A Portrait of Santa Fe

The moment I saw the brilliant, proud morning shine high over the deserts of Santa Fe, something stood still in my soul, and I started to attend. Never is the light more pure and enveloping, arching with a royalty over the hollow uptilted world. The old world gave way to a new. Actually touch the country, and you will never be the same again.

— DH Lawrence, 1922

Remove the lens caps from your eyes, pick up your camera, fully engage your senses, and join Reid Callanan this summer in Santa Fe to discover a true sense of place through the creative photographic process.

Santa Fe is our muse and Northern New Mexico is our playground in this new workshop. Explore the backroads, hidden corners, high points, along with the jewels and gems that Reid has uncovered in his 30 years living in this magical part of the world. The high-desert light is all-enveloping, the landscape laid bare, and the history of ancient cultures takes center stage even today. To further enrich our experience, Reid introduces you to a number of his favorite local artists who share their studios, sage advice, and creative insights

Use the power of photography to reveal truths about a place—about Santa Fe, in Northern New Mexico.

A Portrait of Santa Fe holds its arms open to consider the idea of “a sense of place” by photographing the regions unique landscape, light and color, architecture, history and culture, moment, and its people.

Photographers at all levels of technical ability (even iPhone users) are welcome; for we are all, in some form, reaching for a higher level of seeing the world. To do so, we need to return to a childlike sense of wonder and observe our creative lives with clarity and direction.

Per usual for a workshop week with Reid, our days are filled from first light to star-filled evenings. Daily classroom time includes sessions on the important building blocks of image-making, the history of photography, reviews of assignment images, and lively group discussions. Making new images to better understand and appreciate Santa Fe and its surrounding environs fills up the rest of our time together.

Honoring lessons learned from Reid’s previous workshops, Cameras Don’t Take Pictures and Homescapes: A New Paradigm, this upcoming week in July we make the leap from taking pictures to making and creating images that express the way we view the world and feel about our lives. We explore ways of using our cameras to discover the outside world and expand our creative eye.

Life is short; our time learning and growing creatively is limited. Without guidance and community, we waste valuable time trying to gain knowledge and refine our skills. This week, join Reid and his friends for a memorable week in the thin space known as Santa Fe.