Badlands National Park Visual Artistry Photography Workshop

Badlands National Park, South Dakota
September 20 – 24, 2026

Badlands National Park

September 20-24, 2026
Nature, Landscape, Long-Exposure, Infrared, Panoramic Photography

Stark landscapes, rock formations, yellow mounds. Tony and Susan have been photographing and teaching in the Badlands for 30 years and still discover new compositions as the rain and winds constantly alter the landscape. Our favorite locations include sunrises and sunsets, post-rain shower contrasts and colors, wonderful rock formations, patterns and textures, and small scenes in cracked mud.

Highlights

5-day workshop with 2-4 shooting locations per day to maximize your photo opportunities
Workshop group size limit of 8 photographers to enable one-on-one instruction
The Badlands have many fertile photo locations with many dynamic overlooks ideal for sunrises, late afternoon light and sunsets

Pricing & Registration

$2,300 for workshop instruction only. Registrants are responsible for travel, lodging, and meals.

Contact Susan Milestone at susan@tonysweet.com to register, ask questions or request detailed workshop info.

Group Size

Up to 8 photographers

Experience

All levels. Must have working knowledge of camera controls and some software processing knowledge.
All cameras and gear are welcome.
Walking on mostly flat terrain. Tony and Susan can help with any mildly challenging areas.

Weather & Lighting

Temperature range 40s to the 80s
Workshop includes pre-dawn, sunrise, late afternoon golden hour and photographing in light rain.

Travel

Airport: Rapid City Regional Airport
Hotel: Transfer time from the airport to Wall, South Dakota is approximately 55 minutes. Our home base is the EconoLodge in Wall, SD. We reserve a block of rooms in advance under “Tony Sweet Workshop” which our registered workshop participants can claim under their names. Lodging is not included in the workshop price.

Itinerary

Our daily schedule is entirely dependent on the weather and lighting conditions. We check weather continuously and decide where to go and when each day using weather conditions and forecasts.

What to Expect from Our Workshops

Each daily itinerary in our Visual Artistry workshops offers a perfect balance of shooting time in the field, a break to rest, process images and socializing with your fellow photographers.

In our workshops we will photograph a variety of scenes, lighting, and opportunities to advance your skills with help from Tony and Susan.

A typical day includes:

Sunrise and Morning Photo Session: We have many locations for sunrise, depending on the conditions. We will capture the most varied color palette of the day with soft, pre-dawn violets and purples to various cloud cover and clear skies. We have locations scouted for all possible weather and light conditions, along with backup plans.
Photographer’s breakfast: After the morning session, we will go as a group to breakfast or an early lunch filled with “apres-shoot” conversation. Get to know your fellow photographers and learn from their personal photography journeys as you pursue your own path.
Early afternoon photo critique: Everyone is invited to submit several photos for helpful, supportive critique that can provide immediate feedback and ideas to try during the following workshop photo sessions. These photo review sessions are an invaluable way to explore the creative vision of your fellow workshop photographers and see ways to amplify the strengths Tony and Susan see in everyone’s work.
Golden Hour photo session: In the afternoon, we will reconvene and move to our afternoon or early evening photo locations in time to discover and compose the scenes and prepare to adapt to rapidly changing lighting conditions.

After the final session of the day, you are “off the clock” and free for some alone time, dinner and/or drinks with companions, or further post-processing of the day’s harvest. Get rested and ready for the next morning, which arrives early.