You may be relieved to know that this is the last in the Best of Week Photo Series from our Oaxaca Photography Workshop: Market Towns and Artisan Villages! (Today I’m back in Mexico, first for a few days in D.F. and then on to Irapuato, Guanajuato where I’m working on an economic development project. You’ll hear more later.)
Learning by doing is much easier for me than reading an instruction manual. That’s one reason why I organize these hands-on photography expeditions and workshops in the place I love, Oaxaca, Mexico. Oaxaca is SO inspiring and visually stimulating. I posit that there are others out there like me who want a cultural immersion experience and not being guided passively through it as unengaged observers. The workshops are perfect for raw beginners as well as any level of amateur. For me, photography is a way to pay special attention to the details, to notice, to get up close to life. Out of the thousands of photos I took during the week (sometimes as many as 400+ per day), here are some of the best. Click on each one to get a full screen detailed view.
I found myself gravitating more to my 18-105mm lens and putting my telephoto 28-300mm aside. This forced me to move my feet, get closer to my subject and capture more detail. During the workshop I also experimented with slower shutter speeds and ISO to capture movement and create blur (only partially successful). Still an amateur but getting better! Loving my new Nikon D5100 because I can get night shots pushing to 6400 ISO without a tripod — handheld only, which was a limitation in my D40X! And, I just bought the Lensbaby experimental lens (use on manual setting) to have fun with after I saw what Sam and Tom Robbins, our instructors, could achieve.
For the upcoming Day of the Dead Photo Expedition, we imbed participants with families in order to fully explore and appreciate this extraordinary celebration. Come with us!
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