Pioneertown was built in 1946 in the community of Yucca Valley and started as a live-in Old West motion picture set. The set was designed to provide a place for the actors to live while using their homes in the movie. A number of Westerns and early television shows were filmed in Pioneertown, including The Cisco Kid and Edgar Buchanan’s Judge Roy Bean. Roy Rogers, Dick Curtis, Russell Hayden and Gene Autry were among the original developers and investors.
Strolling down Mane Street is an experience. An abandoned bowling alley stands opposite a jail, bathhouse and bank. Carts of “dynamite” sit like props in the dusty street, presumably from the weekly Old West re-enactments. Unsettlingly realistic dummies slouch in rocking chairs on porches, and fake crows are tied to rails and posts. You pass a grave with a wooden sign proclaiming “Welcome.” The houses on Mane Street look more like live-in works of art than homes.
Saturday morning will consist of several training sessions including:
- Environmental lighting
- Balancing speedlites with ambient light
- Using reflectors for fill light
We will then take those newly learned skills and apply them to photographing models around town.
Saturday afternoon will include a training session on “Posing Live People” as individuals and small groups.
Sunday morning will include a training session and then a Question & Answer session with several full-time professional photographers & several IEPPV Board Members answering your questions. Any and all subjects regarding photography are open for discussion.
The day concludes at noon to give you time to travel home.
ITINERARY & ACCOMMODATIONS
- Please reference the event itinerary (recently updated) for day-to-day details.
- If you need recommendations for accommodations, please click here.
ENTRY COST
- IEPPV Premium Members = FREE
- IEPPV Introductory and Professional Members = $150
- Non-IEPPV Members = $400
