PHOTO XPEDITIONS PRESENTS:

Photo Workshop in Cusco, Peru

Featuring Photographer Ernesto Bazan

May 16-25,2012

10 Days / 9 Nights

Ernesto Bazan has been teaching workshops in Peru for the last 10 years with a dedicated group of photographers. This new workshop was created specifically by Photo Xpeditions and takes students to the legendary and culturally rich city of Cuzco, in the Peruvian Andes. The month of May is particularly interesting in the Sacred Valley as it is the time of celebrating the potato harvest.

On the first day, students will have a welcome lunch and a portfolio review.  That same night Ernesto will give a first lecture.  The next days during the workshop, participants will have the privilege of visiting rural communities in the Sacred Valley to witness, photograph and take part in the every day life as well as in the celebrations of the rural Peruvian people.  Participants will learn to photograph in an authentic and intimate way. Ernesto will be guiding the students as they explore through the lens. He will also provide numerous opportunities for students to observe him at work with his camera.  The workshop will provide a continual discovery.

Each day, there will be editing sessions and group critiques in which students will develop their abilities to look at their own work in a critical manner. The group will also discuss Ernesto´s work, creating a class environment of rich conversation and learning.

Ernesto works very closely with his students. For this reason, he has returning students that come to study with him at his workshops, year after year.  The objective of this workshop in Peru is to help participants to create a compelling body of work with strong individual images. Ernesto will facilitate students to find their own visual language and style.  This workshop is for intermediate and advanced students.

Students and instructor will stay at the San Agustin Dorado Hotel in Cuzco, located right off the city center.

About Ernesto Bazan:

Born in Palermo in 1959, he received his first camera when he was 14 years old and began photographing daily life in his native city and in the rural areas of Sicily. Photography has been more than a profession: a true passion, a mission in his life. Bazan has published several books: The Perpetual Past, Passing Through, The First Twenty Years, Island, Molo Nord.

In 2008, his new publishing house BazanPhotos Publishing will print his new book Cuba on 14 years of life and photography on the island.

He has had exhibitions in Europe, Latin America and the United States. His photographs have been collected by collectors and museums among which MOMA and ICP in New York, SFMOMA in San Francisco, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, Durham, the South East Museum of Photography in Daytona, the Fondazione Italiana della Fotografia in Turin, the Biblioteque Nationale in Paris and the Musee Rattau in Arles.

From 1992 to 2006, he lived and photographed the island of Cuba documenting the unique time in Cuban history called The Special Period. This body of work has given him the privilege to win some of the world most prestigious photographic awards among them The W. Eugene Smith grant; the Mother Jones Foundation for Photojournalism, the World Press Photo and two fellowships from the Alicia Patterson Foundation and the Guggenheim Foundation.

Featuring:

What I like the most as a National Geographic Photographer is the ability to be close to the people. The landscapes and the architecture require more of an emotional and creative proximity of the mind, which allows the thoughtful and peaceful application of the classic composition rules and to emphasize the qualities of light.

But, to photograph people, specially in events which capture the interest and passion of people around the world like the “Day of the Dead” in Oaxaca, demands a different set of skills and way about it. For this, it is of the very important to interact, to understand, a rapid composition, and to be able to transmit to the viewer the spirit and the essence of what is going on, in just a fraction of a second. No time for a tripod or to wait for the sunset. The magic moment, the split second of lucidity or the emotion can appear at any moment.

In this workshop we will focus on portrait techniques, the spontaneous photography and the classic story telling without forgetting a few other fundamental photography techniques and specialties that will help you highlighting the spirit of the place, the people and the celebrations. The ancient ruins of Mitla, the Benito Juarez Market and the graves in Atzompa, the landscapes, the artisans in San Martín Tilcajete and the landscapes of the huge Tule tree will be the perfect match for this great celebration: An original and photogenic cult to the dead known in the world for its grandiosity, its action and, at the same time, for its warmth and intimacy. A story and a tradition of interest to the world, which through hard work throughout the workshop, will help all become better photographers. A one of a kind photography workshop you cannot afford to miss!

¡Un abrazo!

Tino Soriano