Nature and conservation
Join us in Jackson to learn and photograph alongside the best nature and wildlife storytellers in the industry!
September 30-October 3*, 2024 | Location: Jackson hole, WY
Tuition: $2,595 | Deposit: 25% of Tuition
*September 29: Exclusive Additional Day for: Personalized Portfolio Reviews, Expert Q&A, and Gear Guidance. See more details below!
A peak photography experience
The Nature and Wildlife Workshop, also called Photography at the Summit, is the longest-running workshop in the Summit Series. It brings together a faculty of top international photographers and editors — many from National Geographic — and combines it with the beautiful setting of the Grand Tetons. Our faculty offers a wide-variety of photography knowledge, so a student may go shoot in the morning with an expert nature photographer, review their work in the afternoon with a professional editor, then go over their editing process with a tech expert.
Elevate your portfolio
This workshop provides participants the opportunity to learn from, photograph alongside, and network with the very individuals who are uniquely positioned to help them with their career development. While many nature workshops provide you with an opportunity to shoot outstanding nature photos, we take it one step further by truly offering you a chance to both expand your portfolio and to expand your network. Included in the instructional sessions will be lectures on conservation photography, freelance photography, and marketing and software/technology.
Deposit
Due upon registration-
Deposit holds your spot in the workshop
Full Tuition
September 30 - October 3-
Workshop Tuition
With Add on
September 29 - October 3-
Full Tuition plus add on day
Deposit due upon registration. Full tuition is due 120 days before the workshop begins.
Topics we will cover
Wildlife Photography
Landscape Photography
Conservation Photography
Storytelling
Lightpainting
Night Skies
Macro Photography
filmmaking
You should take this workshop if
- You are passionate about nature and wildlife photography and want to learn to use images and storytelling to inspire action.
- You want to learn and grow from the best nature photographers in the industry, all members of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP).
- You want to be put in front of stunning scenery, vibrant fall colors, and iconic wildlife and photograph it all alongside instructors excited to help you grow as a photographer.
- You want to network with industry professionals and like minded photographers.
Workshop Itinerary
- 11am: Check-in / Introductions
- Class: Faculty Presentations and Instruction
- Exclusive One-on-One Sessions with Instructors for Personalized Portfolio Reviews
- Image Critiques
- Class: Guidance on Cameras, Equipment, and Computer Programs
- Q&A Session
- 11am: Check-in / Introductions
- Class: Faculty Presentations
- Afternoon/Evening Shoots with Faculty
- Class: Techniques in Shooting Outdoors
- Class: Building your Nature Photography Skillset
- Morning and Evening Shoots with Faculty
- Image Critique
- Photographers’ Social
- Morning Shoot
- 1:1 Sessions with Faculty
- Image Critique
- Afternoon/Evening Shoots With Faculty
- Morning/Afternoon Shoots with Faculty
- Final Image Critique
- Instructor Roundtable / Workshop Closing Festivities
Past Student Work
Meet Your Instructors
Michael Forsberg
Mike is a senior fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers who has focused his career on North America’s Great Plains, its prairie wildlife, and watersheds. His work has appeared in National Geographic and Outdoor Photographer, and his books on On Ancient Wings and Great Plains – America’s Lingering Wild have been turned into documentary films for PBS. Mike is co-founder of the Platte Basin Timelapse Project, and currently serves as faculty with the University of Nebraska.
Melissa Groo
Melissa is a wildlife photographer, writer, speaker, and educator. She’s a contributing editor to Audubon magazine, writes a column on wildlife photography for Outdoor Photographer magazine, and is an Associate Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers. She speaks and writes extensively on issues of ethics and conservation in wildlife photography, and leads workshops in the U.S. and abroad. Melissa was Chair of the Ethics Committee for the North American Nature Photography Association from 2014-2018. Her work has been published in numerous books and magazines, such as Smithsonian, Audubon, National Wildlife, and Natural History. Melissa is represented by National Geographic Image Collection and has a long-term gallery at Audubon Greenwich in Connecticut.
Jim Richardson
Jim has work appearing regularly in National Geographic magazine and National Geographic Traveler in addition to Geographic books. Jim is on assignment for Nat Geo projects almost full time and for good reason. Richardson, a onetime newspaper photographer in Kansas and Colorado, brings amazing story-telling techniques along with detailed research to his pictures. Thirty years ago, he began photographing the area around his hometown in north central Kansas.
Morgan Heim
Morgan (Mo) Heim raises a camera for one purpose – to capture moments in an animal’s life that will make us consider what that life means. Inevitably, those stories involve people as much as wildlife. How we treat them. Why we need them. What we love, or hate about them. Mo, used to work as a wildlife ecologist for NOAA on things like killer whale surveys and the Elwha Dam Removal project. She later earned a Master’s in environmental journalism and is a senior fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP). She has covered endangered fishing cats and shrimp farm development, and the environmental impacts of marijuana grows in our nation’s forests. In 2016, she became a National Geographic grantee for her collaboration on urban coyotes. Her photographic work has appeared in outlets such as Smithsonian, Discover, NationalGeographic.com, Nature Conservancy Magazine, and bioGraphic.com.
