Monthly Archives: July 2012

Oaxaca Best of Week Photos by Emily Fox: La Vida Familiar — Family Life

Emily Fox is a second-year student at the Ohio State University who returned to participate in 2012 Oaxaca Photography Workshop: Market Towns and Artisan Villages for a second year.  She loves black and white photography, so she shot her digital camera in color and then converted her photos.   Here is what she writes:

Norma, once again you did an excellent job organizing and running the photography workshop.  It was a great experience and I felt very safe.  I enjoyed your enthusiasm and sense of humor, and your expertise in Oaxaca culture is so helpful.  Thank you for everything.   Sincerely, Emily Fox.

Make sure you click on each photo to get a full screen view and maximize the detail.  And, consider joining us for Day of the Dead Photography Expedition coming up.

 

 

Oaxaca Best of Week Photos by Deanna Chute: Women, Men, Conversations and Markets

With very little formal background in photography … I came here to improve my photography and that is exactly what I did.  I am very grateful and thrilled with the results.  The most valuable aspects of the workshop were the technical ones, as well as the time to practice and think about my work.  I especially enjoyed the Parade of the Canastas and the Dance of the Feather.  It was truly an honor to be here at such a special time.   Many thanks, Deanna Chute, San Francisco, California, participant, Oaxaca Photography Workshop: Market Towns and Artisan Villages, summer 2012.
Deanna’s theme for her final presentation is Women, Men, Conversations and Markets.  Be sure to click on each photo to enlarge to get the full impact!

Coming up is Day of the Dead, a spectacular religious and cultural ritual celebrated in Oaxaca, Mexico.  Don’t miss our Day of the Dead Photography Expedition to take you into the heart of the culture.

Oaxaca Best of Week Photos by Ellie Blocker: Women of Oaxaca, Traditions and Children

Being here was an amazing and rare cultural experience.  I had such a great time, it was a lot of  fun, plus I felt completely safe the entire time, says Ellie Blocker from Atlanta, Georgia, who attended summer 2012 Oaxaca Photography Workshop: Market Towns and Artisan Villages and selected the theme Women of Oaxaca, Traditions and Children for her best of week final presentation.  Ellie shoots primarily in black and white film and develops her own work.  She carried both a film and digital camera with her this week to capture the adventure, plus she packed a Polaroid for her experimental photography.

Coming up is Day of the Dead, a spectacular religious and cultural ritual celebrated in Oaxaca, Mexico.  Don’t miss our Day of the Dead Photography Expedition to take you into the heart of the culture.

 

Puebla in the Rain

Puebla, Mexico, is my regular stopover between Oaxaca and Mexico City, D.F. Benito Juarez International Airport and my return to the United States, where I am now for the next ten days.  I love the magic of this Spanish-Moorish inspired city, its Talavera ceramics, mole poblano, the season of Chiles en Nogada (available fresh only mid-July through September), huaxmole (October) and reunion with friends Antonio and Alfonso.

Summer is rainy season in Puebla and you can depend upon the clouds to burst open during the late afternoon and continue with a steady downpour through the evening. If you aren’t careful, you’ll get soaking wet!

  

Sometimes the rain continues through the night, providing me with a lulling backdrop for sleep at my favorite little resting spot, Hotel Real Santander, which is right across the street from La Quinta de San Antonio Antiguedades y Arte Popular.

  

I’m in Santa Cruz, California now with my sister for the next ten days to help care for my 96 year old mother who gave us a scare last month.  We were afraid we were going to lose her!  Even though the crisis has passed, she is frail and needing our love and attending to.  Plus, my sister primary caregiver needs a break!  So, here I am before returning to Mexico on July 27, when I will go next to Guanajuato for a week and then return to Santa Cruz and then Los Angeles to continue to help and visit with my family.

 

Meanwhile, Puebla in the rain is beautiful, isn’t it?

 

 

Ten Days in Teotitlan del Valle: Emily’s Photo Workshop Blog

What it is like to drop into another culture for ten days?  Emily Moore writes about her experience returning to Teotitlan del Valle this summer to attend the 2012 Oaxaca Photography Workshop: Market Towns and Artisan Villages.  Her blog, Ten Days in Teotitlan captures how she feels about the village, her friendship with Omar Chavez Santiago, her best friends who returned for the second year to attend with her, and her extraordinary photos.

 

Emily’s Best of Week photos are included in the blog.  I’m posting a few here for your enjoyment. Emily likes to work in black & white photography, so she shoots on the digital camera and then converts her photos using a photo editing software.

 

Emily lives in New Albany, Ohio, just outside Columbus and attends Ohio State University.  She just completed her freshman year and works at an ice cream shop to fund her education.  She saved her own money to attend this workshop.  I think you will see this work ethic reflected in her photographic point-of-view and in the maturity and self-reflection of her writing.

Enjoy Emily’s Best of Week photos and let us know how her blog affected you!

And, come with us on a photo journey to explore Day of the Dead 2012.  We still have spaces left!