Virgin Islands National Park
A workshop on island time, journeying through and photographing Virgin Islands National Park. Pristine shores, tropical forests, and countless historic and prehistoric archeological sites sit under the night skies of the western Atlantic Ocean.
Workshop Details
December 6-13, 2023 — Completed
This is a 7-night, 8-day photo tour. Your adventure begins with your arrival at the airport in St. Thomas and a ferry to St. John on the afternoon of Wednesday, December 6, and ends with a return from St. John via ferry to the airport on St. Thomas on Wednesday, December 13.
$7,900-$9,100 (single), $14,175-$15,650 (couples) + applicable taxes. Register below.
Skill level
Open to all who have an understanding of the basic principles of photography and of their cameras.
Group size
10, with 2 instructors — 5:1 ratio
NPS website
Our workshop mission is to explore every U.S. national park. As with all our Passport Series locations, it may be years (if ever) before we return to any specific park. If you have a dream of making epic long exposures at night at Virgin Islands, we hope you join us.
Workshop Leaders
Registration
This event has passed. Thanks for your interest!
| • Deposit of $1,900 is required to reserve a single spot with a hotel room facing the street. |
| • Deposit of $3,100 is required to reserve a single spot with a hotel room facing the bay. |
| • Deposit of $2,175 is required to reserve two spots for a couple with a hotel room facing the street. |
| • Deposit of $3,650 is required to reserve two spots for a couple with a hotel room facing the bay. |
| • Balance of $6000 (single) $12,000 (couple) is due on August 29, 2023. —> Pay balance here. |
| • You may choose the “Pay in Full” ticket if you desire to pay all at once. |
| • Last day for a cancellation request is August 28, 2023 (see cancellation and refund policy). |
| • The tour fee includes transportation to and from the Cyril E. King Airport, the ferry to Cruz Bay on St. John, the ferries to/from Cruz Bay, hotel, taxis to/from the nightly locations, one 4-hour road tour of St. John, one all-day boat tour and two group dinners. |
| • The tour fee does not include food (except for two dinners),airfare, or transportation to the beaches in daytime during personal time. |
The Virgin Islands Experience
It’s truly paradise.
This photography tour will feature relaxed days and nights with intense but fun periods of photography. It’s not a workshop, but rather a photography tour—there will be no formal classroom instruction or lectures. Our main focus will be to photograph through all the days and nights. But as you will see below, there’s plenty of room in the schedule to take advantage of St. John for what it’s best known for: enjoying the numerous beautiful beaches.
The island of St. John is home to Virgin Islands National Park. Over 60 percent of its landmass is managed by the National Park Service, including nearly all the beaches. And gosh, what pretty beaches they are. Some say they’re the finest in the world, especially for swimming near three species of sea turtles.
The smallest of the three U.S. Virgin Islands, St. John thrusts out of the warm waters of the Caribbean Sea. You’ll find that the 20 square miles offer a variety of scenery from sea to forest-covered mountaintops.
Our photo tour will show you the island during the day and at night. Our home base will be in Cruz Bay, aka Love City, which lies on the east side of the island. This provides easy access to the world-famous beaches and historic sites along the north shore.
Each night we will head out to a location for night photography. The tour price includes transportation to and from the shoot locations. We will all leave and return at the same time. We provide transportation as a requirement from the National Park Service to minimize impact on the fragile ecosystem. That’s also why there are only 10 seats on the tour.
Night photography in St. John is not common. Most people rest at night, so it’s quiet and the beaches are usually empty. In fact, the National Park Service informed us that we are the very first photo tour to ask for night photography access, so you will be doing something unusual and very special.
The island itself has had a tumultuous past. We will spend time understanding how it came to be what it is today so you have an opportunity to appreciate and understand the culture, as well as its history. We are working with the nonprofit Friends of Virgin Island National Park for cultural programming.
What You Should Know
Participants must have at least basic photo skills, know their cameras well, and be comfortable shooting RAW in manual mode with a DSLR or high-end mirrorless camera.
Night photography experience is not necessary, but even folks with extensive experience shooting at night will find this tour challenging, stimulating and inspiring. For more advanced night photographers, we can offer a portfolio review and specific challenges and goals, and will offer guidance in the field if you mainly want to concentrate on creating portfolio images or learning more advanced techniques.
If you would like to attend this workshop but are unsure whether you have adequate night photography skills, we can offer pre-workshop tutoring to get you ready for your adventure with us. Alternatively or additionally, a few of us have written books that may be productive pre-workshop reads.
What You Will Learn
As this is a photo tour rather than a workshop, the emphasis is on getting participants to great locations with great light, and making sure that everyone has the trip of a lifetime. We figure that you don’t travel to St. John very often, and you wouldn’t want to spend your time in a classroom!
That said, we do encourage you to think about and set goals for the trip.
What would you like to gain from this experience?
great images?
lasting memories?
experience St. John culture?
a break from work-a-day stresses?
learn some new photography skills?
