In the Middle of Nowhere Gallery
Pampas, Argentina 2007
® Eva Martinez
When I decided to take Ernesto’s workshop I set out to work closely with him and all the group’s participants. I believe I made this decision for my strong intention to grow and learn more about my passion for photography. I enjoyed the very severe editing sessions; the exchange of opinions and the daily advises that surface when a photograph appears on a computer’s screen and eight people provide their opinion. It was the only moment when the language was not a barrier among us. After the first editing sessions, Ernesto advises you to only lift the camera when we feel that we are before a good and justified situation. You can be sure that his words came to mind several times before releasing the shutter. The moments experienced both from a photographic and life perspective were so many that it will take some time to process all of them. Ernesto I want to thank you for the days that we shared, your advises and help to enrich my gaze… It was a pleasure to have spent those days “in the middle of nowhere” in the company of the whole group. A big hug! Evangelina Martinez
® Leslie Rosenthal
® Linda Mayer
The landscape of Argentina was hauntingly beautiful: bright red mountains and cactus plants brushed by suffocating clouds of dust. Each evening we wondered whether the winds would blow from the north bringing us warmth or from the south bringing cold air. To the natives of Jujuy, I was a Gringo. They watched me take photographs with suspicion because I could not speak their language. I hope these photographs capture some small portion of the emotions I felt in the ten days I spent among the people of Jujuy. Linda Kay Mayers
® Sophie Peeters
Most amazing moments appear at most unexpected times in most unexpected places. The unexpected makes your eyes and feet moving in search of those precious instants. Capturing these split seconds is in itself an accomplishment – the sporadic thrill when everything truly “works” is indescribable. Thanks once again Ernesto for helping me see life from a different angle Even in the middle of nowhere – what a pleasant surprise to discover photographic gems. Sophie Peeters
® Veronica Bellomo
Ernesto’s workshop was an incredible experience both as a photographic and life experience. Working all day long and then at night look at our mistakes and a few good images helped you understand why an image works or doesn’t. Sharing the workshop with such a heterogeneous group enriches your own vision. Ernesto is a young boy in the body of an adult with the wisdom of a sage. I’m happy to have taken this workshop because I had doubts before taking it. Now, I want to do another one! Veronica Bellomo
® Willard Pate
Five days of bumping along through the vast, brown, arid, and oh so beautiful landscape brought us to remote villages where we were usually greeted with an emptiness that seemed an extension of the desert through which we had just traveled. But slowly a trickle of children and dogs and weathered old women wearing long braids would begin to venture out their doors and into the central courtyards. Then on the sixth day, the streets of sleepy Casabindo exploded with people come to participate in the religious celebration for the Virgin. Both the sparcity and the thickness of the crowds presented situations as challenging to photograph as any I have encountered on the now twelve workshops I have taken with Ernesto. But as anyone who has been on a workshop with Ernesto knows, the frustration of having to “find the photograph” is part of the joy of the experience. I shall most definitely return next year. Willard Pate
