Digital Photography with Dan Lipow

Destination Arts - Chiapas, Mexico Workshop 

Digital Photography with Dan Lipow

Creative Workshops
12 Woodhill Drive   Maplewood, NJ  07040
(212) 414-2442  dan@danlipow.com

Digital cameras let you capture the imagery you want more easily than ever before, but they also require even experienced photographers to learn new techniques and methods. This week-long workshop provides hands-on instruction from a working photographer, in the vibrant, photogenic setting of Chiapas, Mexico. Combining real-world experience with theory, the course will teach you how to maximize digital technology, improving your results while revitalizing your image-making process.

Topics will include:

     •     Travel- and portrait-shooting techniques
     •     Understanding light, color, and color balance
     •     Resolution and file-management issues
     •     Image-editing techniques (using Adobe Photoshop  
           or other software)

There will be scheduled class meetings, as well as opportunities for independent shooting and individual instruction. We'll have private and group critiques of our images. Your own digital camera is required and laptops are recommended for downloading and working with images. 

About Chiapas:
San Cristóbal de las Casas is a colonial town of white stucco walls and red-tile roofs, of cobblestone streets and narrow sidewalks, of graceful arcades and open plazas. It lies in a lush valley nearly 7,000 ft. high. Surrounding the city are many villages of Mayan-speaking Indians who display great variety in their language, dress, and customs, making this area one of the most fascinating in Mexico. San Cristóbal is the principal market town for the Indians, and their point of contact with the outside world. Most of them trek down from the surrounding mountains to sell goods and run errands.

Activities:
There will be several organized outings including:
     •     Guided tours of colonial San Cristóbal
     •     Excursions to nearby native villages
     •     Tour of a local outdoor market
     •     An evening of local music and cheer
     •     Excursion to local nature preserve
     •     Plenty of free time

Accommodations:
Na Bolom—which includes a museum, guesthouse, restaurant, and cultural and artisan centers—was founded in 1951 by the Danish archaeologist and explorer Frans Blom and the Swiss conservationist and photographer Gertrude Duby. Extensive gardens, created by Gertrude, are an integral part of Na Bolom and are located behind the guesthouse.  Each of the 16 rooms in the hacienda, built in 1891, is an extension of the museum, decorated individually with old furniture, artwork, textiles, and photographs from the indigenous villages of Chiapas. Many rooms are named after villages or archaeological sites and are decorated with items from those locations. Each room has a private bathroom & fireplace. Wi-Fi Internet access is available. Breakfast and some dinners will be served at the main communal table—a tradition established by the founders in which visitors, guests, local “Lacandones”, and Na Bolom collaborators come together to enjoy delicious local fare and converse at their leisure in front of a roaring fire.

About the Instructor:

Dan Lipow           
www.danlipow.com
Dan is an award-winning photographer specializing in portrait, travel, and documentary shooting, as well as digital photo illustration. His clients for commercial, editorial, and stock imagery include advertising agencies, design firms, corporate art departments, as well as book and magazine publishers. He has traveled across several continents shooting in such diverse locations as Italy, India, Japan, Madagascar, Mexico, Nova Scotia, Thailand, and Zimbabwe. With a technical education from the renowned Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California, Dan has been working with digital technology since its infancy in the early '90s. In addition to his commercial photography business, Dan works as a digital-imaging consultant, providing private instruction in the art and science of digital photography. He currently shoots with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

Class Fee Includes:
     •    Shared double room, private bathroom
     •    Daily breakfast and dinner
     •    Workshop tuition (max. class size of 10)
     •    Guided tours of colonial San Cristóbal
     •    Excursion to local nature preserve
     •    Excursions to nearby native villages
     •    Transfers to/from airport and Na Bolom

Price for one week workshop:  $1,875.00
Single supplement:                   $300.00

Not included:
     •    Airfare
     •    Local bus transportation
     •    Lunch
Please Note:  Saturday arrival and departure.

To Register:
Send application with deposit of $500 per person to:
Chenpow Media Inc, 12 Woodhill Drive, Maplewood, NJ, 07040, U.S.A.
We will confirm your reservation and send an information packet about your workshop.
Please pay deposit no later than Aug 1, 2009.

Payment/Refund policy:
Non-refundable $500 deposit per person (limited to 10 spaces per class; first come, first served). Payment in full due by October 1, 2009. Cancellation before September 1, full refund less non-refundable deposit. Cancellation before October 1, 50% refund less non-refundable deposit. Cancellation after October 15, no refund due.

Liability:
Destination Arts cannot accept responsibility for any personal
injury or damage to personal property sustained by guests.

Destination Arts
Creative Workshops
12 Woodhill Drive   Maplewood, NJ  07040
(212) 414-2442  dan@danlipow.com