Autumn in West Virginia’s New River Gorge Photo Tour (October 21-24, 2025)

Registration is now open

PRICE: 

Early Registration: $795 NANPA Members, $ 995 non-members by July 8, 2025

After July 8, 2025: $ 895 NANPA Members, $ 1095 non-members

If you are not currently a member, you may want to consider joining NANPA to take advantage of member pricing on all regional events (1 year membership $100)

Maximum number of attendees: 10

Last date to register: September 8, 2025

DATES:

• Tuesday October 21, 2025 at 4 pm to Friday October 24 at 11 am.
• October 9^th, 7-8 pm (Eastern Time) (optional) Pre-event Preparatory Webinar for participants
• November 13^th, 7-9 pm (Eastern Time) (optional) Post event Image Sharing and Feedback Webinar for participants

On-site Event Check-in and Meet & Greet
Tuesday, October 21, 2025 at 4 pm in the hotel meeting room for a short meet and greet and a short presentation and instruction, on camera settings, composition, and moving beyond documentation.

EVENT OVERVIEW:
Join photographer Tom Croce in West Virginia where we’ll photograph the beautiful change of season in the New River Gorge, including New River Gorge National Park and the surrounding area.

Some of the event highlights include: the historic Glade Creek Grist Mill, photographing waterfalls and creeks with fall foliage, exploring the historic rail town of Thurmond, as well as the coke furnaces and coal mine in Nuttallburg. We will plan to do sunset/sunrise photo shoots from the various overlooks along the New River Gorge. 

NANPA is an authorized permittee of the National Parks Service.

 

YOUR TOUR LEADER:

Tom Croce

Tom Croce is a professional photographer based in South Western Ohio. Tom graduated with a BED degree from Miami University School of Fine Art in 1984 and with a Master of Architecture from Washington University in 1987.

Tom works with all the compositional elements, line, form, texture, light, and shadow to create his award-winning nature and wildlife images.

He believes that photography begins with the act of seeing, it is the art of noticing and seeing the beauty in nature and then capturing that moment in time, through the lens.

Through his images Tom works to create environmental portraits that are expressions of the emotion and feeling of a place at the time of making the exposure, and to create images that capture a sense of time and place.

In 2024, Tom led NANPA’s Regional Event for the Elk Rut in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Tom pursues his passion for nature and wildlife photography offering prints and workshops. To see more of his work visit tomcrocephoto.com

WHAT TO EXPECT:
We will spend several hours each day, as long as the light allows, photographing at locations such as the falls at Dunloup Creek, Wolf Creek, Clay Pool Falls, Grandview and Diamond point, and the ghost town of Thurmond. We will spend one morning at Babcock State Park shooting the historic Glade Creek Grist Mill.

On a typical day we will be heading out approximately 1-1/2 hour before sunrise and photograph until late morning. Then we will take a break. Afternoons we will spend discussing and demonstrating post processing techniques or having a mini photo critique session. We will plan to have an early dinner before heading out for the evening photo session..

NEAREST AIRPORT:
Charleston, West Virginia International Yeager Airport (CRW), approximately 70 miles northwest of the park, is the closest major airport. Some flights are also available nearby at Beckley, WV at the Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW).

EVENT TRANSPORTATION:
Transportation to and from the hotel and during the event is not included and is the attendees’ responsibility.

Car Rental:  A regular rental car will most likely be fine; but we will be driving on rough narrow mountain roads that may require a little extra clearance of a small SUV

Ride Sharing:  We will be starting each day from the hotel. Ride sharing is encouraged to reduce the size of our vehicle presence and improve the traveling/following experience. You are welcome to either drive or ride with someone. This is also a great way to meet people and make new friends during the event!

Note that NANPA does not have insurance for carpooling arrangements and assumes no liability for them. Carpooling, ride sharing or anything similar is strictly a private arrangement among the participants. Participants assume the risks associated with this travel.

