Compare Yosemite Photography Holiday by Creative Escapes vs California Dreaming: From Yosemite National Park to Napa and Sonoma Valley by Culture Trip

DAYS 1 & 2 : LA & PALM SPRINGS

After touching down in LAX on the first day of your Yosemite Photography Holiday, we’ll whisk you off to our chic retreat in the Hollywood Hills – and chance to first meet the team who will be leading you on this tour of Calfornia – plus chance to unwind after a long flight. After a restful nights sleep, and a hearty American Diner breakfast, we hit the highway towards Coachella Valley, through the spectacular wind farms and arrive in Palm Springs in time for lunch at our luxury boutique hotel, Colony Palms, once a secret hangout for Hollywood stars in the 1930’s – now refurbished to the highest order for our comfort. Come the afternoon, we’ll start with an exposure session, learning all about your camera, then a tour of the area’s famous art deco architecture. You’ll then have time to relax around the pool and spa, then end the day with drinks and dinner at the uber-chic Parker Hotel, just down the strip.

DAYS 3 & 4: JOSHUA TREE

A short landscape class in the morning looking at master landscape photographers will prepare you for our first shooting encounter in the afternoon, Joshua Tree. With its surreal geologic features, we will learn techniques on how to spot, approach and capture to best effect varied landscapes, in rapidly shifting light conditions. Later, we’ll review our images poolside, our team giving you both individual and group feedback on your images. Next morning, we’ll spend time looking at composition, finding more unusual approaches to make your images stand out from the norm – taking composition beyond the postcard ‘syndrome’ – then back out to visit Pioneer Town, an old ghost town with a saloon, church, working post office, and some very interesting locals – chance to step back in time and shoot the Wild West.

DAYS 5 & 6: DEATH VALLEY

We set off first thing for Death Valley, arriving at the Furnace Creek in time for lunch. Our afternoon session will teach you how to understand light and prepare you for tonight’s first sunset shoot in this unique landscape. Later, your tutor will give a live demo – chance to learn some insider tips that will elevate your images to that next level. We then shoot a sequence of disk images on the valley floor, and on into the darkness to shoot long exposures at night, in conditions with almost zero light pollution.

Next day, a whole day’s shoot in monumental Death Valley awaits, starting with a short trip to the salt flats of Badwater Basin, the lowest point in America (and the hottest place on earth). We’ll then catch the afternoon light on the Ubehebe Crater, located in the black volcanic sands in the northern half of the valley, before setting up our tripods in the Mesquite Sand Dunes, to pay photographic homage to the likes of Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. A day’s photography at its very best.

DAYS 7 & 8 : YOSEMITE

Up early, we head north and arrive for lunch at our final stop, Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite, one of only a handful of hotels with access to Yosemite National Park. Here, we take our skills to the next level, in the park made famous by Ansel Adams, and reveal techniques on how to ‘see’ in Black and White, understand- ing tones and the Zone system, plus see how filters in-camera can make dramatic effects to your images. Next morning, we take our first glimpse at the valley floor, touring all the major locations made famous by Ansel Adams, and trying our hand at some of the techniques he used to create his world renowned images. Later, we’ll review the best of the day on the big screen, with the backdrop of the sun setting over Yosemite National parklands – and hold some 1-on-1 sessions to personally tune your work – before some fine dining at the Sierra Restaurant.

DAYS 9 & 10 : YOSEMITE

Over the next few days, we leave behind the trail left by Ansel Adams, and document our own version of Yosemite National Park, touring a multitude of incredible locations by dawn, daytime and dusky conditions. With 1-on-1 live tuition at each location, we’ll shoot Horsetail Falls in rich, sunset light, get incredible vistas over Half Dome shot from Glacier Point, then south to Mariposa Grove to capture the centuries-old Giant Sequoia’s. We’ll take our time at Tunnel View, waiting for the best light on El Capitan and Bridalveil Fall – this is two full days – a smorgasbord of the finest locations the Park has to offer, and you’ll bag each one in turn, amassing a killer collection of epic landscapes, in time for our outdoor pop-up exhibition and final nights feast, chance to revel in just how far we have come on our photographic journey through California.

