OUR MISSION Our mission is to provide you with the best photographic experience, combining learning, both in the field and classroom, with unparalleled access to the best image making opportunities. We also make it a priority to ensure that you are surrounded by a fun and creative environment that fosters your individual growth. It is our guarantee that you will go home with stunning imagery and a memorable/joyful experience. Our trips/workshops are meticulously planned with attention to detail. From hotels, food, transportation and shooting logistics, all arrangements come together to provide you with a photographic adventure that runs smoothly and maximizes your shooting opportunities. All of our itineraries are tailored to get you to the best locations, during the right season and at the right time of the day. “Very few people have the opportunity to go to the places we go.� Tracking the sun, the moon and the stars are just some of the elements that go into our planning process. You will have in the field coaching to make sure you get the best rendition of the scene in front of you and that you are able to make that image in camera with little or no post processing. During your down time, we provide one on one critique sessions to make the most of your learning experience.
Capture the rich traditions of Day of the Dead, one of Mexico’s most time-honored holidays. Get immersed in the “comparsas,” parades of costumed children dancing through the streets of this historic city. Visit iconic graveyards where you will be able to live the experience first-hand with families and photograph seas of flickering candles and exquisitely marigold-laden graves.
DAY OF THE DEAD IN OAXACA
Photograph the stunning street dances of the Etla Valley, the expressively painted faces of young and old, and timeless rituals against the evocative backdrops of graveyards, village homes, and ancient ruins. Day of the Dead is the most stunning and eclectic celebrations of its kind in the world, and is deeply rooted in family tradition. We will visit three families, one dedicated to weaving, the other to candle making and the third to traditional dancing. Over the years, I have built a strong bond with these families and they have granted us access to photograph not only their altars, but also their family members. This is not a tour, this is an intense photography workshop with over 15 shoots and daily lectures, edits and critiques designed not only to make you a better photographer but to also enable you to produce stunning imagery and beautiful memories to take home. Highly visual lectures and demonstrations cover digital camera settings, accurate metering and exposure, low light shooting, creative use of movement and basic flash operation. You learn how to make pictures in the camera, not using Photoshop. The most important part of this learning experience is the critique sessions, where everyone’s photos are reviewed, analyzed and placed within each one’s individual story. The last night, a class slide show features each student’s vision of the week.
TRIP HIGHLIGHTS DAY 1 OAXACA CITY
Welcome to Oaxaca! Registration takes place at our campus, Hostal de La Noria, in Oaxaca City. You will have time to get settled into your room before we gather for cocktails, dinner and orientation.
DAY 2
DAY 4
SANTO DOMINGO SQUARE, OAXACA
MILTA & OLD XOXOCOTLAN GRAVEYARD
We have our first Lecture – Camera Settings and Composition in the morning. After lunch, we continue with our second Lecture – Managing Light and Flash. Late afternoon, we depart for our first shoot around the town and Santo Domingo Square, where kids
Right after breakfast, we depart and photograph at the Day of the Dead Market in Mitla, followed by a remote flash practice at a local family’s altar. On your return to Oaxaca, you will select your images and get ready for your second photo critique. That night,
from local schools will be parading and dancing as part of the famous comparsas.
we will be shooting in the Old Xoxocotlan Graveyard.
DAY 3
DAY 5
SANTA DOMINGO MUSEUM & CHURCH
ATZOMPA
We start our day with our first critique followed by lunch. In the afternoon, we have our third Lecture – Visual Storytelling. From there, we will have amazing photographic opportunities at the Santo Domingo Museum & Church where locals congregate for more comparsas.
We welcome a brand new day at the Atzompa, where a sea of candles illuminates the graveyard. Upon your return to the hotel, you will have the opportunity to rest and select your images for the afternoon photo critique. That night, we photograph the famous Etla comparsas where hundreds of locals dance in the streets in a myriad of bizarre costumes.
DAY 6 TEOTITLAN DEL VALLE
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VIEW OUR VIDEO
You start your day with editing your images and preparing for the class critique. Right after lunch, you depart for Teotitlan del Valle, where we will photograph two artisanal families – one of weavers and another of candle makers. We will end the day shooting the town’s graveyard.
DAY 7
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SAN ANTONIO
PACKAGE PRICE: $ 2,995 Sign up deposit: $ 500
Price includes: Includes 8 nights of accommodation, All breakfasts and lunches, 3 group dinners, tuition, local transportation This will be your last photo critique. After lunch, you will depart for San Antonio to photograph the town’s cemetery, where hundreds of graves have been carefully decorated with flowers for the annual competition. On your return, you will get ready for the class closing dinner and show
Price is per person, SINGLE occupancy Airfare from/to your home cities, meals not listed above, alcohol, personal expenses, visas if required are not included
DAY 8 OAXACA Depart for Oaxaca Airport
This workshop is limited to 10 participants
YOUR WORKSHOP LEADER
Raul will guide you in creating unique images. We have several photography workshops that will provide you with a learning experience in some of the most unique places
RAUL TOUZON is a Documentary and Natural History Photographer who specializes in making images
that convey what he refers to as “THE ETERNITY OF THE MOMENT.” Raul has traveled extensively, exploring the remote corners of the earth never visited before. Amongst his expeditions are the completion of the Northwest Passage, Franz Josef Land in the Russian Arctic, the Sea of Okhotsk and the fjords of western Greenland. He has built a collection of dramatic photographs that have been featured in many publications including: TIME Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler and the National Geographic Magazine, where he has published four feature stories. In recent years, Raul has focused on visual-storytelling, documenting the Day of the Dead in Oaxaca, Holy Week in Antigua Guatemala and the ever-changing Habana. For over a decade, Raul has been a full time educator and instructor. He produces and teaches his own workshops and photography expeditions around the world as well as for National Geographic Expeditions. National Geographic Creative, Getty Images and Corbis represent his images. His list of clients includes the U.S. National Park Service, Apple Inc., and the United Nations for whom he documented their operations in Sudan. These images can be seen in his book SUDAN THE PRICE OF WAR, THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE. Raul has pioneered the production of large-scale multi-frame panoramas, images that are featured in his two limited edition landscape books: VISIONS OF MY WORLD and JOURNEYS. Some of the images in these books have been sold by Christie’s Auction House. Most recently, his work is being featured at The National Geographic Fine Art Galleries opening all over the United States.