TAOS Culture & Color Photographic Journeys in Taos New Mexico Working across cultures and beyond. 2010 Dates: April 27-30 ::: July 9 -12 ::: August 14-17 ::: October 22 -25

EXCLUSIVE: Small Group Workshops
With evocative landscapes, weathered architecture, and the many cultures that color its soil, Taos, New Mexico has inspired many artists and photographers to capture the depth and breadth of this area’s tremendous beauty. Whether you are coming to enjoy its incredible light, food, culture, history, people, adventure playground, or natural beauty, Taos can enchant almost any visitor. This workshop will guide you to experience the magic of Taos and beyond!

This is an exclusive, small group, customized photography workshop, designed to connect you with the people and culture of New Mexico while broadening your photographic skills and vision. This is a photography workshop for photographers. While we will cover some digital photography techniques, this workshop is mostly about making images in the field and gaining a greater awareness of effective story telling in a cross cultural environment.

This exciting workshop will provide a unique photography workshop experience, allowing each participant to experience and learn ethnographic photography, receive one-on one feedback and critique, and learn to connect to people as photographic subjects in a different way. Participants will explore a wide variety of techniques that allow each picture to tell a story, learn to bring out the emotion and unique-ness of a place and its people through the use of the camera. Participants will also explore their own, individual place within an image as the creator and photographer.

This intensive workshop is a dynamic and exciting blend of lectures, discussions, and outdoor assignments in which participants tackle the challenges of photographing in the field. We discuss ways to approach and photograph people, cross-cultural considerations, tips on equipment and digital concerns in different travel and outdoor environments. This workshop includes group and individual critiques, personal assignments, and one-on-one mentoring meetings with the instructor.

The emphasis is on expanding your creative vision in the realm of documentary and travel photography.

• Daily one-on-one editing with the instructor to develop a logistical and photographic plan to document a working Non profit in an area of need.
• Work one-on-one with a photographic mentor to relate the experience to your own personal mission and develop a new approaches for your work.
• Students will enhance their ability to craft a rich and moving visual narrative about a socially relevant and important topic.

About Your Instructor

Leslie Alsheimer, a Masters level social worker, has received numerous awards for her deeper perspective documentary essays, and her Uganda portfolios. Her work was recently awarded and published in National Geographic, National Geographic Traveler and PDN Magazines, earned her a Spotlight Portfolio Award in Black & White Magazine as well as four Honorable Mention LUCIE Awards at the 2008 and 2009 International Photography Awards. Leslie Alsheimer's work can be viewed at: www.lesliealsheimer.com.

SPOTLIGHT FEATURE B&W Magazine, Issue 71, December 2009 Click image to read full article

Digital Photographer Magazine In-Depth Feature Special: Out of the Shadows Interview and Photo essay

"Leslie Alsheimer’s behind-the-camera photographic expertise and her in-front-of-the-computer mastery of all things Photoshop combined with her training and experience as a social worker and social documentarian make the workshop experience offered by TAOS Digital Darkroom unique among workshop offerings available today. I cannot say enough about the quality of my experience from both a photographic and a humanitarian perspective. After completing a recent workshop with Leslie in Uganda, I feel I am not only a better photographer but a better person as well. What more could one ask from a two-week workshop. " Stephen K. Hall

Leslie's award winning TAOS youth documentary project can be viewed at the following link: Reality From the Barrio

For More Information

Please email our offices for information about this workshop at info@santafedigitaldarkroom.com, or call 707-SEE-FOTO.

We look forward to working with you on this life-changing workshop experience!

* * Important Note:
This workshop requires a working photographic knowledge base and skill level due to the nature of the close work with the partner non-profits. The conditions on this workshop can be difficult due to the nature of developing world accommodations.

This course is designed for people who have working knowledge of the photo mechanical process and working photo storytelling skills. The instructor will work with each photographer to find the right fit with documentary project. This will not be a Photoshop course.

Click here for A SPECIAL note about The Workshop, and our other Photographic Workshops, Tours and Mentoring programs.

Course Details

As each of our workshops is customized to accommodate the interests of each of the participants attending, the itinerary will be sent 30 days
prior to the workshop.

Tuition
$1,268 Class size is limited. Small group Only.
$500 deposit required to secure your seat in this extremely popular workshop. Visit this link for cancellation policies.
Please visit this link for more information concerning this workshop.

To register for a workshop, contact us by phone 707.SEE.FOTO (707.733.3686) or by email us at info@santafedigitaldarkroom.com

Work / Study Scholarship
We do understand that the cost for this workshop can be prohibitive for many. We offer one Work /Study position for each workshop to help students on a tighter budget. This position offers half price tuition in exchange for assistance with odd chores, errands and tasks. The Work / Study student will still be responsible for their own airfare and meals. The Deadline for applications is: MARCH 1, 2010. We do encourage Work/ Study to apply early, as these positions are highly coveted.

To Apply for Work / Study Scholarship
Please Send a CD by mail including
• Resume
• Letter of Recommendation
• Portfolio or Sample of Photography
• Short essay as describing why you would like participate in this workshop

Please DO NOT SEND ORIGINALS. Items will not be returned

Please do not e-mail submission. E-mail submissions will not be considered.

Mail to: TAOS Digital Darkroom
ATTN: TAOS Scholarship Committee
551 W. Cordova Rd. Suite 155
TAOS, New Mexico 87505