The instructors will be available for one-on-one guidance in the field as much as time permits. You can pull us aside during quieter moments to check out your images if you’d like.
Night Conditions
Logistics & General Info
Travel
Just secure a plane ticket and travel insurance and we will take care of nearly everything else.
Rental Car
You will not need a rental car. In fact, we do not recommend trying to get one.
If you choose, you may rent a car for your day trips, but it’s much cheaper and easier to use cabs. Part of your tour fee covers all the taxi rides to and from night locations, destinations, a driving day tour and a boat tour.
There is no parking at the hotel and parking is very scarce on St. John.
Cars drive on the left side, but the driver’s wheels are still on the left side of the car, same as the cars we drive on the mainland. (It’s disconcerting )
Nearby Airports:
St. Thomas (STT) — about 1 to 2 hours from the hotel via taxi and ferry
Lodging & Food
This tour will be based in one hotel on the beach in Cruz Bay on St. John.
Lodging
Your stay at an amazing, newly renovated waterside hotel is included in your tour fee.
Choose a beach view or a street view. Your room will be assigned by the hosts on a first-come, first-served basis.
Each room has only one bed. All streetside rooms have a queen bed. Beach side rooms have either a queen or king bed.
Food
Cruz Bay has more than 20 restaurants.
We encourage eating two meals per day—a good breakfast and a great late lunch.
When on the shoots, you may wish to bring snack food or a sandwich and plenty of water.
Your tour ticket includes one welcome dinner and one other group dinner. You are responsible for arranging and paying for all other meals and drinks.
Weather
Expect daytime highs in the 80s F, lows in the 70s.
Recommended Attire
Shorts and short-sleeve shirts for daytime, light pants and long-sleeve shirts for night.
A sweatshirt and medium-weight jacket will likely be useful, and a light base layer might not be a waste of packing space. Layers are good.
Comfortable and protective shoes are recommended for getting around. There won’t be long hikes, but we will be on trails, so quality trails shoes or hiking boots would be optimal.
There may be some mosquitoes at dusk and on warmer evenings, so pack appropriately. Oceans breezes usually keep them away but you can never be too prepared.
Exertion Level
The exertion level of this workshop is Easy. (See more about our classifications.)
No vigorous activity will be required during the workshop, but please consider your physical abilities prior to registering. There won’t be any long hikes, but there will be trails involved, and you should be comfortable carrying your own equipment over uneven ground in the dark.
Considerations
St. Johnsians have a variety of backgrounds. From expats who moved from the mainland to this protectorate of the U.S. to others born and raised on the island, their lives are entirely dependent on tourism. If you desire to photograph people, we strongly suggest adopting their tradition of always opening every conversation with, “good morning,” “good afternoon” or “good evening” and allowing time for a response before asking any questions such as, “May I make a photograph of you?” The experience is so enjoyable, you may find yourself bringing that tradition home with you.
Please read our FAQs section for more information about skill and gear requirements, and other information that pertains to all our workshops.
If you have questions, please contact us—we're happy to talk it over with you.
Understanding Island Time …
“The landscape features tall mountains with steep, wooded slopes dipping straight down to the ocean. ”
I now understand what “island time” means
Being a native New Yorker (well, an Upstate New Yorker who has lived in New York City), I am used to things happening at a certain speed: fast. Despite my night photography practice giving me ample opportunity to slow down and enjoy things, I was not prepared for the insights with which I left St. John.
Life happens at a different speed on the island. Why? Well, gosh. It’s probably because it is so darn beautiful you have to take your time and enjoy it.
I felt myself slow down and relax like no other trip I had ever taken prior to this. It was simply magical.
Beaches were not my thing. But I can safely affirm that now they are. Swimming with sea turtles, relaxing in the warm sea, snorkeling and just chilling on the beach really changed my demeanor.
Visiting beaches at night was different for other reasons. The law on St. John is that all beaches are public and anyone can visit them. It makes for a more egalitarian sharing of the resource, versus private hoarding and exclusion. I truly enjoyed knowing that if it was open, we could go there. There are rare exceptions, as the hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 did major damage from which the shores are still recovering. But the islanders’ indomitable spirit and hard-working hands have rebuilt much of what was damaged.
The landscape features tall mountains with steep, wooded slopes dipping straight down to the ocean. For those who live outside Cruz or Coral Bays (on the east and west sides, respectively) home is often up the mountainsides on steep, switchbacked roads. Jeep trails connect the few paved roads. And there are not many roads, as the island is only 20 square miles.
Wild donkeys wander around. Lizards abound. And then there is all the ocean life. And I have to say that this national park’s visitor’s center has to be one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. You will see it when arriving on the ferry and perhaps you will agree.
So, back to island time… We crafted this tour so that you can make the day-and night photography you want, but also really have opportunities to relax St. John style. The clock time is less important than paying attention to what is in front of you and being present.
We hope you come back with a deeper understanding of island time, too.