Dave Showalter
Dave Showalter is based in Colorado and focused on the American West. Dave has published two books – Sage Spirit, The American West at A Crossroads by Braided River (2015); and the award-winning Prairie Thunder by Skyline Press (2007). Dave’s photographs and articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Audubon, Conservation Biology, Outside, Outdoor Photographer, National Parks Magazine, High Country News, Wilderness, Colorado Life and elsewhere.
Mariah Lundgren
Mariah is a conservation storyteller, filmmaker and photographer. She is dedicated to telling stories within the Great Plains and the American West. She loves giving voice to the voiceless and telling stories that will help people better understand our natural world.
She is a graduate of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a BS in Environmental Studies, and a minor Fisheries & Wildlife. She is the producer & project manager for the Platte Basin Timelapse project; a long-term documentary project using time-lapse and traditional photography and multimedia storytelling to educate about the Platte River Basin and what it means to live in a watershed today. This project has taught her the art and importance of storytelling and science communication. She is also a photographers assistant with Michael Forsberg who is Senior Fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers and is represented by National Geographic Creative.
Allen Murabayashi
Allen Murabayashi is the Chairman and Co-founder of PhotoShelter, the worldwide leader in photography portfolio websites, photo sales, marketing and archiving tools for photographers. Allen previously served as a founding employee and Senior Vice President of Engineering at HotJobs.com.
Chris Steppig
Chris is the owner and director of Summit Workshops. Summit was his first job out of college and nearly 20 years later, this is home. He is in charge of all workshop operations, scheduling, logistics, faculty, social media, marketing and sponsorship. Chris has a passion for conservation, travel, and education and the workshops are a dream platform to help others reach new heights as not only photographers but as people.
Chris is an affiliate of the International League of Conservation Photographers. The iLCP is a U.S. based non-profit whose mission is to further environmental and cultural conservation through ethical photography. This affiliation provides a tremendous opportunity to help deliver great content and also be an advisor on matters large and small. He is also a professional advisor for Outdoor Photographer magazine. Through collaboration and great communications with the editor of the magazine, there have been countless articles written by Summit Alumni in the magazine over the years.
Matt Stirn
Matt is a photographer, writer, and archaeologist based between Boston and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He holds a graduate degree in Environmental Archaeology and focuses on stories related to culture, history, and conservation. Matt is a Contributing Editor for Archaeology Magazine, a National Fellow at The Explorer’s Club and has written and photographed over three dozen feature stories for publications including Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Global News, and GEO.
Workshop Information
- Each day you will have the option to sign up for separate outings with different instructors. We encourage participants to read up on the faculty and think about who they would like to shoot with. We also suggest branching out and trying a bit of everything!
- While there is no steep hiking required on this workshop, some outings will involve carrying heavy lenses/gear on flat trails.
- There will be lots of gear to check out and rent on a daily basis.
- The workshop classroom is located at The Virginian near downtown Jackson.
- The workshop hotel is The Virginian, call and mention the Summit Nature Workshop for the discounted group rate.
- Due to COVID-19 safety protocols, a rental car is required for this workshop.
- The daily drives consists of early morning shoots, then to Workshop HQ, back to town, and then lastly back to Workshop HQ for the nightly presentation.
- Make sure to pack clothing options for all days. They are long days so you may change at least once a day so pack extra for that. Jackson in the fall usually gives you a mix of all weather. The most important thing is to bring WARM clothes for the morning shoots that start before sunrise. This includes many layers, hats, gloves, and anything else to keep you warm dealing with your cold, metal equipment.
- You may also want to bring a few more formal options (if you desire) for the welcome and closing receptions.
*Summit Workshops is an Authorized Permittee of the National Park Service*
Frequently Asked Questions
The additional day will give you the opportunity to enhance your experience at Summit Nature with:
- Exclusive One-on-One Sessions with Instructors for Personalized Portfolio Reviews
- Image Critiques
- Guidance on Cameras, Equipment, and Computer Programs
- Expert Q&A Session
No! Summit Workshops is available to any photographer, regardless of what brand of camera you use. We often have camera gear available to borrow, free of charge, but you are not required to use that gear or any specific brand.
Tuition includes activity fees, location fees, all instruction, planning and logistics. It does not cover hotels, travel, and most meals.
Our workshop is for shooters of all ages and skill levels, from beginners to seasoned veterans. We all learn from and help one another, that is what makes the Summit Community so special.
With few exceptions (like a medical reason), having proof of COVID-19 vaccine is a requirement on our Summit Workshops.
Lodging
Discounted rates have been secured for students at the The Virginian Lodge in Jackson. This is where the workshop classroom is located and where the faculty and staff will be staying! Click HERE to book your room!
*If you book a room at the hotel, but are not taking the workshop the hotel may drop your reservation and/or charge the full rate which is significantly higher.