The Best of our Guatemala Adventure Workshop
In March of this year, I was proud and excited to announce my very first Wanderlust Adventure Workshop. I brought down an intimate group of photographers to teach portable lighting techniques in extreme conditions, show my use of saturated color and how I shoot on location, and to take them on a 10-day adventure trip worthy of Wanderlust. In just 10 days, we hiked Tikal and Yaxha, Mayan civilization ruins and even hiked out through the jungle at 4am in pitch blackness one morning to to climb to the top of the highest pyramid to watch the sunrise and the jungle wake-up and come alive. It was magical and along the way we painted pyramids with light, our first lighting seminar of the trip.
After staying at an Eco lodge, fishing, hiking, and visiting even more ruins, we then trekked by plane and a rented bus to Antigua. In Antigua, one of my favorite cities painted in all cheerful colors with cobblestone streets, we stayed at the famous Hotel Cirilo built around the ruins of a 16th century church. In Antigua, I brought everyone along on a National Geographic Catalog Shoot for Novica, learned how to set up studio lighting in a small space, we photographed the religious festival of the Flower Carpetas and even joined the parade at times, and had a private tour of the most gorgeous finca/coffee plantation.
The third part of our journey involved driving our rented bus through the dangerous mountainous road to Lake Atitlan, a volcanic lake surrounded by 3 volcanoes. There at Atitlan, there are 12 indigenous villages, most of them not accessible by road, only by boat, hiking in, or by zipline:) We stayed at a private lake house with a Mayan Family as our groundskeepers. This adorable family posed for us for another lighting seminar that I taught about how to studio light people in their environment and create a proper environmental portrait. We also, because of Novica/National Geographic, had VIP access to meet some of the indigenous artisans that weave and make ceramics for their catalog. Not only did we have to take a boat to their village and hike up, but we had rare access and a glimpse into their lives for the day. We even helped them make tortillas! Even with all of this going on, we found time to swim and relax in the lake, even though everyone really just was excited to edit their photos from the day!
And last but not least, our final epic adventure of the trip was to travel back to Guatemala City and spend a few days with the Monica and Momia (the bride and groom) whose wedding we were about to dominate as a huge American photography posse! We were given royal treatment all week, taken to a spa, out to dinner, and finally to shoot the longest wedding party almost 17 hours! It was so fun to see how Guatemalans party, bringing a tequila bar on the dance floor and coffee stations throughout the day to keep you going on the dance floor. Ronda and Sarah decided to extend their trip to shoot post-bridal photos at another gorgeous finca reserve underneath an erupting volcano. Truly one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
So to say we conquered Guatemala in 10 days is an understatement, but it is definitely leaving us hungry for future workshops and adventures, so stay tuned for our next Workshop in Asia in June! in the meantime, here are all of our favorite 15 photos each from the trip. Enjoy our virtual gallery show!
Antigua, Guatemala: Tuk tuk-ing around el arco de Antigua
Antigua, Guatemala: Watering las carpetas
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: 95-year-old feet
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Men of the cemetery
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: El cemetario de Guatemala
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Colorful cemetery
Antigua, Guatemala: Ice cream for sale
Antigua, Guatemala: La Procesional in honor of lent
Antigua, Guatemala: Amongst a sea of purple
Antigua, Guatemala: Honoring lent
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Self-portrait on the go
Yaxha, Guatemala: Pyramid climbing
Tikal, Guatemala: Arial view of Tikal’s Plaza Mayor
Antigua, Guatemala: The colors of Antigua
Antigua, Guatemala: Portrait of Douglas
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Sunrise or moonset
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Sebastian
Antigua, Guatemala: Pimped out bus in the streets
Antigua, Guatemala: Iglesia de San Francisco
Antigua, Guatemala: Iglesia de San Pedro, one of the oldest churches in Antigua
Yaxha, Guatemala: Sunset or moonrise
Yaxha, Guatemala: Sunset from the top of the pyramids
El Remate, Guatemala: Vanishing dock
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Random guy walking down the street
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Laughter
Antigua, Guatemala: Procesional
Antigua, Guatemala: Sidewalk chatter
Yaxha, Guatemala: Cat faced seedpod called a Maya Nut
Antigua, Guatemala: Las carpetas
Yaxha, Guatemala: Cocodrilos
Antigua, Guatemala: Stenciling Sawdust
Antigua, Guatemala: Heart-Shaped Window
Antigua, Guatemala: Flutes on a string
Antigua, Guatemala: Capturing the scent of incense
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Only transportation option
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: NOVICA artisans
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: House cat
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Tortilla twins
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Wandering by a mural
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Cityscape
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: The three volcanoes of Lake Atitlán
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: El cemetario
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Mourning the loss of her son on his birthday
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Traditional clothing
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Coca-Cola break
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: El hombre
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Relaxing in the shade
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: The streets of San Pedro
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Portrait of a Mayan woman
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Sitting on the stoop
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Cooking
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Fisherman
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Hitchhiker friends on the dock
Lake Atitlán, Guatemala: Volcanic view
Antigua, Guatemala: Smiles at La Procesional
Antigua, Guatemala: Mirror inception
Antigua, Guatemala: City silhouette
Antigua, Guatemala: Bell Tower
Antigua, Guatemala: Iglesia de San Francisco
Yaxha, Guatemala: Don’t swim in the water