01AUG 08 · AM
Torrey Pines Reserve
Use a tiny hiker to give the sandstone cliffs scale; let the coast form the reveal.
PHOTO · Nauticashades · CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗NEW MOON RUN / FIELD BOOK
TRIP 08.07—08.16.2026 · 10 DAYS · 4 REGIONS
SOUTHWEST LIGHT STUDY · ISSUE NO. 01
NEW MOON RUN
A photographer’s field itinerary from the Pacific edge to Mojave dark sky—timed around the new moon, long light, and four low-interference astro windows.
DEPARTURE
AUG 07
SAN → LAS
LOCATION STUDIES · REFERENCE ONLY
SHOT INSPIRATION
Use these as visual orientation, not frames to duplicate. Tap any credit to open the original photograph and license.
02AUG 08 · MIDDAY
Torrey Pines Gliderport
Frame the launch wide, then compress a bright canopy against the blue Pacific.
PHOTO · Don Ramey Logan · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
03AUG 08 · PM
La Jolla Cove
Build layers with sea lions, whitewater, rock and people along the bluff.
PHOTO · Ajay Suresh · CC BY 2.0 ↗
04AUG 08 · SUNSET
Scripps Pier
Center the repeating pilings and wait for reflected sunset color on wet sand.
PHOTO · Scrippsnews · Public domain ↗
05AUG 09 · AM
Cabrillo National Monument
Use the path as a leading line to the lighthouse, with open sky around the tower.
PHOTO · Blervis · CC0 ↗
06AUG 09 · MIDDAY
Balboa Park
Work the ornate arches symmetrically and wait for one clean human figure.
PHOTO · Rhododendrites · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
07AUG 09 · SUNSET
Coronado / Centennial Park
Compress the skyline across the bay; use a ferry or shoreline figure for movement.
PHOTO · Tuxyso · CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗
08AUG 10 · SUNSET
Sunset Cliffs
Hold a small silhouette against the horizon and preserve plenty of negative space.
PHOTO · Rob Reviewer · CC BY 3.0 ↗
09AUG 12 · MIDDAY
Hidden Valley
Reveal the enclosed valley through the rock entrance; include a person for scale.
PHOTO · Er-nay · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
10AUG 12 · PM
Keys View
Use long-lens ridge compression and heat shimmer instead of only a conventional wide.
PHOTO · Matthew Field · CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗
11AUG 12 · NIGHT
Arch Rock
Scout this daytime geometry, then place the Milky Way or Perseid radiant around the arch.
PHOTO · E bailey · CC0 ↗
12 · NIGHT STUDYAUG 12 · ASTRO
Arch Rock · Night Study
The arch can anchor the lower-left frame while the Milky Way runs diagonally above it; keep light painting restrained.
PHOTO · Visualvalhalla · CC BY-ND 2.0 ↗
13AUG 13 · OPTIONAL
Barker Dam
If water remains, look for boulder reflections; otherwise emphasize the historic structure.
PHOTO · Robb Hannawacker / NPS · Public domain ↗
14AUG 13 · NOON
Jumbo Rocks · Site 005
Make the tent and Mazda tiny beneath the rounded boulders to show the camp’s scale.
PHOTO · Joshua Tree National Park · Public domain ↗
15AUG 13 · DUSK
Cholla Cactus Garden
Backlight the spines at the edge of sunset; isolate one glowing plant with a long lens.
PHOTO · Steven Lek · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
16AUG 13 · NIGHT
Skull Rock
Establish the face profile before dark, then reveal it with silhouette or controlled light.
PHOTO · G. Narasimhamurthy · CC0 ↗
17 · NIGHT STUDYAUG 13 · ASTRO
Skull Rock · Night Study
Expose the rock as a quiet warm mass and leave most of the frame to the Milky Way; avoid theatrical colored light.
PHOTO · Joshua Tree National Park · Public domain ↗
18AUG 14 · ROAD STUDY
Amboy Road
Find a legal pullout and center the vanishing point; let the Mazda shrink into distance.
