Oaxaca, Mexico Feb 26 - Mar 5th 2025
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DATES
Feb 26-Mar 5
Size
5 Participants
Cost
$1350*
Level
All Welcome
Overview
An intensive week of shooting candid street photography in Oaxaca, the cultural and food capital of Mexico during the festive week of Carnaval Ancestral. Take your street photography to the next level as you learn and practice rhythmic layering, reading light and anticipating moments while becoming one with the scene. Learn how to select, edit and read your images to demanding level of detail that will have immediate and lasting impact on your work.
Workshop Perks
-Individual Portfolio or Project Review
An extremely in-depth and thorough review of your existing portfolio or project
-Daily Photo Reviews
Working directly with Jonathan to learn how to identify your strongest photos and as well as how to dramatically improve shots you've taken using very minor corrections
-Customized Lessons
Prior to the workshop, Jonathan will ask for input from each participant on topics of interest and areas they wish to improve upon. This information is used to develop custom material for group discussions and short presentations.
-1 on 1 shooting time on the streets with Jonathan Jasberg
On most days Jonathan will pair up with someone for a full 3 hour session in the morning and a different person in the afternoon. He will work with them individually to improve all aspects of their photography.
-Detailed Arrival Guide
Arriving in a new country / city can be intimidating. Jonathan will provide you with a customized arrival guide that includes photos, directions, and details of arriving at the airport and getting a taxi to the hotel, obtaining a sim card, etc., to make sure your arrival is a smooth as possible.
-Friendly non-competitive group environment where we all learn from each other
Group dynamic is very important to Jonathan, thus the group size is kept small and personal. This workshop is intense, but it is a great time and a great chance to make quality friendships and connections with fellow photographers. See behind the scenes and participant photos of the 2023 workshop recap and 2024 workshop recap pages.
Schedule
Wednesday Feb 26 - Welcome Dinner
Participants should arrive in Oaxaca on or before Feb 26th. We will have a casual group welcome dinner on the night of the 26th to get to know each other, chat about photography and the plan for the upcoming days.
*Cost of welcome dinner is paid individually and not included in tuition.
Thursday, Feb 27th - Traditional Zapotec Market Village
- Group Breakfast
- Half day trip to a small village that hosts one of the most authentic markets in the entire state of Oaxaca.
- Afternoon / evening of shooting in and around central Oaxaca individually or in groups of 2 or 3.
- 7pm - 10pm Nightly photo reviews and critiques
Friday, Feb 28th - Oaxaca City
- Group Breakfast
- Morning shooting session (individually or in pairs)
- Portfolio reviews / group discussions
- Afternoon / evening of shooting in and around central Oaxaca individually or in groups of 2 or 3.
- 7pm - 10pm Nightly photo reviews and critiques
Saturday, Mar 1st - Oaxaca City
- Group Breakfast
- Morning shooting session (individually or in pairs)
- Portfolio reviews / group discussions
- Afternoon / evening of shooting in and around central Oaxaca individually or in groups of 2 or 3.
- 7pm - 10pm Nightly photo reviews and critiques
Sunday, Mar 2nd - Half day trip & Lucha Libre*
- We will get an early start and head out to a rural village for one of the largest most bustling markets in the state of Oaxaca.
- Return to Oaxaca to rest, catch up on reviews, portfolio reviews, etc.
- Afternoon / evening of shooting in and around central Oaxaca individually or in groups of 2 or 3.
- Optional: Lucha Libre wrestling at a small venue in Oaxaca
* Lucha Libre matches usually occur, but sometimes are canceled or not occurring.
Monday, Mar 3rd - Oaxaca City
At this point, participants will be familiar with Centro Oaxaca and are invited to continue shooting in areas that have resonated with them the most as well as be open to spontaneously exploring new areas.
- Group Breakfast
- Morning shooting session (individually or in pairs)
- Afternoon / evening of shooting in and around central Oaxaca individually or in groups of 2 or 3.
- 6pm - 9pm Nightly photo reviews and critiques
Tuesday, Mar 4th - San Martin Tilcajete
We will take a chartered van to the small village of San Martin Tilcajete where we will spend the day shooting the lively Carnaval Ancestral. This will be a long, crazy, and fun day.
Please wear clothes that you don't mind getting dirty and stained.
