Digital Photography Workshops
Mexico

The Art of the Photo Essay
Yelapa, Jalisco, Mexico

Workshop Dates To Be Announced
Email inquiries to info@jaripolin.com

Workshop Schedule
Workshop Fees 
Travel and Accomodations
Packing List
Registration

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

About the Photo Essay Course
A photo-essay tells a story through a series of photographs. Students in this workshops will work with their own digital camera equipment to create a compelling photo-essay based on a particular subject(s) in a unique fishing village called Yelapa in Jalisco, Mexico.

Each student will participate in concept development, active shooting time, group critique and discussion, and editing. All students will create and print a portfolio of 15, 8x10 images on their selected subject. The cost of fine art paper and printing the images as well as a vinyl portfolio with archival protectors will be included in the workshop fee.

This is an opportunity to learn and practice the art of the photo essay in a remote village on the Bay of Banderas in Mexico. The location is unique in that it is a village on the Pacific coast of Mexico, just 45 minutes by water taxi from Puerto Vallarta. In Yelapa, the Sierra Madres make a swift descent to the sea, making road building impractical. Therefore, the village functions without automobiles and is accessible primarily by boat.

Because of it's remote location, Yelapa has retained the look and feel of a rural village. The population of the village is approximately 1200, with approximately 10% of the population being foreigners (American, Canadian, European). The economy is primarily based on fishing and tourism. Villagers are very kind and open to visitors.

Yelapa has many interesting subjects for the creation of a photo essay. From the mundane to the profound, it is a lively village full of activity of many kinds. Here are just a few ideas of what could become a good photo essay in Yelapa....

• The teamwork of villagers as they erect a palapa roof made of palm leaves on one of the dwellings here.
• A fisherman going out to sea and returning with his catch and preparing the fish for market
• A child´s birthday party complete with piñata
• The preparation of tamales or the work that is done in the tortillaria to provide tortillas to the whole village

Speaking Spanish is not necessary, but helpful. Many of the villagers know a little English, some know a lot. Those participants that wish to can take a one-week Spanish intensive course at YESI, Yelapa English-Spanish Insititute, prior to the photography workshop.