Into the Wilderness: Navigation, Fieldcraft, and the Art of Reaching the Frame

A foundational (100-level) field course built from the Dean’s guide to exploring nature and from more than two decades of walking into the wilderness with professional camera gear. It teaches the honest premise that the photograph which touches the heart is earned by reaching it: knowing your trail, reading the land, planning the route, navigating with skill, and carrying yourself and your camera to the frame.

The eight lessons move from why we go and how to develop an artistic eye in wild places, through the language of maps — topographic and planimetric types, scale, and contour lines — to planning a route by the sun, by stopovers, and by local knowledge; to navigating with map, compass, and the natural signs of the sun and wind; and, at last, to the fieldcraft of the trail: the rest step, one-handed shooting, and the trekking pole used as a tripod.

It is intended for any photographer who loves the outdoors and wants to make the wilderness a place they can plan for, walk into, and photograph with confidence. No prior trekking experience is required, only the willingness to become an explorer first and a photographer second.