Private Photo Tours in Death Valley
This page details only our one-on-one custom private tours. Click here if you desire a group workshop or tour.
now scheduling autumn & winter 2024-2025
book your tour now!
Our scheduling is first-come first-served and we fill many months in advance. We strongly recommend arranging your PRIVATE tour up to 180 days in advance of your desired dates. Schedule now!
You can count on an extraordinary and first-class experience in Death Valley National Park with Death Valley Photo Tours. Possessing more than three-and-a-half decades of Park experience and deep knowledge, your guide, Michael E. Gordon, is intimately familiar with the land, its light, and its weather and will help you make the most of your time and experience while in Death Valley National Park. Our tours are holistic experiences. It's not just about the photographs - you will come away with an understanding and appreciation of the region's human history; its geology; its plants and wildlife; and its incredible night sky.
Michael is your personal and expert tour guide and planner, on-site naturalist/historian, and photographic expert. You simply show up at the appointed meeting times and we take care of all the details.
We not only get you to the right place at the right time, our intimate familiarity with the Park and its many and diverse photographic opportunities means that we know when current weather and seasonal conditions may present more desirable opportunities elsewhere. We never drop you off and leave you without guidance. You will be personally guided through visually-rich environments where Michael himself experiences repeated photographic success. Michael has explored and photographed extensively the Death Valley territory for more than thirty years. We operate legally under Commercial Use Authorization from the National Park Service and are fully insured and First Aid/CPR trained and certified.
Death Valley Photo Tours accommodates all skills and experience levels. Choose a 1, 2, or 3-day itinerary or customize your own tour locations to your specific interests. All private tours include an itinerary customized to your goals and fitness level; expert guiding on location; supplemental instruction/support by request; engaging discussions about the Park's natural and human history; unforgettable experiences; and Death Valley's incredible star-filled night sky. Park entrance fees, airfare, lodging, meals, and personal items are not included.
For the fullest and most enjoyable tour experience, we recommend that all participants be in good health, partake in routine physical conditioning, and should be able to comfortably walk about five miles per day on sand, rocks, and other uneven terrain (Death Valley National Park has very few established and maintained trails).
WHich MONTH IS THE BEST FOR A PHOTO TOUR?
Death Valley is a renowned National Park and locals love long weekends in their playground. We recommend scheduling your tour to avoid weekends and all holidays/holiday weeks.
October-November: October days may still be rather warm (100F+/38C+) but nights are becoming beautiful and comfortable by this time. By November, heat is gone. The park begins to quiet for the winter while still enjoying mild daytime temperatures but chilly overnight temperatures. Early winter storms can deliver photogenic skies and fiery sunrises/sunsets.
December-January are the coldest and quietest months in the Park. Visitors are few; the desirable angle of light permits shooting through most of the day; and winter storms can and frequently do deliver photogenic skies and fiery sunrises/sunsets. Little wildlife will be found during these months, and many plants appear dormant.
February-March offers warmer days and nights while seeing a revival in the number of visitors. If wildflowers are to happen, these are the best months in which to find them. By March 1, flora and fauna have returned in abundance with dominant creosote shrub and mesquite thickets dressed in vivid green. Birdsong may accompany many of our shoots. Post-Equinox, the angle of light becomes less desirable and the length of our shoots may decrease (due to "harsh light").
April days can be HOT while still promising beautiful nights. The angle of light is less desirable in April and the length of our shoots may decrease (due to "harsh light"). But nighttime can be incredible: t-shirts, shorts, and sandals.
We do not offer tours May through September due to Death Valley's world-renowned heat.
Booking a tour is easy. Click the link below any Tour option and send us an email with your preferred dates and any specific details.
Yes, we’d love to work with your group! Please contact us to discuss your special group rates (limited to eleven photographers total per N.P.S. regulations).
DEATH VALLEY HIGHLIGHT
This exciting ONE DAY tour (one sunrise/morning, one afternoon/sunset, with a midday break) is a great introduction to a couple of Death Valley's photographic highlights: Zabriskie Point, Badwater Basin, Mesquite Dunes, Ubehebe Crater, and more. The exact itinerary is based on your interests (via our registration questionnaire) and physical abilities. Please contact us with your questions.
$895 (include a spouse or friend for $1400 total)
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DEATH VALLEY HIGHLIGHTS+
This adventure-packed TWO DAY tour (TWO sunrises/mornings, TWO afternoons/sunsets, with midday breaks) adds at least two additional unique locations and one full day to the Highlight tour. We'll spend two days shooting sensuous sand dunes; exciting badlands; sinuous canyons; textures, patterns, shapes, and shadows; and a bizarrely barren and salt-filled basin. This exciting tour features at least four locations, including Zabriskie Point, Titus Canyon, Aguereberry Point, Ubehebe Crater, Badwater Basin, Mesquite Dunes, and more! The exact itinerary is based on your interests (via our registration questionnaire) and physical abilities. Please contact us with your questions.
$1795 (include a spouse or friend for $2595)
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THE GRAND TOUR
It's not just a photography tour - it's an unforgettable experience. Live the dream for THREE DAYS (at least six unique locations, with midday breaks) moving through and photographing one of the world's most remarkable landscapes. This is an exciting adventure that traverses some of the Park's major valleys and passes to reach remote corners: Mesquite Dunes, Badwater Basin, Ubehebe Crater, Titus Canyon, Marble Canyon, Zabriskie Point, Aguereberry Point, and more! The exact itinerary is based on your interests (via our registration questionnaire) and physical abilities. Please contact us with your questions.
$2595 (include a spouse or friend for $3195)
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Custom Tours
Don't have the right vehicle (4WD) or driving skills to get yourself into Death Valley's more remote areas? We can help. Have favorite locations or special requests? We can do it. We can customize your tour any way you like.
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Death Valley lodging is available at Furnace Creek Ranch and Stovepipe Wells Village. Upon registration, we provide complete instructions regarding travel, lodging, required camera gear and clothing, etc. If you are an experienced camper, consider forgoing lodging for car-side camping (not backpacking). Camping allows us to reach more remote locations in Death Valley than we are otherwise able to when based out of park-central lodging. We are able to help long-distance travelers with tent, camp stove, fuel, cookware, camp chair, and more. When communicating with us, please let us know if camping is your preference.