Badlands SD Milky Way Photo Workshops – Now Open for Registration

By Matt Suess

Published: Friday, August 21, 2026

I'm opening registration for the 2027 Badlands Milky Way Photo Workshop - a small, immersive, some OM SYSTEM-exclusive and others open to any camera manufacturer. anight photography experience set against one of the strangest, most photogenic landscapes in North America.

In July of 2026, Badlands National Park earned International Dark Sky Park designation. If you've ever stood out on the Loop Road after midnight with no light pollution for a hundred miles in any direction, that comes as no surprise. What it means for you: this is now one of the most protected, most reliably dark places in the country to photograph the Milky Way - and I'm not aware of another operator running as many dedicated night-sky-focused workshops here.

Why the Badlands

The eroded spires, ridgelines, and buttes that define this park do something most night-sky locations can't - they give you a genuinely dramatic foreground, not just an empty horizon under a bright sky. Pair that with the open plains sightlines and you get compositions you can't replicate anywhere else in the Midwest.

You also get a two-for-one on this trip. Golden hour and blue hour landscape work in the evening, then straight into world-class Milky Way shooting once it's fully dark. One location, a full portfolio.

What's Included

Capped at 6 participants. That's it - no crowd of twenty all pointed at the same overlook. You get real, individual attention in the field.
A route I've already scouted. We'll work a 12-stop path along Loop Road, anchored at two of my favorite spots in the park - Pinnacles Overlook and Ancient Hunters Overlook - timed to when the core is best positioned over the formations.
In-field instruction - camera settings, composition, manual focus in the dark, and real-time feedback as you shoot.
A dedicated post-processing session - my complete Milky Way editing workflow, from noise reduction to sky-and-ground blending.
New moon timing, built around the darkest possible skies for maximum contrast in the core.

Who This Workshop Is For

This is built for photographers who are comfortable with their camera's manual controls - aperture, shutter, ISO, manual focus - and want to push their night sky and landscape work further. You don't need prior Milky Way experience; if you've never shot the night sky before but know your way around your camera, you'll leave with real skills and real images. This isn't the right fit for smartphone-only shooters or complete beginners still learning their camera from scratch.

Get a Head Start

Want to walk in already comfortable with the editing side? My Milky Way Post-Processing: In-Focus Online Course covers the full workflow before you ever set foot in the park - so in the field, you're focused on shooting, not relearning the basics.

Spots Are Limited

Six spots, one workshop, built around dark skies you won't find in many other places.

Questions about whether this is the right workshop for you? Reach out - I'm happy to help you figure that out before you commit.

View Upcoming Photo Workshops Here!

2027 Badlands Milky Way Photo Workshops

Limited to 6 Photographers

Private Hotel Room Included

Some dates for OM SYSTEM photographers only, other dates for any camera system

Photograph Milky Way and Star Trails

July 29 - Aug. 2 for OM SYSTEM Photographers
More Info...

Aug. 27 - 31 for OM SYSTEM Photographers
More Info...

By Matt Suess

Photo Workshops

Aug 21, 2026