The Living West

with Gabriela Campos

June 22 – 26, 2026

Tuition $2095.00

(includes meal plan, see below)

Model and Location Fee $265.00

Standard Deposit $400.00

Course Description

Join native New Mexican and photojournalist Gabriela Campos and immerse yourself in the living cultures, identities, and contradictions of the contemporary American West. The city of Santa Fe and its surrounding communities and landscapes serve as your classroom and portal into a week of storytelling and adventure.

Over the course of five days, participants explore the visual legacies that Santa Fe has to offer. As the birthplace of much Western iconography and folklore, Santa Fe provides the perfect opportunity to uncover layers of history while also exploring today’s emergent culture. Through guided photo sessions, group discussions, and daily image reviews, you learn to make images that move beyond myth and stereotype—creating honest, nuanced visual stories of the living west today.

Each day of this workshop brings participants into the field to photograph a different facet of Western life: the grit and ritual of rodeo and cowboy culture, a Northern New Mexico family deeply rooted in lowrider tradition, the creative worlds of local artisans, and more. In each of these encounters, you are called to uncover the deeper meaning of the West, both for yourself and for those you photograph.

Guided by Gabriela’s experience as a photojournalist, participants also learn considerations for working in the field under a diverse range of conditions. Through a mix of demonstrations and lectures, Gabriela prepares you to dive into the varied landscapes of the West and photograph the unknown. We discuss the importance of establishing rapport with your subjects and practicing cultural sensitivity in the pursuit of creating connected and authentic imagery. In addition, Gabriela offers technical guidance for photographing in a variety of different scenarios, from the fast-paced rodeo to moments of quiet portraiture.

Back in the classroom, Gabriela guides participants through the process of selecting and sequencing images into a cohesive narrative of place. You learn to balance portrait, landscape, and detail images to craft a final story. Considerations for post-processing your work in Adobe Lightroom are also covered.

By the end of the workshop, participants have produced a small body of work that demonstrates a deeper understanding of place, community, and contemporary photography in the American West. Join us for a week in Santa Fe to explore the visual tapestry that is the living contemporary West.

Additional Information

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 and select images using image editing software for class sessions.

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.

Participants should be able to engage in moderate outdoor exercise for up to an hour or more at a time including off-trail walking on uneven terrain including sand, dirt, and loose rock. Location work is likely to include early morning and/or late evening shoots.

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.

Policies:

View Payment, Refund, Withdrawal, and Transfer Policies for domestic workshops.

about

Gabriela Campos

Gabriela Campos was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Always the observer, she picked up her father’s old Pentax camera her senior year of high school and has never stopped shooting. Gabriela’s camera became a tool to explore the culture, community, and traditions she grew up amongst.

Her work ranges from daily news coverage as a staff photojournalist for the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper, to more in-depth storytelling with her imagery documenting the people, towns, and traditions of the Southwest. Gabriela’s photos have been shown nationally and belong in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Museum of American History, the New Mexico History Museum, and the Spencer Museum of Art. Her work has been published in The Guardian, The New York Times, High Country News, and numerous local and national publications. Gabriela’s photos are now shown amongst the work of some of the most influential photojournalists of the 20th and 21st centuries at the Monroe Gallery of Photography in Santa Fe.