photography possibilities. We will conduct a print review at lunch time in the beautiful meadow at Fruita then head to the "Plate Rocks" area and a sunset view at Panorama point!. The next day will take us directly to majestic Upper Cathedral Valley, and down the picturesque drive through lower Cathedral Valley and the colorful Bentonite Hills. Depending on time, we will catch sunset at the Long Dong Silver Spire, hidden in the blue hills. This might be a sunrise adventure on day 3 depending on time.

Our base camp for days 3, 4 and 5 will be in Hanksville, UT, where motels and camping (with showers) are available. Days 3, 4 and 5 will be the highlights of this workshop. We will visit the eloquent hill forms at Factory Butte, the stunning Mars Overlook, and actually drive through the Mars district looking for unique compositions. Day 5 will be a drive to the vicinity of Little Wild Horse Canyon, a stunning area, with a potential hike up Little Wild Horse Canyon should anyone desire it. Nearby Goblin Valley is also a potential target.Long distance hiking and dangerous, steep jeep roads will NOT be planned for this workshop.

Please check back frequently for updates to our itinerary and feel free to email Lynn Radeka if you have location preferences. Contact Lynn Radeka


Balanced Rock and Moonscape, Utah.
Copyright © Lynn Radeka

Horseshoe Canyon, Canyonlands NP, Utah.
Copyright © Lynn Radeka

 

This workshop is open to all photographers whether shooting large or small format black and white or color, traditional or digital! Lunches and light campground dinners will graciously be provided by Lynn and Mordy making this workshop a week to remember! Each participant is expected to be self-sufficient with regards to campground breakfasts, and all indoor dining.

Please inquire about any concerns or limitations.

All participants are asked to bring samples of their work, whether it be in the form of finished prints, work prints or test strips. This is not a requirement as we realize the difficulty of transporting work when flying or travelling from great distances. Please do not bring more than 10 images!

Lynn and Mordy will be reviewing each day's shoot on a laptop computer, when possible, and commenting on potential image manipulations and improvements. Contrast masking (for photographers shooting film) will be discussed as well as other traditional developing/printing methods. Digital photographers will enjoy the array of interesting software programs and techniques we may may discuss as well, including focus stacking for extreme depth of field, HDR for controlling extreme contrast and Panorama shooting. More importantly, the workshop flow will be largely determined by the needs and desires of the workshop participants, ensuring a very enjoyable experience for everyone.

 


Rock Forms, Red Canyon.
Utah. Copyright © Lynn Radeka

 

As in all Radeka Photography workshops, Lynn will be handing out durable viewing cards (an aid in visualizing compositions) to everyone. He will be assisting attendees in obtaining the best exposures and white balance settings using RAW format for those photographers shooting digital, and zone system methods, previsualization, exposure, development, view camera controls and selection of filters to those photographers shooting traditional large format. All participants will be free to post any of their workshop images on our Facebook page for comments, critiques, or just display.

This photography workshop will also teach the use of contrast masking in your previsualization routine. This will help traditional photographers learn how to previsualize images with the intent of applying contrast masking or other specialized darkroom procedures to the final prints. Surprisingly, this often results in images being shot that otherwise might be passed up due to lack of local contrast on the scene or elements that aren't well separated from surrounding detail. The intended use of masking can alter the exposure and development given to the negative.

Tag-alongs are not allowed on this workshop except for spouses, which will be required to be self-sufficient. This workshop is limited to eight paid participants. Please see the signup details below.

 

Sunrise, Moonscape, 2020. Near Hanksville, UT. Copyright © Lynn Radeka


Thompson Springs, Interior.
Utah. Photo by Mordy Dunst

 

About Lynn Radeka

Influenced in his early work by Ansel Adams and Wynn Bullock, Lynn Radeka’s professional photography career spans 55 years. His love of the grand landscapes, intimate details, small towns and ghost towns of the American West was born on his first trip to Death Valley in 1966 followed soon after by his first solo trip to Canyonlands National Park.

Lynn Radeka’s Black and White photography has been featured in eight National Park posters and several calendars including the calendar series Radeka: The American West and several ghost town calendars published by Browntrout publishers. In 1989 and 1990 he was commissioned to do the photography for five full-color books, resulting in a 2 year journey that took him through the back roads, historic places and ghost towns of the entire American West. Lynn also has the honor of being a featured photographer in the book publication "World's Top Photographers: Landscape" and has been published in LensWork, B&W Magazine, Classic Imaging, View Camera Magazine, Elements Magazine, Frames Magazine and other photography publications.

Lynn Radeka currently teaches workshops in Death Valley, Utah, New Mexico and Washington, and Contrast Masking workshops in his home darkroom in California and soon in Arizona with Jerry Sheridan. He is the producer and co-author of the Contrast Masking Kit - a technical manual for traditional film-based photographers. Lynn feels completely at home using a 4x5 view camera for his film-based work and more recently a full frame mirrorless camera for his digital work.

Please visit the bio page of this website for more information.

About Mordy Dunst

Medical professional by education, Mordy was fascinated by medical imagery particularly of the chest. He taught clinical chest radiography mini courses to students. Later, he ventured into experimental microscopic internal imagery of the lung using robotic techniques. Now, recently retired, he uses these acquired visual skills in landscape photography with both digital and analogue film techniques.

Southern Utah Photography Workshop Registration

October 13 - 17, 2025

Limited to eight paid participants

Inquire regarding space availability and other questions or to be placed on a reserve list

Location: Beginning in Capitol Reef National Park, UT.

Total workshop fee: $1900. (reservation: $950, remainder fee: $950)

Tuition: Reservations and remaining payment can be made here

Duration: 5+ Days.

Materials to bring: Cameras (digital or traditional),
accessories (film, storage media, changing bags),
camping equipment, gas money and breakfasts if camping.
A 4WD or high clearance vehicle will be helpful but may be ride-shared if
necessary.

Contact: Lynn Radeka via e-mail for questions or more information.

 

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