Starry nights, a shared experience that ties nearly everyone who’s ever existed together. Inspiring artists for as far back as we have records, but only capable of being photographed by the general public within the past 30 years. Really only in the past 15 years have we had the technology to photograph clean exposures due to advancements in digital sensor sensitivity, noise reduction, and widespread use of CMOS sensors that makes astro-landscape photography accessible to anyone with a DSLR or mirrorless camera & a tripod.

In this time, we not only developed the technology but also the techniques to create jaw-dropping images of our night sky; and there’s no better place to do that than Joshua Tree National Park.

This is where we spend our time creating otherworldly star trails images. With a landscape so unique it almost feels alien, there’s truly no better selection of foreground in America for these images, in my personal opinion.
With the ability to use intermittent low-lumen lighting, with permission from the park, we can light up the Joshua Trees to give our images the extra punch it needs to stand out from hundreds of night sky images that come out of this park every year.

But let’s start from the top.

Our trip starts in sunny Palm Springs, California; its year-round warm temperatures provide a great solace from the frigid weather nearly the rest of the US receives in January. This is where we stay for the first night and where we hold our orientation. At orientation, not only did we meet our new friends, but we also got our camera gear ready for the first shoot. Getting everyone’s cameras on the correct settings and introducing techniques that we’ll be using during the trip gets everyone on the same page so that we can go straight to Joshua Tree National Park after dinner.

After an hour journey to the park, we made it to my favorite pull off. A seemingly secret corner of its own world filled with rock formations, Joshua trees, and a great line of sight to the North Star, Polaris. Shooting the night sky requires a combination of technical skills so being in a place where we can practice all of the techniques on the first night allows for the group to feel confidence for the rest of the trip. We work on learning how to focus to infinity, use intermittent lighting for foregrounds, using our interval timers (for many of us the first time), but most importantly leaving with the knowledge of how to use these skills for the rest of the trip. After a night of practicing, we headed back to Palm Springs around 2am.

The following day, we moved to a charming local inn in Twenty-nine Palms just 10 minutes outside of the park entrance. We spent our first sunset at Skull Rock where when the sun goes down, pink and purple hues paint the sky above the orange rock formations. This also served as a good time for the group to see the area before heading back at night. It’s incredibly helpful to see what the area looks like before shooting it in the dark.

After dinner, we headed back into the park for an exciting night filled with capturing star trails. There’s two ways to photograph star trails: one long exposure or (what we did) interval shooting. This requires you to take a series of images then in post-processing blending them together to see the trail of movement that the stars create. Each photo takes about an hour of shooting in the field but with precision and focus you can leave the trip with a gallery of stunning images. Because this method requires you to slow down, most photos everyone took were keepers. Shooting at skull rock is fantastic. The angle of the stars seemingly points down to the iconic rock formation and with the trailhead leading to it, you have leading lines drawing your eye in on the subject. After we got our shot there, we crossed the street to Discovery Trail where we photographed Joshua Trees in the direction of Polaris to get the full star trails circle moment. Then, after a full night of shooting, we went back to our inn.

The next day it was time to see the fruit of our labor with a formal post-processing session. For this, we went down the road to the sister location to our Inn where we had a dedicated poolside meeting space. From there, I walked the group through every step of the process. And one- by-one, everyone saw their first star trails image and giddy excitement followed. After seeing just what it takes to create the image, everyone filled with excitement and anticipation to get back into the field. We spent sunset and then that night’s shoot at Ryan Ranch, an overlooked but one of my favorite parts of the park. There we photographed ruins of an old cattle ranch, balanced rocks, cactuses, and Joshua Trees of course.

The next day, we spent our morning in an informal post-processing session where I shared more general techniques and tips for optimizing their editing workflow specifically for astrophotography, including how to sharpen your star images without introducing extra noise. For our last night’s subjects, we photographed cholla cactuses and isolated, bushy Joshua Trees that I specifically selected for these shots.

As the final night wrapped, there was a noticeable shift in the group and what began as technical curiosity had transformed into true creative confidence. People were no longer just following instructions; they were composing with intention, experimenting with light, and thinking about their next shots they want to get closer to home, using this technique. The desert, once intimidating in the dark, now felt familiar and inspiring. On our last morning, we reflected on how much we had learned in just a few days. Leaving Joshua Tree, everyone carried more than just photographs and new skills, they left with a deeper connection to the night sky, the landscape, and their own creative potential.

If you’re ready to take your astrophotography to the next level, this is the trip for you.