Join me at Hacienda Las Trancas in September!

I am very excited to announce this very unique opportunity! I am hosting a workshop for photo enthusiasts September 20-25th in a 400 year old hacienda in central, mountainous Mexico that Kelley and Stephen Wilkinson (of Asheville) have spent 10 years renovating into a breathtakingly beautiful vacation retreat - Hacienda Las Trancas (www.hacienda las trancas). This is in a very safe area of Mexico and the weather should be divine as the elevation is  7000'. The large hacienda staff will take of cooking fresh authentic Mexican meals for us (many items grown in their organic garden), taking us on horseback rides, transporting us from the airport to the hacienda, and basically being there to assure that we have a wonderful vacation. All  levels of photo enthusiasts welcome!

Here are the basics:

September 20-25th, 2012

Cost: $1400, which includes:
    All meals
    Luxury accommodations at the hacienda
    Photography instruction, including a private session
    Transportation to and from the Leon airport
    Transportation to and from San Miguel for a day trip
    Horseback riding trail ride guided by hacienda staff
    Access to mountain bikes, jacuzzi, heated pool and commercial exercise facility.
    Onsite spa features 6 massage therapists who offer wonderful treatments (additional fee, priced      very reasonably).

Photography Instruction:

I will be offering demonstrations, slide shows covering basic elements of photography including composition, lighting, point of view, storytelling, and working with your subject, and offering one private session per person, to answer specific questions you may have about technical or artistic issues. While the basis of this vacation is photography, you will have plenty of unstructured time to explore on your own, get a massage, read in a hammock or go for a hike. It is above all a luxurious and rejuvenating vacation.

There will be a maximum of 15 people that can sign up, so I expect this to fill up quickly. A $400 deposit is required to hold your place. See below for more detailed info:

Here is a sampling of what we will do:

We will be greeted by the Las Trancas staff with welcome margaritas and a delicious mexican dinner served alfresco.

There will be several classes focusing on photographic topics such as composition, lighting, working with people, point of view, and telling your stories. Also I will discuss software including Lightroom, Iphoto and Photoshop as well as "Digital 101 - how to organize your images on your computer".

I will have many demonstrations showing lighting tips and composing your images.

I will  offer one on one photo instruction appointments.

You will explore the hacienda with the group and on your own with your camera - capture the wildlife, the flowers blooming, the mexican people, the intense colors and textures of the hacienda and its landscape, etc. - the photo opportunities will be endless.

We will visit photographer's heaven - beautiful San Miguel, about an hour away, to take pictures as well as relax, explore and shop.

You can take a horseback ride on the hacienda's well trained horses, stopping along to way to take pictures. Optional, of course.

Soak in the nearby natural hot springs that the staff can take us to nearby.

Have the horse back riding staff do a demo for us with the horses running in the late afternoon sun, dust kicked up in the dusk "magic" light. Beautiful photos!

Enjoy an afternoon of massage appointments set up for us to cap off a busy morning.

Celebrate our week with a slide show of guest work to show off all your new photo skills and get feedback from the group.

While the focus of these trips is for you to learn ways to improve your photographic skills, there will be plenty of unscheduled time to relax, rest and care for yourself (as well as edit your photos). We will have approximately 2-4 hours of scheduled photo time per day with the rest unscheduled and open to spontaneous experiences.

Depending on the number of people that sign up, rooms will be may be booked with two people in each. The bedrooms are huge and gorgeously appointed, so this should not be a problem. There is also a gym, volleyball court, hiking trails, a pool, a hot tub and lots of hammocks. If you are interested in the photography but have a companion who is not, they can still come and have a wonderful vacation at a discounted rate.

Fees include all meals, instruction, transportation to and from the Leon airport, horseback riding, a day trip to San Miguel and lodging. Other expenses you could expect are private massages (about $25/hour), transportation for individual day trips,  and any alcoholic beverages that you would purchase during the week. There are wine and liquor available for purchase at the hacienda.

Deposit Due Upon Booking: $400, refundable until August 15th. It is strongly suggested that you buy trip insurance to cover you in case anything happens that makes you have to cancel, as well as cover you during the trip. I need a minimum of 10 people, so please don't delay if you are interested so that we can be sure the trip will happen.

Total Fee: $1400 per person ($1000 after deposit). Depending on the number of people that sign up we may offer discounts for double rooms with upcharges for singles.

Call or email Lynne Harty for more information at 828-777-7073/lynne@lynneharty.com



TO GET VERY INSPIRED GO TO THE LAS TRANCAS WEBSITE:  http://www.haciendalastrancas.com
Also see information on beautiful San Miguel: www.internetsanmiguel.com and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Miguel_de_Allende.

What to bring:
Camera (digital DSLR is best), tripod, laptop, card reader and flash drive.

I hope you can make it! Please forward this email to nice folks that you think would be interested in this opportunity.

All photos of Hacienda Las Trancas are from the hacienda's website.