Looking at Photographs: A Retreat in Santa Fe

Step away from the complexities of daily life and into a sanctuary for photographic exploration—a retreat designed to nourish your creativity, refine your eye, and deepen your connection to the medium. Over a long weekend in the heart of Santa Fe’s golden fall season, you have the unique opportunity to live with one of the world’s great private photography collections, surrounded by masterworks and a library of artist’s books. This is not just a workshop; it is a retreat for those who want to fall into a world of photographic art.

Hosted in the home of photographer and collector M. H. Rubin, this experience is designed for photographers who seek inspiration not from images on a screen but from real prints, landmark books, and photographic history. Each day, we spend unhurried time with museum-quality prints—learning from both the iconic and the overlooked—while also making new photographs inspired by what we have seen. Field excursions into the landscapes of Santa Fe, as well as intimate sessions photographing in and around Rubin’s house and grounds, challenge you to apply what you’ve absorbed in fresh, personal ways.

In his book Looking at Photographs, the great curator John Szarkowski says, “The museum’s photography collection has not been conceived as an enclave of immutable masterpieces, but rather as a tool that might contribute to a fuller understanding of the medium’s achievements and potentials. Photography has learned about its own nature not only from its great masters but also from the simple and radical works of photographers of modest aspiration and small renown. These photographers have contributed not only out of their talent, but by virtue of their numbers, their industry, and their occasional good luck. Their work also deserves, and repays, study.”

To further Szarkowski’s belief in the supreme value of looking at photographs, you spend concentrated time with Rubin and his family’s photographic collection serving as catalyst and inspirer. The Rubin Collection (https://www.neomodern.com/trc-home)  has thousands of prints by hundreds of artists – many masterworks, but many by less-known artists. We harness the collection as a tool to inspire and learn, and Rubin’s daily assignments guide you to apply lessons directly from the masters to your own practice in the field.

This retreat is limited to just ten participants, ensuring an intimate and focused experience. It is designed for those who take photography seriously—whether as artists, collectors, or passionate practitioners—and who recognize the immense value of learning directly from prints and masterworks.

This is an unusual opportunity—a workshop of artistic immersion and creative renewal in an environment few photographers get to experience. We step away from the fleeting, digital world and immerse ourselves in the photograph as a tangible object. If you are ready to transform the way you see and make photographs, this retreat is for you.