- 5:30pm return to Oaxaca
- 7pm - 9pm begin reviews and critiques of San Martin photos
Wednesday, Mar 5th - Final Reviews
- Group Breakfast
- Remaining San Martin photo reviews
- Final reviews of photos from the entire week
* Times and events of the daily schedule above are subject to change based on events either not occurring or being canceled (such as Lucha Libre), or locations changing based on group discussion or decisions made by Jonathan. Oaxaca is very lively and unpredictable during this time with weddings, baptisms, quinceañeras and other unplanned events spilling out into the historic streets anywhere and at anytime. We will remain spontaneous and flexible to capture the festive atmosphere to the fullest.
Lunches, coffee breaks, and dinners will be either taken as a group, smaller groups or individually based on the spontaneity and flow of the day. Jonathan will be in constant contact with the group on Whatsapp to make sure everyone is well informed.
Accommodations
Participants are encouraged to all stay in the same hotel, which will be historic, comfortable, affordable, and most importantly, strategically located right in the middle of the action. Accommodations will be discussed in detail once the group is formed. If you wish to stay at an airbnb or different hotel, please make sure it is within 5 minutes walking distance to our hotel.
Requirements
- Digital Camera with a wide angle lens (preferably prime 28mm or 35mm) and the knowledge of how to use it. Unless you are shooting Leica, Jonathan may not know how to make necessary adjustments.
- Enough batteries and SD card space for 1,000+ photos daily
- Laptop with Lightroom or other photo management / editing software that will allow you to quickly review, flag, and rate photos daily
- Walking shoes, a hat and clothes you don't mind getting destroyed. These are intensive days where 20,000+ steps is not unusual. The weather in Oaxaca is fantastic and spring-like during this time, but the sun is strong, so bring a hat.
- Positive attitude with great respect for Mexican culture and the people of Oaxaca.
Cost
Workshop tuition is $1,350*, which includes a large chartered van to comfortably take the group to San Martin Tilcajete. Taxis, Meals, drinks, Lucha Libre tickets and any other incurred costs are not included and to be paid individually. All of these costs should be very low as food, transportation and lucha libre are all very affordable in Oaxaca.
*All workshop participants receive $100 discount on any future workshops they attend with Jonathan (co-sponsored workshops with other instructors excluded).
Application
Contact Jonathan directly to apply for the workshop. If a spot is available, a $100 deposit is due within 7 days in order to secure your participation. The remaining $1,250 is due the week prior to the workshop anytime prior to the welcome dinner. Past participants of Jonathan's workshops receive a $100 discount on this tuition.
Cancellation
Life happens. If you need to cancel, you will receive your workshop fee back, minus the $100 deposit and any fees (paypal, etc.). If Jonathan Jasberg (the instructor) needs to cancel, you will be refunded your deposit and tuition amount paid. Jonathan is not responsible for any reimbursement of travel expenses or any other costs incurred by participants in the event that he needs to cancel the workshop. Travel insurance that covers cancellations, missed flights, etc., is recommended if you are not a seasoned traveler. There are no partial refunds in the event a participant misses or would like to take time off on any days during the workshop.
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I loved how well organized the workshop was. Your arrival guide included everything. Your workshop is really incredibly worthwhile. Thank you very much!
Florian Renz - Kyoto Apr 2023
First of all thank you for the fantastic workshop. I enjoyed it immensely and I learned a lot as well.
I believe you provided great attention, provided valuable input, and you were very personable. You cared about the students and it showed. We executed the plan daily and you kept us all in loop when things changed. You also let all of the attendees know places and situations as photo opportunities, while we are on the field. You cared about us, and made sure we got what we wanted from the workshop.
Sehmuz Bayhan - Kyoto Apr 2023
A workshop with Jonathan Jasberg is a great experience, as his teaching is always focused on improving your personal work, with precise analysis of the photos during the reviews as well as helping you in the field.
He is always ready to help, to share his experience and to give advice, and takes very good care of the organisation so that everything goes smoothly, also because he knows the places very well. He also has an incredibly wide photographic culture and a very high level of requirement of what a « good photo » should be, which is hugely inspiring. Just great!
Laurent Catach - Oaxaca Feb 2023
I attended the street photography workshop in Japan with the goal of improving my photography skills and creativity. Jonathan provided me with practical and insightful guidance during one-on-one sessions, group discussions, and detailed feedback on my photos.
Jonathan's teaching style was relaxed and approachable, which helped me feel more comfortable with the complexity of street photography and created an environment that allowed every participant to push their boundaries. Overall, the workshop was a highly enjoyable experience that gave me the opportunity to progress and gain a deeper appreciation for the art of street photography.
