Pecos Monument by Bruce Dale, c 2001

August 17-23rd 2003

Bruce Dale's Pecos River Workshop offers students of all levels a unique, hands-on learning experience in documentary and travel photography. Limited in size, the workshop takes place in a beautiful setting on the Pecos River, just a half-hour from Santa Fe. Located in the foothills of northern New Mexico's rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the area provides students with a rich variety of Southwestern photographic opportunities.

Workshop participants will learn to capture images they see with the eye as Bruce - twice named Photographer of the Year by the National Press Photographers Association - shares with them insights and techniques gained during 30 years of photography for National Geographic Magazine. His most recent book, The American Southwest, the result of a year-long odyssey, was published by the National Geographic in 1999.

Workshop Approach: Students rapidly grow in skills through personalized instruction and timely feedback. The week includes group field trips to several of Bruce's favorite spots. We'll be working exclusively with digital cameras so that work can be critiqued both on site and back at our camp the same evening..

It is strongly recommended that students choose a theme to bring focus to their efforts. Sessions cover lighting on location with minimal equipment, improvising in the field, and photographing people in sensitive situations. Emphasis is on combining composition and lighting to capture the provocative moment. "Always come to the subject with a picture in mind," Bruce teaches, "but be ready for the unexpected. That's the photo you really want."

Subject Opportunities: Hispanic village life, adobe architecture, the ruins of the Pecos Pueblo, the Santa Fe Trail, a restored colonial hacienda, national parks and monuments, high desert vistas and ponderosa pine mountains are all close at hand, touched by the magical, high-altitude light that attracted Georgia O'Keeffe and other renowned painters and photographers to northern New Mexico.

Digital Photography: This will be a digital workshop designed around digital cameras. These cameras have matured to a point where they can effectively replace conventional cameras. (Conventional film is welcome but we'll not be running film back and forth to the lab this year.) Digital cameras will allow us instant feedback on photographic exercises and Bruce will show how he has put them to good use for his advertising assignments during the past couple years. In the evening, we'll use a digital projector to review work from the day. By the end of the workshop, each student will have a print to take home made on one of the latest Epson printers.

Scheduling: Course begins on Sunday evening with dinner and ends with a student show and dinner on Friday evening. Checkout will be Saturday morning.

Film and processing: Not included. (We'll have digital cameras on hand for those who do not have their own.) For those of you who wish, you may get your film processed at an excellent lab in Santa Fe, but it'll be up to you to handle the drop off and pickup.

Accommodations: Workshops are held at Pecos River Cabins, a rustic retreat among cottonwoods on the banks of the river and within walking distance of the village of Pecos. This private complex, run by gracious hosts, includes a splendid new meeting facility for workshop sessions. Accommodations are in simple cabins with a central bath house and plenty of hot water. There is also a limited number of deluxe accommodations with private baths and kitchens. We'll share a continental breakfast every morning and two gourmet dinners, plus time around the campfire. Other meals are on your own.

Course cost: $895 plus tax

Lodging: (Includes 2 dinners, daily continental breakfast, snacks and coffee breaks)
Deluxe: $580, Shared Deluxe: $500
Standard: $415, Shared Standard: $370
Plus taxes

Contact: For more information, visit the cabins at http://www.pecosrivercabins.com

Or contact Bruce at badpix@aol.com.

For registration: please
contact Fritz Rothdach at Pecos River Cabins PO Box 50, Pecos, New Mexico 87552
Phone 505 757-8760 Fax 505 757-6887
prcfritz@cybermesa.com

Student Photos: To see work of the 2000 year's class, please click on the following link.
Student Photos from the 2000 Workshop

Visit Pecos River Cabins
Take a look here for a comprehensive view of the workshop facilities.

Sponsored by
PANASONIC AND EPSON

With additional support from
NIKON, LEXAR, MAXTOR and WACOM