This workshop opportunity combines two very different visions, corralling theme, content and context into a wonderful odyssey. Exploring cities, off-the-beaten track towns and rarely visited ruins, we will explore many aspects of Peru. This workshop is led by Linda Connor and Lonnie Graham, renowned photographers and well recognized teachers. This photographic exploration is an exciting opportunity for those of you interested in expanding your horizons and working in a new setting.
In our modern day life, we have the great privilege to travel to other parts of the world and immerse ourselves in different cultures. Photography has proved to be one of the most valuable tools for engaging these new experiences and perspectives. This workshop is organized by photographer Adam L Weintraub who has made Peru his second home. He has developed his programs to pull back the veneer of tourist travel and allow us a deeper local experience. Both Lonnie and Linda have traveled extensively as well, and are conscientious of the delicacy and importance of cross-cultural travel.
These two artists offer different perspectives: Linda’s work focuses on the mystery in ancient sites and the timeless realms of the spirit. Lonnie’s global portraits present individuals with a strength that amplifies their standing as individuals with their own personal story and place in history. This workshop offers an investigation of culture and ritual through the eyes of two of photography’s most prominent interpreters of the profane and the sacred, the natural and the artistic, the observer and the commentator.
Lonnie sees photography as an introspective process: “It's my contention that the process becomes inclusive rather than exclusive, so that socially and politically, I believe that we're bound to reality--to that thing that we can know and see and feel, so that as a photographer and as a responsible artist, not only do I want to depict that reality, but I have a responsibility to that reality.”
"The strongest and most consistent content in my work is the investigation of the cultural boundaries between the natural and the sacred," says Linda Connor. "I am challenged by using the most presumably factual of mediums, photography, to produce images that, though full of facts, are about the unknowable."
Our family-run B&B in Cusco will serve as our hearth and home. From there, we will radiate out to the remarkable sites of the Andes and the small and seldom visited towns and villages. It is our hope that this workshop will be an opportunity for group discussion and investigation, but also we intend for each participant to be given the opportunity to experience Peru from a unique and personal perspective. We will be exposed to both a distant history and contemporary life and we’ll search for the connections between them. Our team of Linda, Lonnie and Adam will be working alongside one another to support and encourage everyone to have a full and productive experience in Peru.
The workshop will primarily be spent photographing. Participants will be expected to be familiar with your equipment and have a working knowledge of your technique. An understanding of your work within the canons of photo-history history (ie if your work leans towards documentary photography, magical realism or abstraction, etc) we expect you to talk about your work and how you address an audience. Though the emphasis will be in the field, we hope to engage your vision and approach through looking and discussing your portfolio.
*As a side note, both Linda and Adam are very passionate foodies. For those of you who are interested, we will be sampling many unique, local foods – some of the better fare Peru has to offer. This will be part of our lunches anyway and some of you may prefer to savor dinner on your own; however for those of you who like to feast, you’ll be more than welcome to join us each evening!
