Overview

This workshop is designed to maximize opportunities for well-crafted and compelling photographs in one of the world’s most awe-inspiring landscapes. Participants will have ample time to get to know Torres del Paine during its colorful autumn splendor, and your photography there will benefit from the opportunity to revisit fruitful situations to apply lessons learned and to take advantage of changing weather and light. The goal is for each participant to come away from this trip with a strong body of work, a new body of knowledge, new friendships, rejuvenation, and priceless memories.

Torres del Paine National Park and Biosphere Reserve is the centerpiece of Patagonia – the ultimate distillation of the region’s most inspiring qualities. It’s one of those rare places that routinely exceeds the grandest dreams of even the most experienced photographers. Peaks and spires thrust abruptly upward above turquoise lakes, forcing moisture-laden winds off the ocean to form soaring lenticular clouds that catch the fiery sunrise and sunset alpenglow. Glaciers spill down from the Patagonian icecap, depositing cobalt blue icebergs on the shores of Lago Grey. Endemic lenga tree forests glow in hues of gold and copper in the southern autumn. Rivers tumble over cascading waterfalls as condors ride thermals on the flanks of the Cordillera del Paine mountains. Guanacos and foxes range over the golden pampas, and flamingoes wade the lagoons. At this time of year, the days are a manageable length with extended periods of dawn and dusk, and the sun never rises more than 35 degrees above the horizon. The quality of light is spectacular.

Click “read more” below right for the itinerary and image gallery…

Our trip begins in Santiago, Chile, where we will meet participants at the airport and transfer to a charming and comfortable hotel in the historic district of Santiago. We’ll all gather there and go out as a group for a welcome dinner to get to know everyone. The next morning, we’ll catch a flight to Punta Arenas, our jumping off point in Patagonia. There we will be joined by our friend Ruth Cohen, regarded as one of the very best local guides in Chilean Patagonia. Proceeding directly to Torres del Paine National Park, we’ll check into Hotel Las Torres, the first of three excellent lodges in the park that will serve as our “base camps” for the next nine days and nights – the others are Hostería Pehoe, and Hotel Lago Grey.

John, Bill, and Justin will lead the small group on field sessions adapted to make the most of the conditions each day. Emphasis will be on photography and hands-on mentoring in the field. We’ll photograph when the conditions are good, and we’ll gather in the lodge for projected lectures on light, composition, visualization, technique, and digital workflow at times when light or weather aren’t as conducive for photography (during harsh mid-day light, if a rain storm passes through, etc.). We will also hold constructive critiques of participant photographs, and then head back out into the field to apply what we’ve learned.

Excursions will include trips by ferry to visit Glacier Grey and, via our group vehicles, spectacular locations around the park. Some locations involve short hikes, and longer hikes to more remote locations may be an option depending on participant interest and conditions.

After dusk each day, we will gather for a nice dinner and some good Chilean wine. Then it’s off to bed to rest, as most mornings we’ll be out around 6:00am to take advantage of the incredible pre-dawn light. Breakfasts and lunches will be handled in relation to our photographic activities, served either at our lodges or brought with us into the field.

Included in the program:

• Photographic instruction throughout by John Shaw, Bill Ellzey, and Justin Black, one of the most experienced and effective photo workshops teams ever assembled, with over a century of experience as professional photographers and several previous Torres del Paine visits under their belts
• Top local guide, Ruth Cohen
• Flights: Santiago – Punta Arenas – Santiago
• Ground transportation and transfers
• Eleven nights lodging (package is priced as single-occupancy; double-occ available at pro-rated fee)
• All meals, snacks, and beverages (including beer, wine, cocktails with dinner)