Arizona Monsoon Desert Lightning Photography Workshop

Tuition: $4599

Tour I: August 1-5 - 1 Spot Open!

Tour II: August 6-10 - SOLD OUT!

The deserts of Arizona come alive during the months of August and September with a fury of powerful thunderstorms, dust storms and extreme displays of lightning! Welcome to monsoon season!

During this workshop, your guide and instructor, David Erichsen, will head out with you each day in search of the most spectacular monsoon thunderstorms that Arizona can provide and photograph them alongside some of the most beautiful desert scenes. Monsoon season is known for its incredible lightning storms, and with high clouds bases and lots of clear air in front of these storms, the displays are intense and incredible to photograph! If you’ve always wanted to try your hand at photographing storms and lightning, this is the tour for you!

How It Works:

This workshop is a bit different then my others as this tour will consist of only four participants. July and August are the most active months of the year for monsoon weather in Arizona, but even with that said, there can be days without a cloud in the sky. If your tour happens to fall upon a period of time that looks to be incredibly slow, we will travel to Saguaro National Park or point-of-interest nearby to work on landscape and night sky photography while we wait for the action to return. During our tours, expect to be on the road starting in the early afternoon to late at night. Sometimes we can travel hundreds of miles in a day in search of thunderstorms. We will do our best to stop for meals during the trip, but some days we will be crunched for time and a simple fast food sandwich may have to work. We will be basing out of Tucson, Arizona. This simply means we will base out of Tucson and then travel out each day in search of the best and most electrical monsoon storms! We will go wherever the storms lead us!

What You Will Learn:

• What to look for when photographing monsoon weather.

• How to photograph lightning during the day and night.

• How to create stunning panoramas of storms.

• How to position yourself in relation to a storm to safely create an image.

• How to utilize filters to balance a scene.

• How to avoid cacti

What's Included:

• Travel within the tour

• Fuel and tolls

• AirBNB accommodations (we will all be sharing an AirBNB home)

• Vehicle maintenance

• Any park entrance fees

Is There A Risk?

Absolutely. Photographing thunderstorms is a dangerous activity and there are risks that could result in injury or even death. Before attending any tour, participants will be required to sign a liability release. I have been documenting storms for 18 years now and have never been injured, but I have had close calls. This is part of the job and a risk you have to be willing to take. Our safety will always come first and there is no shot worth losing your life over, but we are not in control, Mother Nature is. 

Where Will We Stay?

We will be basing out of AirBNB casitas (double occupancy in each casita) in Tucson, Arizona. This location gives us a great home base that is usually within an hour or two drive to storms.

Where Do We meet?

We will be basing out of Tucson, Arizona and a meeting location (our AirBNB) will be emailed out a couple of weeks prior to our workshop start.

Arrival & Departure:

It is recommended that you arrive a day prior to our workshop beginning and depart the day after our workshop ends to avoid any travel delays.

Do I Need A Rental Car?

A rental car is not required as you can take an Uber or Lyft from Tucson International.

When are final payments due?

Final payments are due June 1, 2025.

About Your Instructor

Landscape and nature photographer David Erichsen believes that the beauty that exists naturally in our world is more breathtaking than anything we can possibly dream of. This will be David’s third year of guiding in Tornado Alley and Arizona’s monsoon season. “I primarily chase sensationalist scenes ranging from the northern lights glowing over rugged peaks within the Arctic circle to volcanic eruptions high in the Guatemalan forests to tornadic supercells whipping through the northern plains of the US. No photo can fully convey what it feels like to witness these magnificent events, but the pursuit of capturing it is why I shoot.”  More about David can be found here. 

JOIN THE ADVENTURE!

Please make sure you agree to our terms and conditions. All deposits are non-refundable.