Join photographer Paul Boyer www.paulboyer.com and Traditions Mexico in a collaborative journey through the Oaxacan highlands for a photographic tour of villages, crumbling monasteries, wide vistas and narrow streets.
Combining Paul’s 20 years of photographic teaching and travel experience with Traditions Mexico’s deep knowledge of Oaxaca, we’ve created a photography course and tour that will immerse you in the image-rich world of Oaxaca.
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The cathedral of San Domingo in Oaxaca City |
We will spend nine days exploring Oaxaca’s visual and cultural diversity; a crumbling Dominican convent in an eroded valley, cliff-top Zapotec ruins, the bustling street life of the Oaxaca market district, adobe villages, a weaver’s creaking loom, remote mineral springs, a smoky mescal distillery, and more.
Throughout the trip there will be personal and group photo sessions with Paul to help you get the best of the beauty and depth this experience offers. The instruction will be geared to individuals more than to equipment and the participant need not to be an expert, and does not need to carry the most expensive gear available. We will learn to get the best results from whatever equipment we have.
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The Alvarez Bravo Center for Photography in Oaxaca City |
The camera is a wonderful tool for engaging with people and cultures. Handled properly, it can be used to bridge national borders and language barriers, and it can be used to create living memories. That’s the goal of the workshop.
Digital photography enables the best learning experience for this workshop, because of the ability to review images throughout the tour. But for those who choose to photograph with film, the instruction will concentrate on composition and exposure techniques. Good b&w and color labs are available in Oaxaca City. The review possibilities will be more limited for film photographers.
Guides and presenters for this workshop will be Joshua Sage and photographer Paul Boyer.
About Paul Boyer: Paul has been photographing since 1970, and has taught workshops regularly since 1985. He teaches ongoing classes in basic digital photography and Adobe Photoshop through the Open Shutter Gallery in Durango, Colorado, http://openshuttergallery.com and he leads photography tours to Italy, Newfoundland, the San Juan Mountains, the Canyon Country of Southeast Utah, and the Pacific Northwest.
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Trip
Details |
| Where |
The city of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, and surrounding valleys |
| When |
Jan. 30 - Feb. 7, 2010 |
| Duration |
9 days, 8 nights |
| Cost |
$2,495, double occupancy. Supplemental fee for single room, $300. |
| Trip Guides |
Paul Boyer and Joshua Sage |
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Day 1, Sat. (D) We meet this afternoon for introductions and orientation, and a first-class Oaxacan meal. Overnight in the central historic district of Oaxaca.
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Found "wall art" in an old neighborhood in Oaxaca City |
Day 2, Sun. (B,L,D) Sundays in Oaxaca are slow, peaceful, and quiet. A wonderful time to wander the city, poke around the old Benito Juarez market, have an ice cream under the laurel trees by the Soledad church, wander the cobbled lanes of the Jalatlaco and Arquitos neighborhoods, sip a coffee and watch the world amble by in the Zocalo. All of these places offer wonderful photographic opportunities. Overnight in Oaxaca.
Day 3, Mon. (B,L) Today we head far afield, leaving the Oaxaca valleys behind and heading into the Mixteca uplands. Our destinations are a couple of crumbling fortress monasteries built by Dominican monks 400 years ago. Between these enormous stone structures, in the broad and eroded landscape of the high Mixteca and the small towns where the monasteries are found, there will be much to fill the lens. In the late afternoon or after dinner, we will review photos from the last couple of days. Overnight Oaxaca.
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A soccer ball escapes from practice beside the immense cathedral of Yanhuitlan |
Day 4, Tue. (B,L) We’ll have a tour of the ethnobotanical gardens on the grounds of the ancient Santo Domingo Convent. Behind the imposing walls surrounding what used to be the orchards of the monastery, the garden shelters over 1,300 varieties of plants. Then we’ll visit the Alvaro Bravo Photographic Museum. In the afternoon you’ll have the option to shop, do some more shooting around the city or visit the crowning jewel of the Zapotec people, the ruined city of Monte Alban. Overnight in Oaxaca.
Day 5, Wed. (B,L) A short ride takes us into the Etla valley and to two tree-filled hillside villages. We will visit a colonial textile mill that has been converted into a gorgeous arts school. The building and surroundings are endless eye-candy. In the afternoon we’ll return to Oaxaca and venture out again in the evening for night photography around the city. Overnight in Oaxaca.
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Day 6, Thurs. (B,L,D) This morning we stop in the town of Tule to see the world's biggest tree (circumference). Then we travel a zig-zagging dirt road up a mountain side to the little hill town of Roaguia, locally very famous for the mineral springs named Hierve el Agua with their “frozen” water falls. We’ll take a good long gander at this natural wonder. We then visit a nearby straw weaver and have lunch at Alice's Restaurant. After lunch it's on to the Zapotec weaving village of Teotitlán del Valle. Here we settle in to the homey hotel of Demetrio Bautista, one of the village’s premier weavers and natural dyers. Overnight in Teotitlán del Valle.
Day 7, Fri. (B,L,D) Today we take our time and linger over breakfast at the Bautista's. Then we head to the pottery village of San Marcos where we visit the very accomplished potters of the Mateo family and see a demonstration of how they form their pottery by hand. We'll have lunch at the San Marcos village household before returning to Teotitlán. In the afternoon you may want to wander the village on your own, peeking into the church, exploring back streets, parks, and weavers' workshops. Overnight in Teotitlán del Valle.
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Agave, or maguey, in the Ethnobotanical Garden |
Day 8, Sat. (B,L,D)An early start will take us to the archeological site of Mitla to enjoy its ancient wonders in the morning light. From Mitla we head back to Teotitlán del Valle for a cooking class with the Gonzales family. There we will learn how to make tamales and spend time with the family. We then return to Oaxaca for our final dinner together. Overnight in Oaxaca.
Day 9. (B) After breakfast, we we'll say our goodbyes as folks head to the airport for their flights home .
All itineraries subject to change without notice.
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