PHOTO · Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
19AUG 14 · ROUTE 66
Roy’s Motel & Café
Use the sign as the hero, then collect weathered type, pumps and empty-road details.
PHOTO · Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
20AUG 14 · ROAD STUDY
Kelbaker Road
Layer asphalt, mountain and open sky; use a telephoto frame to exaggerate the road’s rise.
PHOTO · Stan Shebs · CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗
21AUG 14 · NIGHT
Mesquite Flat Dunes
Keep footprints off the clean foreground and use a ridge silhouette beneath the stars.
PHOTO · Tuxyso · CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗
22 · NIGHT STUDYAUG 14 · ASTRO
Mesquite Dunes · Night Study
Use one clean dune edge as the horizon and let subtle foreground light reveal wind texture without flattening it.
PHOTO · Kartik Ramanathan · CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 ↗
23AUG 15 · DAWN
Dante’s View
Show the full basin from above, then isolate layered ridges as first light advances.
PHOTO · Christian David · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
24AUG 15 · AM
Twenty Mule Team Canyon
Use the winding one-way road as a graphic line through pale badlands.
PHOTO · Jerrye & Roy Klotz · CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗
25AUG 15 · AM
Zabriskie Point
Compress the eroded bands with the 70–200mm and wait for raking side light.
PHOTO · King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗
26AUG 15 · LATE PM
Artist’s Palette
Use a longer lens to turn the mineral colors into layered abstract shapes.
PHOTO · Christian David · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
27AUG 15 · GOLDEN HOUR
Devil’s Golf Course
Get low so raking light exaggerates the sharp salt texture; protect the horizon.
PHOTO · Brocken Inaglory · CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗
28AUG 15 · NIGHT
Badwater Basin
Lead with salt texture, widen to the basin, then reserve a clean foreground for astro.
PHOTO · Christian David · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
29 · NIGHT STUDYAUG 15 · ASTRO
Badwater Basin · Night Study
Use the salt formations as a dark textured base and place the galactic core above the mountain shoulder, watching the eastern glow.
PHOTO · Preston Dyches · CC BY-NC 2.0 ↗
30AUG 16 · ROAD STUDY
Daylight Pass / NV-374
Use the empty roadway and route signs to frame the drop into the basin; add the Mazda only after securing a clean plate.
PHOTO · Adbar · CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗
31AUG 16 · 11:15 AM
Rhyolite Ghost Town
Frame desert through empty windows and doors; let hard light describe the ruins.
PHOTO · Christian David · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
32AUG 16 · 11:15 AM
Goldwell Open Air Museum
Separate the ghost figures against open desert and look for scale with a traveler.
PHOTO · Mmloveless · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
33AUG 16 · 2:30 PM
Bellagio Conservatory
Start with symmetry, then cut saturated floral texture against moving visitors.
PHOTO · Tomás Del Coro · CC BY-SA 2.0 ↗
34AUG 16 · 3:30 PM
Bellagio Fountains
Hold one wide for the choreography, then compress water shapes and crowd reactions.
PHOTO · João Carlos Medau · CC BY 2.0 ↗
35AUG 16 · 4:15 PM
Pinball Hall of Fame
Expose for cabinet glow and gather hands, steel balls, score reels and reflected faces.
PHOTO · Chris Ainsworth · CC BY-SA 2.0 ↗
36AUG 16 · OPTIONAL
Welcome to Las Vegas Sign
Use a centered documentary frame quickly; prioritize the airport buffer over this stop.
PHOTO · Thomas Wolf · CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗- 8:00 AM · Leave North Park
- MIDDAY · Hidden Valley Nature Trail
- PM · Keys View · west-to-east traverse
- 3:00 PM · El Rancho Dolores check-in
- PRE-SUNSET · Scout + secure Arch Rock position
- NIGHT · Milky Way + Perseids · ~9:15 PM–2/3 AM
Booked: El Rancho Dolores, Aug 12–13. The Perseids peak overnight under a new moon; the Aug 12 solar eclipse is not visible from California.