Photography Workshops
with Geoff Winningham
In the “Pueblo Magico”of
Mineral de Pozos, Mexico
One-week private workshops
During the following weeks of the summer of 2024:
July 1-7
July 15-21
August 5-11
Accepting beginning to advanced photographers.
​
Photo above: Pirul tree and shadow in the ruins of the Cinco Señores mine, Mineral de Pozos, Mexico.
In my years of teaching photography and guiding workshops in Mexico, I have learned that the smaller the group of participants, the better the experience. For this reason, I decided several years ago to limit my summer workshops to 2 to 4 participants at a time. We live comfortably in my home, photograph together, and work in my darkroom and digital lab. I can give full attention to each participant’s needs.
Whether you are a high school or college student, a beginner or an advanced photographer who is seeking a new and exotic place to photograph, a couple or a family who would like to learn photography together, I urge you to contact me, so that we can discuss prospects for this coming summer.
Geoff Winningham
geoffwin@rice.edu (832) 721-6958
Mineral de Pozos, Guanajuato. View looking east from the foothills of the Cerro Aguilar.
Set in a low mountain valley, at an altitude of 7900 feet, Mineral de Pozos is located 45 minutes north of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. The closest international airport is outside the city of Querétaro, less than an hour way. Once an opulent mining city of 80,000 inhabitants, Pozos sat as a ghost town for half a century after the revolution of 1910. In 2018, the town was declared a “Pueblo Magico” by the Mexican government and has since become a popular destination for adventurous tourists. Artists and photographers are drawn to the rocky, cactus-filled landscape, the picturesque ruins of 17th and 18th century mining structures, abandoned haciendas, giant agaves, and ancient pirul trees. Over 20 years ago, Winningham built a home, studio, and darkrooms in Pozos. Designed by the Mexican architect Gabor Goded, the property, which can accomodate up to nine guests, was featured in October 2007 in the Great Homes section of the New York Times.
Winningham home and studio in Mineral de Pozos, Guanajuato.
To maximize the photography learning experience and to allow for comfortable accomodations for the group in the home, enrollment is limited to 2 to 4 participants per workshop. Workshops will be one week in duration and will include daily field trips into the surrounding landscape, exploring ruins, abandoned haciendas and authentic markets of the area. Instruction will be tailored to each group and may include: analog (film-based) photography in all formats from 35mm to 4x5, black and white film processing and printing, photograms (cameraless photographs), digital photography, digital scanning, and inkjet printing. Participants should expect to complete a portfolio of exhibition-quality photographs by the conclusion of their workshop.
Triangulo, one of the many abandoned mining complexes outside Pozos.
Participants may choose to work in black and white film-based photography, using 4x5 view cameras, medium format Hasselblad cameras, or 35mm Leica cameras (all of which will be available); or they may work in digital photography. In either case, all supplies and equipment will be provided, including film, chemistry and paper, digital inks, and inkjet papers. Alternatively, participants may bring their own equipment and preferred supplies.
3-foot by 8-foot photogram of botanical objects made by a Pozos children’s class
Pozos children making a life-sized photogram of themselves.
The finished black and white photogram of the children.
In addition to learning photography and exploring the area, high school or college workshop participants may opt to spend approximately 2-3 hours per day teaching photography to children of families who reside in the town, thus combining their own learning with community service to the children of Pozos.
Above left: in the nearby town of San Luis de la Paz; above right, from a hike into the Sierra Madre mountains; below left and right, in the Wednesday market Dr. Mora.
Located in the heart of the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, Pozos is ideally situated as a launching point for a wide variety of adventurous short trips. Morning and afternoon field trips will take us into the authentic towns of San Luis de la Paz and Dr. Mora (the site of a traditional country market each Wednesday), as well as hikes into the Cerro de Aguilar and Sierra Madre Mountains.
Pirul tree and arches inside Cinco Señores, an abandoned mining structure near Pozos.
Photographing in the Cinco Señores mine with the 4x5 camera.
Workshop fee: $2,800 per person per week, which includes all photography supplies and equipment, lodging, 3 meals per day, and all transportation in Mexico, including pickup and return to the Querétaro airport. Fee does not include airfare to and from Mexico.
For more information, please contact:
Geoff Winningham (geoffwin@rice.edu (832) 721-6958)