The Intimate Image

with Elizabeth Opalenik

October 20 – 24, 2025

Package Price $3095.00

International Deposit $1500.00

Course Description

The human figure as a subject has compelled artists throughout history, and San Miguel de Allende, with its inspiring colonial charm, provides an inviting backdrop to explore the sensual qualities of the human form. Gracious male and female figure and dance models collaborate in expressing your intuitive create soul.

Practicing communication and respect for one another, we make images that softly whisper “yes.” Teaming in small groups, participants experiment with natural lighting techniques while using props that complement their chosen subject and location. From iPhone to digital infrared, in water or the landscape, and from abandoned haciendas, fine-art photographer Elizabeth Opalenik inspires you to explore all the possibilities.

Images are stepping stones that bear the visual imprint of stories left behind, but good images don’t just happen. Quite often our best work lies just beyond our greatest failures, with discovered gems the reward. In this workshop’s uniquely supportive environment, you learn to transform those failures into fuel for forging new ideas and exploring new paths.

As you expand your awareness and build on your existing skills through creative assignments, Elizabeth offers her own experiential insights during model sessions and image reviews. Throughout our time together, you are given ample opportunities to utilize your new skills during group field trips around this charming city while also enjoying the culture of this town.

Additional Information

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

Advanced Amateurs, Professionals

What You Should Know:

Photographers 'with a sense of the human form they would like to expand' are welcome.

Working knowledge of digital workflow and manual mode on your digital SLR camera or iPhone. Participants must be able to download, select, and submit images for class each day.

Activity Level:

To get the most from your workshop experience, participants should be in good physical (mobility, stamina) and mental health. Come prepared for the high elevation of San Miguel de Allende, long days, and seasonal weather. You must be able to carry your own photographic and personal gear at all times, both on campus and on location. You are responsible for being open and honest about your physical fitness, and we reserve the right to remove you from the workshop if we find your fitness to be less than that which you have described.

Participants should be able to engage in moderate outdoor exercise for up to an hour or more at a time including walking on uneven terrain such as cobblestone walkways and roads, dirt, and loose rock.

Policies:

View Payment, Refund, Withdrawal, and Transfer Policies for this International Program.

Accommodations:

We encourage participants to stay on campus at Hotel Posada de la Aldea for ease of proximity to retreat activities and well-priced rooms. Double accommodations (for couples or friends taking workshops together) are $415 per person for 6 nights (approximately $70 per person, per night), Sunday through Friday, or $830 per person, single accommodations for 6 nights (approximately $140 per night), Sunday through Friday. Additional nights at the hotel can be arranged for participants; please discuss needs with the Administration Office in Santa Fe.

Package Price INFO:

$3,095 (USD) includes tuition, breakfast Monday through Saturday, lunch Monday through Friday, final dinner on Friday, and model/location/materials fees if applicable to the class. Hotel accommodations are not included in the package price; see details above.

about

Elizabeth Opalenik

Elizabeth Opalenik is a fine-art photographer who brings a sense of wonder and possibility to students. Her heart is in philanthropic projects and working in her darkroom, where she creates one-of-a-kind images in the mordançage process, carbon and platinum printing. She mixes digital and traditional media when appropriate to maximize creative possibilities, using images as stepping stones to trace pathways of the mind.

Her first monograph, Poetic Grace: Elizabeth Opalenik Photographs, 1979-2007, chronicles images from the first 30 years of her career. Her latest book and 2021 pandemic project Workshop Stories: changed through photography shares stories and images from 100 leading workshop instructors. Her work is collected and published internationally.

Website: elizabethopalenik.com