WEST VIRGINIA | UNLEASHED
OCTOBER, 5th - 10th, 2026
CLASS LIMIT : 7
INVESTMENT: $3,499.99 / $2,780.00 (ALUMNI)
ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP
We will spend 6 days and 5 nights photographing the darkest night skies in West Virginia amongst the changing falls colors. We will spend the first two nights in the Seneca Rocks area where we will photograph the wind-swept highlands of the Dolly Sods as the fall colors begin to explode over the higher terrain and capture stunning night sky images from Dolly Sods, and from the highest point in West Virginia, Spruce Knob.
After our time in the Dolly Sodds / Seneca Rocks region, we will head south to the Glade Creek Gristmill in Babcock State Park and stay the night at a nearby town. This location is iconic to West Virginia, and I thought it would be nice for us to explore for a day. Weather permitting, we will have some night sky photo ops here! We will also make some pit stops on way down here to see other waterfalls and a covered bridge or two. After our night down by the Glade Creek Grist Mill, we will head back north to finish our last two nights of capturing the waterfalls, canyons, fall colors, and dark night skies over Blackwater Falls State Park!
We will learn to photograph star trails, the milky way, timelapse, and we will also learn to use a star tracker for capturing deep space images like galaxies, comets, the Sun and Moon, and nebulas. Fall Colors can come late and arrive early; this puts us in the middle of the peak window where some sections are about to peak and some are starting to fade. We will be in West Virginia around a new moon so lots of night sky photo ops, and possibly some autumn auroras which have been happening semi often.
SENECA ROCKS AND THE DOLLY SODS WILDERNESS
At 4,123dft,in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest, there is a rocky, high-altitude plateau with sweeping vistas and lifeforms typically found much further north in Canada. Time definitely stands still here high above Canaan Valley in the unique micro-climate of the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area's Bear Rocks Preserve. The landscape here at the top of the highest plateau east of the Mississippi River, is covered with stunted red spruce, ancient sphagnum bogs littered with Huckleberry and Blueberry Bushes and massive wind-carved boulders. We will have sunrise, sunset, and night sky / milky way photography shoots here. We will also cover some areas to the south including West Virginia's highest point at 4,863ft, Spruce Knob!
NIGHT SKY CONDITIONS
Most of the night we will have moon free skies. The slender crescent moon will rise after midnight giving us excellent shooting conditions for our milky way and night sky sessions. Most nights we end by 1:00 am, unless we decide to shoot longer!
GLADE CREEK AND BLACKWATER
After our time in the Dolly Sods Wilderness, we will make our way to the Glade Creek Gristmill and stay the night. We will shoot sunset, night sky and morning light here there following morning before making out way back north to Blackwater Falls for our last two days / nights!
CAMPING AND HOTEL INFORMATION
Please make hotel reservations in advance, limited lodging can book up fast during the fall season! If you wish to camp during this trip please select the Spruce Knob Lake Campground the first night. You can stay at the Comfort Inn New River in West Oak, WV the second night, or camp at Babcock State Park the second night. The last 2 nights you can make reservations at Blackwater Falls Lodge or at the Blackwater Falls Campground.
WEATHER OUTLOOK
Temps can be colder and breezy along the higher elevations like up in the Dolly Sods Wilderness. I suggest bringing a warm pair of clothing for the nights at Spruce Knob and at the Dolly Sods. Some years it was in the 70s, other years much cooler. We will just have to wait as see! A weather outlook will be sent out to all registered photographers within 1 week of our start date.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Jeff Berkes Photography reserves the right to make changes to the schedule, dates if need be. We are not responsible for bad weather, delays or cancellations. We are also not responsible for lost or stolen items, injuries, sickness, death or damages to personal equipment and lost of personal travel expense. Failure to comply to park rules, regulations and will result in you being ejected from the workshop. For more information, questions or to register please contacts us here at [email protected]
DRONE PHOTOGRAPHY
We will also have the opportunity to fly a drone at some of the locations during the workshop. This will allow us to capture some amazing shots from both the land and air. If you have / wish to use a drone, let me know and I will send you the additional information!
WHAT'S INCLUDED
- Commercial Permit Fees at all Parks
- 1 Group Dinner!
- Night Sky Photography - Milky Way, Star Trails, Timelapse and Star Tracking demonstrations
- Drone Photography at some of our locations
- Light Painting Techniques
- How to create compelling compositions
- How to maximize color in your images
- FREE Video Tutorials
- Dolly Sods Wilderness
- Spruce Knob
- Seneca Rocks
- Babcock State Park
- Blackwater Falls State Park, and all spot in between!
- Babcock State Park - Glade Creek Gristmill sunrise, sunset and night sky photo ops + Drone Photography
- Blackwater Falls State Park - Night Sky , Waterfalls, Fall Colors, Drone Photography and more!
PAYMENTS
Payments are non-refundable, if you need to cancel at any point, you could receive full credit for any future workshop with us. Some workshops are conducted with Art Schools across the country, and that credit will not be able to be applied to those unfortunate types of workshops. I am not working with any Art Schools in 2026!
