On Location
Santa Fe

New Mexico Abstractions

with Susan Burnstine

Online registration for this program has closed. To check availability, find out about future dates, or if you would like further information, please call 505-983-1400 ext. 111. Also, get the SFW E-Newsletter for updates!

Sign-up for the Newsletter:

Course Description

Whether observing breathtaking grandeur or everyday minutia, viewing the world indirectly can transform the imperceptible world into poetry. Regardless of where your inspiration takes root, creating the world anew through a visual metaphor produces endless possibilities into the world of abstraction.

This workshop with fine-art photographer and respected teacher Susan Burnstine gives participants the skills to exercise key abstract elements and skills to create compositions that bear little or no resemblance to the subject at hand. As we explore how metaphor and intent relates to non-figurative images, we effectively uncover the best approaches for realizing our personal visions.

Each day, we take a deep dive into specific elements and techniques such as multiple exposure, reflection, selective focus, defocus, intentional camera movement, light and shadow, isolation, and context to name a few. We discover innovative ways to reimagine the world around us through real-time presentations, group image reviews, guest artist talks, portfolio reviews, and daily assignments to be photographed at scenic locations in and around the inspirational and iconic surroundings of Santa Fe.

This rare in-person workshop expands on the teachings of Susan’s core online workshop The Poetry of Abstractions, but attendance in the online class is not a prerequisite for this workshop in Santa Fe. Over the course of our five days together, students gain the tools that allow them to take the leap beyond graphic form and technical approach to create personally meaningful, complex abstractions.

Additional Information

COVID-19 Update: For all in-person workshops and trips in 2023, Santa Fe Workshops highly recommends that all participants, staff, and instructors attending be up to date with Covid vaccinations (per definition of the CDC).

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
Amateurs, Advanced Amateurs
What You Should Know:

Working knowledge of digital workflow and manual mode on your digital SLR or mirrorless camera. Participants must be able to download, select, and transfer images to their own jump drive 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 Santa Fe, long days, and seasonal weather including high temperatures. 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.
Policies:
Accommodations:

Participants are responsible for making their own housing arrangements in Santa Fe. On-campus accommodations are not currently available.

Meals:
Lunch Monday through Friday, dinner before the Friday evening Image Presentations, and daily beverage service are included.
Categories
Creative Vision, Fine Art
about
Susan Burnstine

Susan Burnstine is an award-winning fine art and commercial photographer originally from Chicago now based in Los Angeles. Susan is represented in galleries across the world, widely published, teaches workshops internationally, and has also written for several photography magazines, including a monthly column for Black & White Photography Magazine (UK).

A popular workshop instructor, Susan is also part of our Mentorship Program »

Get to know Susan in our Inspiration Series video »

New Mexico Abstractions

July 17 – 21, 2023

You May Also Like

Photographic Haiku

with M. H. Rubin

January 6 – 23, 2026

A Natural Eye: The Expressive Landscape—Big Sur, California

with Eddie Soloway

December 2 – 7, 2025

Transcendent Portraiture

with Fritz Liedtke

November 3 – 20, 2025

iPhone Artistry

with Dan Burkholder

November 3 – 20, 2025

In Nature’s Embrace

with Xuan-Hui Ng

November 5 – 19, 2025

The Creative Alchemy of Fine-Art Photography

with Thibault Roland

November 6 – December 11, 2025

Silver and Gold Leaf Photography

with Marcy Palmer

April 7 – 28, 2026

The Black-and-White Image

with Carlan Tapp

November 1 – 19, 2025

SPARK ART: A Creative Workshop for Photographers

with Leanne Trivett S.

November 4 – 21, 2025

The Creative World of ME ICM

with Stephanie Johnson

November 12 – December 17, 2025

The Language of Polaroid: Exploring Your Creative Potential

with Jari Poulin

February 5 – March 12, 2026

Get Seen: Submitting Your Work to Competitions, Festivals, and Galleries

with Sonia Goydenko

November 15 and 22, 2025

Photoshop Compositing: A Garden of Delights

with Ryn Clarke

January 5 – 22, 2026

The Expressive Lens

with Renee Lynn

January 5 – 26, 2026

Scotland: A Journey into Landscape Photography

with Julian Calverley

October 25 – November 3, 2025

Making Digital Negatives and Cyanotypes

with Cotton Miller

November 12 – December 10, 2025
E-Newsletter

Be the first to know about news and new workshops in our weekly e-newsletter.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

© Pei Ketron