DAY 11: LA

Next morning, you’ll have chance to get some final 1-on-1 feedback from your professional tutors on your progress emerging style and tips on where next to take your photography. Before lunch, we sadly say our farewells, exchange email addresses with new found friends (and creative collaborators) and board the plane back home – chance to reflect on 11 days odyssey through magical California, from art-deco chic of Palm Springs, the historic Wild West beyond Joshua Tree, sparkling crystalline salt formations at the base of Death Valley – and it’s myriad alien landscapes to boot quite unlike anywhere else. And finally, Yosemite, the World’s most photogenic national park, where you’ll amass a bagful of photographic trophies, and complete the experience of our road trip of a lifetime.

Day 1: Welcome to the Hotel California

Accommodation: The Stanford Court

Activities Included: Welcome dinner of dim sum in Chinatown

Well, not quite – but your accommodation is just as lovely as the one described in the song. In fact, unlike the actual Hotel California, your hotel puts you on the edge of San Francisco’s storied Chinatown district, which – after you’ve met your group at 6pm – is where your journey starts. Our Local Insider will also accompany the group throughout the trip. A guided tour is followed by an authentic dim sum dinner, before rounding off with a cocktail at a top-secret speakeasy bar.

Day 2: Into the wild

Accommodation: Yosemite Bug Rustic Mountain Resort

Activities Included: Tuolumne Grove hike

After a full-American breakfast, you’ll head east towards the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas, stopping at the oldest bar in California, the Iron Door Saloon, for cold beer and buffalo wings. Next up is Tuolumne Grove in Yosemite National Park, where you’ll walk among giant sequoia trees – some up to 300ft (91m) tall – and spy the mountain peaks, El Capitan and Half Dome, from Tunnel View.

Day 3: Hiking, biking and a sunset view in Yosemite

Accommodation: Yosemite Bug Rustic Mountain Resort

Activities Included: Guided Yosemite Valley hike, Sentinel Dome hike with champagne

Optional Activities: Bike ride

Pinch yourself. Yes, you really have awoken in Yosemite. Breathe in a lung-full of fresh mountain air and enjoy a hearty California breakfast. Today is all about seeing the highlights of Yosemite. You decide what you’d like to do next: a full-day guided hike in Yosemite Valley, a leisurely bike ride, or an extended session in the eco-spa. Finish the day by ascending Sentinel Dome to watch the multicolored sunset.

Day 4: Sweeping meadow views and swimming in Tenaya Lake

Accommodation: Yosemite Bug Rustic Mountain Resort

Activities Included: Pothole Dome hike, Swimming at Tenaya Lake

Today, you’ll have the chance to beat the crowds and explore lesser-known spots within Yosemite. To start, you’ll take the high road to Tuolumne Meadows, a high-altitude area and the starting point of a short hike to the top of Pothole Dome. You might feel slightly breathless, but the panoramic views waiting at the top make it worthwhile. Later, cool off with a swim in Tenaya Lake, or pick a lakeside spot and lounge around while taking in your epic environs.

Day 5: Wine, wine and more wine in Napa and Sonoma

Accommodation: Best Western Dry Creek Inn

Activities Included: Napa bike tour

Wave goodbye to Yosemite and hello to California’s world-famous wine country. To make the most of your time (and wine) in the Napa Valley, you’ll get around by bike, before a gourmet lunch at chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery, served alongside the best wines from the region. And if that wasn’t enough, there will be time for more in the vineyards of Sonoma Valley on the way to your hotel in Healdsburg.

Day 6: Towering redwoods and road-trippin’ the Pacific Coast

Accommodation: Best Western Dry Creek Inn

Activities Included: Guided hike in Samuel P Taylor State Park, Road trip to Goat Rock Beach, Farewell dinner

Optional Activities: Swimming at Russian River

Your day begins with a morning stroll among towering redwood trees in Samuel P Taylor State Park, giving you the chance to work up an appetite for lunch at the Marshall Store in Tomales Bay, well-known for its Pacific oysters. The road trip continues after lunch with a drive along the coast and a stop at Goat Rock Beach, before pizza at the Russian River Brewing Company.

Day 7: Return to San Francisco

Activities Included: Lands End Trail hike

Optional Activities: Mission District tour

It may be your final day, but the trip is far from over. Back in San Francisco, there are a few more treats in store, including a hike along the Lands End Trail – a one-way clifftop route with amazing views over the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island. Lunch in the Mission District means one thing: the Mission burrito, popular since the 1960s and a must-eat if you’re in this part of town. You’ll also discover the local street art, which forms the largest concentration of murals in the world, before finally bidding farewell to your travel companions at the hotel at 3pm.