Caipirinhas Candomble and Soup and Rainnn Bahia Gallery
Salvador de Bahia, Brazil 2012
® Aliona Londono
To return to Bahia has been fantastic experience. I was a bit afraid that this time it was not going to be as magic as the first time, that this time the group was not going to be as nice as it was in March… but luckily, also this time it was great again and the magic of Bahia returned with us.
I feel very fortunate to have met Candida, Daneè and Daniela.
Ernesto has given me the opportunity to discover great photographers, some of them his own students, and in their work is perfectly reflected the imprint of his teaching. And it’s worth the praise his ability to transmit his passion and critical spirit for the art of photography, an art within the reach of many, but only and truly mastered by few. Aliona Londono
® Candida Vivalda
To be part of Ernesto’s workshop in Bahia has been a very precious experience. I’ve been surprised, I’ve been involved and deeply moved by his commitment, his participation and his real interest, demonstrated day after day, hour after hour, in the photographic path of each one of us.
Ernesto is a great maestro of life and a generous man, capable of sharing his knowledge and his passion without any hesitation or jealousy, with an authentic involvement, spurring each one of us each day no matter the fatigue, no matter the doubts and disappointments that sometimes you need to face in the long and difficult path of photographic growth.
Ernesto accompanied me with patience, affection and commitment all at the same time; he has managed to make me discover profound “threads” in my pictures that talk about me. Some of his words are still with me, that spin around my head and they will be with me for a long time.
I’ve also had the immense fortune to share this workshop with 3 wonderful women that I want to thank with all my heart for their positive attitude, there generosity and closeness at each moment: without them this path wouldn’t have been so intense and rewarding. Thank you! Candida Vivalda
® Danée Shows
Traveling to Bahia and studying with Ernesto is like taking in a Monet for the first time and only merely beginning to scratch the surface of its complex beauty. My experience was a first-hand lesson in patience, rumination and humility. At once, I became a child again, struggling to capture the poetic landscape of Bahia and its people; longing to seize the essence of a moment in a split second and photograph a feeling that went beyond just another beautifully composed shot. Ernesto helped me to do just that. By challenging me daily and urging me to trust my intuition; he assisted me in deconstructing my old vision, and paved a new path that would allow me to transcend life and play with fresh perspective.
I would be remiss to not also mention the collective, positive vibe of our traveling bunch. The girls simultaneously supported and challenged me. By seeing the world through their lens, I learned not only what “worked” and what didn’t, but was also inspired to keep at my craft and not give up. Without everyone’s assistance, I wouldn’t have made the great strides I felt I did. Danée Shows
® Daniela Talavera
These ten days in the workshop have meant, somehow, a before and an after in my photography. I believe that my experience in Bahia has generated in me a secure pleasure in the work that I do.
There are infinite words of love to all those people that we met along the way (Mariani, Bruna, Agripina and others); all their energy will always stay with me.All the work done during the workshop has this unique, inexplicable magic. It has been great to share this time with people that I know they will be my soulful friends with for the rest of my life ( Ernesto, Candida, Aliona and Daneè: how wonderful to have had you with me! Thank you for giving me such beautiful days).
The sensation to be able to recognize the magic in a situation is for me my best image. To shoot with your soul and to go beyond the real and the merely descriptive has been a constant challenge and it will probably continue to be so.
Beyond the human exchange during the workshop, I greatly loved the critical process and the daily editing with Ernesto… I believe somehow that it is a difficult path, full of nice and contradictory sensations that leave you with a real satisfaction. It was fascinating to be able to participate in the editing process of Ernesto’s new book of panoramic images Isla. As I’ve already told him, I feel that it will be his best book, his more needed “story”… the images speak for themselves, discuss and spiral among themselves to end up getting straight to our soul.
Now, the only other thing left for me to say is that this experience has greatly helped me to get my “internal eye” to wake up and never go back to sleep again. Daniela Talavera
