New Mexico Photo Tours

Our 3-day tours are perfect for those of you who don't have much time to go and explore our beautiful state of New Mexico, or practice photography. This is your opportunity to do both, with the guidance of a professional photographer who knows the area quite well, having spent ten years in NM.


2015 - WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT
Dates May 29 - 31, 2015
3 days/2 nights $1295 (based on double occupancy, per person); $1,410 for single occupancy.
Group size: 2 to 6
You provide your own transportation.

"While working next to you I learned the lesson of being aware of my surroundings. I found your innate skill at being a silent observer gave me a true gift, bringing fresh awareness of both the subject and myself."
T. S. (New Mexico)

White Sands can be overwhelming to photograph. You may feel you need the widest angle lens to take it all in. Wrong. Come to White Sands with us and learn how to see lines and light, the key elements that will help you capture the essence of this amazing place. Its dramatic beauty will leave you in awe and stimulate your creative juices. Whether you like to shoot color or black & white, your photographic experience will be enhanced by White Sands silent symphony of light and shadows.

Day 1
Your adventure begins as you drive from Albuquerque NM through Southwest scenery - golden grass covered plains, plateaus, volcanic lava fields, forest, with the Sacramento mountains as a backdrop, to Alamogordo (a 4-hour drive). You may also decide to fly to El Paso TX and drive 1.5 hour to Alamogordo.
Check into Hampton Inn hotel in Alamogordo.
We go to White Sands National Monument in the afternoon to photograph sunset on the dunes.

Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and created the world's largest gypsum dune field. White Sands National Monument preserves a major portion of this unique dune field, along with the plants and animals that have successfully adapted to this constantly changing environment.
Dinner in Alamogordo on your own.

Day 2 (B,L)
The White Sands gates are opened especially for us before dawn and before public hours, to give us the opportunity to photograph sunrise on the dunes. Late morning at leisure with the option of visiting the Space Museum.
Lunch in Alamogordo.
After a digital presentation of the leader's selected works, we depart in mid-afternoon for White Sands National Monument to photograph the spectacular white gypsum dunes at sunset, with a stop at the Visitors Center whose exhibits and an informative 17 mn film explain the formation of the dunes.
Retun to Alamogordo for dinner on your own.

Day 3 (B,Br)
We leave before dawn for White Sands (gates are opened especially for us again this morning) for the opportunity to photograph sunrise on the dunes.
By mid-morning the sun will be too harsh on the dunes for decent photos. This is the time to put your camera down and let the kid in you enjoy the sensations of silky sand flowing on your feet and, why not, slide down the dunes on a saucer - it's all very therapeutic!
We then enjoy a gourmet brunch in the picnic area of White Sands, surrounded by the dunes.
An informal critique session by tour leader will follow and participants are invited to show a few photos taken during the trip for evaluation (on participant's laptop or on camera or storage device screen).
Return to Alamogordo for check-out (noon). Participants drive back to Albuquerque or El Paso.

Option: If you have the time, a good stop on the way back to Albuquerque is the Three Rivers Petroglyphs National Monument (45 mn from Alamogordo) where you can discover on your own rock art done by the Mogollon culture of 1,000 years ago. Over 21,000 petroglyphs have been recorded at this site. The Sacramento mountains provide a good background for the petroglyphs spread out along a mile-long trail.
($5.00 entrance fee or America-the-Beautiful pass).
Drive back to Albuquerque (or El Paso) for return flight home.

"After 40 years of shooting pictures and a successful career in photography, I find a new way to envision my world. Carole opened avenues to "seeing" images and not just shooting. In places I have been and locations I have photographed before, her ability to look deeper and expose the emotional energy of a truly enchanted land, allowed me to see as if discovering it all for the first time. What could have been just another trip, Carole fashioned into a photographic adventure. It was three days packed with her endless energy to explore the possibilities of a scene and literally, chase the light. A truly unforgettable adventure in my book of life's adventures!" Kandyce K.

"Thank you, Carole, for guidance. My objective in joining your Weekend Expedition was to see more clearly the elements that create beauty and visual impact. The weekend gave me the confidence to try and compose photographs that conveyed what I saw." M.K. (Albuquerque NM)

Tour Cost: $1295 (double accommodation) $1410 (single accommodations) .
Reservations: A $350 per person deposit is required to secure a place on this tour, which can be paid via Paypal (with an additional 3% Paypal fees) or by check. The balance is due 60 days prior to beginning of tour.
Note: If no roommate is available to share a double room, you will have to pay the single room cost.
If less than 3 participants sign up, a small-group supplement of $200 p.p. will apply, or the tour may be cancelled.

Cost includes: Hotel accommodations based on double occupancy at Hampton Inn; meals as indicated (B=breakfast, BR=brunch, L=lunch, D=dinner, PN=picnic); entrance at White Sands Monument; ranger's fees for special gate opening before sunrise; tour leader services.

Cost does NOT include: Airfare to/from your home city, ground transportation (own vehicle or rental or carpool), meal beverages, items of personal nature and incidentals, gratuities.

NOTE: Since we'll be leaving the hotel very early to be on site for sunrise, we may not be able to have breakfast at the hotel in Alamogordo. Fruit, bagels & cream cheese, will be available in the tour leader's vehicle. Bottled water will be available at all times.

Be prepared to walk in the dune fields and climb some of the dunes for higher perspective. The tour leader will guide you to the spots having the best photo potentials, which is not easy to find for newcomers.
It is recommended to stay with the tour leader at all times and not wander on your own as one can easily get lost.

For complete details and registration, see our General Information page.