LODGING:
Our base for the event will be in Oak Hill, West Virginia

Lodging is not included in the fee, but NANPA is holding a block of hotel rooms for participants at the following rates:

• 2 Queen Bed room is $159 + tax per night
• King Bed room is $164 + tax per night

Any lodging cancellations must be made by 4 PM local hotel time, 2 days prior to arrival to avoid a cancellation penalty.

Check in: 3 pm Check out: 11 am

Details about the event hotel and procedure for reserving rooms will be provided to registered participants.

The last date to reserve in the room block is Monday September 8^th.

MEALS:
All meals except brunch on the last day are on your own.  The location of the Group Brunch, which is included in the event registration fee, will be shared at the Meet and Greet. Attendees are encouraged to eat together with their group as part of the overall experience.

You are encouraged to purchase breakfast items to have in your room as we will be departing the hotel before the hotel breakfast is available.

PARK PASS:
Anyone entering the New River Gorge National Park will be required to have a park pass.  If you have an Annual, Senior, Military or Access Pass, bring it with you. If you don’t have one, please buy one in advance.

PHOTOGRAPHY LOCATIONS:
Your tour leader is familiar with the areas that you’ll be visiting, and locations will be based on what’s most photogenic at the time, wildlife activity, weather conditions, etc. These will be announced during the Orientation. In general, at the end of each day your leader will announce the location for the next day’s photo shoots.

This event is timed to coincide with the change of season in Southern West Virginia.

Some of the locations that we will most likely photograph include:

• New River Gorge National Park
• Glade Creek Grist Mill / Babcock State Park
• The falls at Dunloup Creek
• Wolf Creek
• Clay Pool Falls
• Grandview and Diamond point
• The historic rail / ghost town of Thurmond
• Coke furnaces and coal mine in Nuttallburg
• Sunset/sunrise photo shoots from the various overlooks along the New River Gorge

PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE:
Please note schedules are fluid due to weather conditions, recent wildlife sightings and other variables.

Tuesday October 21, 2025

• “Meet and Greet” at 4 pm in the hotel meeting for Meet and Greet, welcome, introductions and opening remarks by leader followed by a short presentation on composition, camera settings things to watch for, safety. After which we will head to a nearby location to shoot the sunset.
• Dinner on your own

Wednesday October 22, 2025
Sunrise 7:40 am, Sunset 6:36

• Breakfast on your own
• Morning shoot – We will depart the hotel lobby at 6:00 in order to arrive at our shooting location along the gorge overlook by 7:00 where we will stay in that area as long as the light and conditions are good.
• Return for late breakfast / early lunch
• Midday rest and image review
• Depart 4:00 PM for Evening shoot
• Dinner on your own

Thursday October 23, 2025

• Similar schedule to Friday, but we will relocate to Babcock State Park
• Meeting session at the hotel
• Dinner on your own

Friday October 24, 2025

• Morning shoot – The activity levels at the previous day’s shoots will determine the morning shooting location.
• Brunch with the Group (included in the fee). The event wraps up after brunch.
• Hotel checkout at 11 am

HEALTH AND FITNESS
Most of the areas we will photographing are very accessible, but there are a few areas that require a moderate amount of hiking over rough, uneven terrain. Participants should be comfortable with their ability to negotiate a hike of up to two miles. There will be no mountain hiking unless requested. Most shooting locations will be close to where we park and require a short walk to the shooting location.

WEATHER
Weather in the Appalachian Mountains can be unpredictable and can change quickly. Always be prepared for the possibility of sudden storms. Weather in the mountains is often cooler and wetter than the surrounding area.

Fall brings with it unpredictable weather. Changes occur rapidly. During October the weather is usually mild. Daytime temperatures are often in the 60s or 70s. Below freezing temperatures at night are possible in the lower elevations and can be expected at the higher elevations. Autumn is the driest period of the year with only occasional rain showers. In the higher elevations, snow is a possibility.

CLOTHING
Some prior planning and weather-wise clothing will help ensure an enjoyable visit during any time of the year.

• Weatherproof clothing that can be layered underneath.
• Medium to heavy weight coat or jacket, hats and gloves.
• Hiking Boots, preferable waterproof, Wading boots, for shooting near the river and waterfalls.
• Sun protection – Hat, sunscreen, etc.

