Living with Photographs: An Exclusive Retreat in Santa Fe

Step away from daily life and into a rare environment devoted entirely to a photographic immersion. Limited to only eight photographers and collectors, this once-in-a-lifetime experience—a long-weekend retreat—is purposely set at the peak of Santa Fe’s golden autumn when aspens turn magical and light softens in the high mountains. The experience moves between historic work and contemporary practice, inspiration and execution, and most significantly allows extended access to one of the world’s most significant private photography collections—along with the time required to truly engage with it.

Hosted in the home of photographer, writer, and collector M. H. Rubin, the retreat centers on living with photographs—museum prints, landmark books, and the physical presence of photographic history. In this digital age, we can often forget the difference between images and the nature of physical photographs. This is both workshop and retreat—rigorous, personal, and intentionally small. While this gathering doesn’t replace Rubin’s popular Santa Fe Workshops online course exploring the intersection of haiku and photography, it’s almost impossible not to become galvanized by Rubin’s distinctive philosophy as it relates to your daily photographic practice.

The retreat draws inspiration from curator John Szarkowski’s belief that photography is best understood not as a gallery of untouchable masterpieces, but as a medium revealed through sustained looking at celebrated work and modest work alike—landscapes, portraits, still-life, figures, photojournalism, abstractions. The Rubin Collection (https://www.neomodern.com/trc-home), comprising thousands of prints by hundreds of artists, serves as a catalyst rather than a shrine. Even behind-the-scenes access at major museums, photographers rarely encounter this level of image diversity, proximity, and freedom—to question over days rather than minutes.

Each day follows a rhythm of looking, discussing, and making. Time with the collection is not separate from our time photographing—it drives it. You study how photographers have historically approached form, ambiguity, and meaning, then work through those same questions yourself. Daily field sessions include a directed sunset session with models, a sunrise exploration of golden leaves changing in the mountains, and street photography amid the indigenous events at the Santa Fe plaza, alongside quieter work in and around Rubin’s home and grounds. All are designed to translate insights into your own photographs.

Meals are communal and integral to the experience. Lunches are at Rubin’s home, and one group dinner is enjoyed at a standout Santa Fe restaurant. Conversation, food, and wine continue throughout with no separation between formal instruction and informal exchange. The atmosphere is personal and deliberately non-performative.

Participation is limited to eight guests, ensuring focus and meaningful exchange. The retreat is intentionally exclusive, intended for photographers and collectors who take the medium seriously—as a lifelong practice rather than a skill set—and who value judgment, taste, and sustained attention.

This is an uncommon opportunity—not simply to study photography—but to live inside it for several days, at the right moment of the year, in a creative setting. Few photographers ever spend extended time with original prints guided by a collector who has spent decades studying, teaching, and assembling them. The aim is a lasting recalibration of how you look at photographs, live with photographs, and how you make them.