Vica Rosario Bogaerts - Kyoto Apr 2023
Jonathan was very hands-on during the entire workshop! He pointed specific techniques out and explained why some things work and others don't. He was indefatigable! This was a very intensive but also a laid-back workshop. We had an opportunity to bond as a group of photographers and have a critique each night. During the day we split into pairs or threes and Jonathan would pick a group to work with.
Post-workshop, Jonathan provided us with personal critiques of the portfolio submitted in advance of the workshop as well as helped to create and curate a portfolio from the workshop. He has a place on his website for final portfolios to include our IG and personal websites. I felt really invigorated and motivated to continue the techniques learned in the workshop.
Nicole Horvath - Oaxaca Feb 2023
Jonathan's workshop in the Kyoto area is exactly what any aspiring street photographer should be looking for to improve their skills. My goals coming in were to focus on further developing my compositions using techniques such as layering, reflections, echoes, but also capturing emotions by gaining confidence in getting closer to the subject(s).
Coming out of the 5 day intensive workshop, I feel that Jonathan has helped me significantly improve on those aspects of street photography and that the learnings from the workshop helped me a gain a much better understanding and confidence on how and when to best deploy those methods.
The format and planning of the workshop are well thought in a way that maximizes the learning experience within the available time. There is a well balanced time allocations to overviews, discussions and critical reviews before, during, and after intense long days of street photo shooting. I very much enjoyed learning in a small collaborative group (3 students) of talented photographers.
Besides being an amazing street photographer and teacher, Jonathan is also fond of Japanese culture and customs which he likes to share. He speaks Japanese fluently which brought us closer in our interactions with locals anywhere we went and made our experience more authentic. Overall this workshop is an excellent learning and development opportunity at a great price value in a unique environment. I would definitely recommend it to others without any hesitation.
Mehdi Zouari - Kyoto Apr 2023
I had a good gut feeling, based on what I'd read about you and your work, and the B&H interview. My instincts were right! Glad I was able to contact you early and reserve a spot.
Your patience, honesty, directness, diplomacy, flexibility, and humor were appreciated! It was interesting to see you take such an interest in our work, spending more time on certain images than I would've thought! I like how you worked with each member individually over the 5 days at the different locations, helping with our specific goals and strengthening skills. You took care of our non-photography needs as well, when needed!
Parvathi Kumar - Oaxaca Feb 2023
www.parvathikumar.com
Instagram
The workshop fulfilled my expectations; the most valuable thing for me was to know closely your point of view about certain photos, and the minor (but unexpected and relevant) fixes that you did sometimes on them.
Also it was interesting to "confront" my aesthetic style with yours, a little more inclined towards the weird element, which will give me food for thought for a while. In addition, and as I already sensed in the video on complex composition, your way of explaining is technical and precise (I can tell you were a programmer, hehe), far from the more vague postures that sometimes artists have.
In general, I have noticed something very good and that is that you have infected me a little with your level of demand with the photos, which is very high and based on a very strong self-criticism.
Andrés Ramos - Kyoto Mar 2023
It was a fantastic workshop in such a comfortable setting. Jonathan worked with all the participants as a group and individually, providing inspiration, answering questions and making himself completely available over the course of the workshop. I was able to put his suggestions into action that provided immediate results. The chosen locations and events, plus additional suggestions were all wonderful and created a complete, enjoyable experience.
Bill Schaefer - Oaxaca Feb 2023
The workshop with Jonathan was fantastic. Jonathan is an excellent teacher, knowledgeable, dedicated, and very approachable. He generously shared his thoughts on all aspects of street photography, from history to philosophy to the very practical aspects. The workshop content was great too, we went to different places almost every day, had long shooting sessions, and in each session Jonathan worked tirelessly with us. The highlights for me were the markets around Oaxaca, and of course the San Martin carnival. I would love to join him again if i get a chance.
Sandip Aine - Oaxaca Feb 2023
The following helped make the workshop a successful event.
The pre-workshop 'tasks' and information gathering were relevant. Jonathan's feedback on our images at the initial group meeting helped set expectations. This was followed up with a personalised written portfolio review post-workshop.
With just 3 participants, we were allocated regular (three hour) one-on-one sessions in the field which allowed for personalized tuition, practice and discussion. Feedback from daily image reviews informed ways to improve. His priority was on our shooting, not his. Personalized arrival guides for each participant, a daily booking in a meeting room for reviews and timely communication helped the workshop run smoothly.