CAMERA GEAR:
Camera – DSLR or mirrorless, full frame or cropped sensor. Also, bring the camera manual should you need to consult it. Cellphone camera as backup is better than no camera and good for snaps of your group.

• Lenses – There will likely be photo opportunities for a wide angle lens like a 14-24 mm or 16-35mm, and a 24-70mm as well as a short telephoto 70-200mm.
• Non-abrasive Lens Cleaning Cloth and Wipes.
• Tripod – we will be shooting at dawn and twilight and light levels are too low to photograph properly without a sturdy tripod. A lightweight carbon fiber tripod with a ball head is recommended.
• Lots of Memory Card Storage – We use fast 64GB cards, good for stills & video.
• Camera Battery Charger and Extra Batteries.
• Sensor Cleaning Tools
• Polarizing filter(s) to fit each of your lenses.
• Depending on conditions we might do some very long exposures, so a variable ND, or a series of ND filters (e.g. 3 stop, 6 stop, 10 stop)
• Graduated Neutral Density Filters
• Shutter Release – You can use a locking cable release, a wireless remote, or the camera’s self-timer (except in BULB).
• Rain Cover – For camera and lens protection
• Laptop Computer – for downloading, processing and viewing your images.
• Image Processing Software – Good choices include Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, or Elements.
• Back-up device – Such as an external hard drive.
• Flash Drive – For sharing images.

ADDITIONAL ITEMS:

• Battery-powered Alarm Clock/Watch – In case cell phone service isn’t available. It’s better to bring your own alarm than miss a morning shoot!
• Cell Phone
• Water bottle/snacks/medicine
• Energy bars or other snacks
• Small flashlight or head lamp

GENERAL:

This event is designed for nature photographers at all levels of experience. This tour is open for 10 participants to give each plenty of time with the leader and to retain flexibility based on weather and the best opportunities.

For the best experience, please know your camera before you arrive, and bring your manual in case we need to look up something.

Assistance will be available in the field for those who wish to improve their photographic skills. If you already have plenty of photography experience, Tom will ensure you get to the best locations at the best times to capture those perfect shots.

Please keep in mind this NANPA Event is designed to be a photo tour, not a photo workshop. In other words, there are no formal instruction sessions planned, there are no assignments, you will not be receiving any handouts or the like. That being said, your leader Tom has experience as a photography workshop leader and is available to answer questions and give you guidance. If you need help, please advocate for yourself and speak up and ask for help – Tom is happy to help. Be aware that many of your fellow participants may also be accomplished photographers and may be able to help you too.  Part of the regional event experience is the camaraderie that comes from sharing experiences and lessons learned among participants. If you notice someone with the same or similar camera, perhaps they can help you with an issue you’ve been wondering about, and maybe you can return the favor.

Attendance and participation at NANPA Photo Tours is limited to registered attendees only.  Anyone wishing to participate in any portion of, or travel with a registered attendee during the group event must contact the NANPA office and pay the full registration fee.

RESOURCES:

• New River Gorge National Park & Preserve (U.S. National Park Service)
• Babcock State Park – West Virginia State Parks

Event Cancellation and No Refund Policy:  

NANPA will not offer any refunds for registrations for this event regardless of when the cancellation is made or the reason for the cancellation. NANPA reserves the right to cancel any event or activity due to insufficient registration or any unforeseen circumstances. NANPA will offer refunds if NANPA has to cancel the event. It also has the right to substitute presenters if those originally scheduled cannot attend. Registrants may purchase event insurance as part of the registration process through NANPA’s partner, Allianz. More information on this option will be shown during the checkout process for the event registration.

NOTE:  If you do not purchase event insurance at the time that you pay for your registration, you will NOT be able to go back and purchase it with Allianz later.

If you choose to purchase travel insurance separately, you can do so with your own insurance carrier, or NANPA members can receive a special travel insurance rate through USI Affinity/Travel Insurance Services