Going With The Flow Gallery
Iquitos, Peru 2014
® Baron Barnett
I just completed my seventh exploration with Ernesto. We were in Iquitos and some surrounding smaller towns. It had been two years since I had traveled with Ernesto. As usual, there were familiar faces and new. The energy of the group was phenomenal and the interactions enhanced our spiritual and artistic sense.
Ernesto was his usual stimulant and he created more arenas for us to explore the spirit of the locals. The people were very interactive and receptive to the strangers with cameras. With the cohesive force of the group and Ernesto’s editing direction we were able to formulate a comprehensive sense of place. We were also able to develop some lasting relationships within the group. With Frank and Calvin giving families medical advice, an added depth of warmth was experienced. The appreciation was sweet and beautiful to see!!
As always, I feel if one is ready for an adventure and experience the beauty of the unexpected get on the boat and go with the flow!! Hang on for the ride and you will have an unforgettable journey…
Thanks again Ernesto!! Baron Barnett
® Calvin Chen
There are rare times in life where you become better. In Ernesto’s workshop I became not just a better photographer, but also a better person. Magical and surreal. Maybe it’s his karma or passion that attracts people to him. Ernesto has a poetic vision that you can’t help but be influenced by. I still don’t know how exactly I’ve changed, but I have, and that’s a good thing. Calvin Chen
® Frank Baudino
I was in Iquitos with Ernesto four years ago and the magic of that location inspired me to return to explore more deeply. Meeting with the people in Iquitos, the other villages reminded me again of the warmth and openness of the Peruvian people. Rarely have I met people so welcoming to a bunch of gringos wandering around in their town and houses looking for pictures.
The most amazing part of the Iquitos experience, however, was the incredible energy and synergy within our group. We were fortunate to have with us a mixture of talented photographers who brought new ways of seeing to our group. The give and take of the editing sessions was amazing. I learned so much from viewing other students’ images and discussing the merits and flaws of each image. With Ernesto’s guidance, we all went home with a large number of memorable pictures that “went beyond” mere description and which captured some of the magic of the Amazon.
Thank you, again, Ernesto. It was an incredible workshop. Frank Baudino
® Nilo Rebecchi
A workshop with Ernesto is an irreplaceable educational experience both as a photographer and as a person. This year in the Amazon it was so in a particular way. It was the first time I participated with six other students. The passion, sensitivity, talent, humility and joy that each of them has put in photographs were a daily source of learning and excitement. Generosity, availability and friendship made this experience even more humanly rich and memorable.
The people we met and the moments of life that revealed before us are printed in my heart.
Thanks to Ernesto I learned how difficult it is to take a good photograph, and when that happens it is a gift we receive. It is the result not only of the eye, but especially of a particular mood, a moment of grace that is attained when, as if by magic, we put ourselves in harmony with our surroundings. Nilo Rebecchi
® Santi Llobet
When I went to the Iquitos workshop I had a very different idea of what the workshop was going to be like. It was my first workshop with Ernesto Bazan and although I had heard many things about him and his students through common friends, meeting him in person and learning photography with him and the other students has proven to be an unforgettable experience.
The location of Iquitos is perfect for learning about photography and other things in the photographer’s life.
The Peruvian people, especially those from Iquitos, are simple, funny and like to be photographed, along with the fact that the Amazon river in the background provides magical moments for photography. Changes in weather like rain or heat make you understand what the fieldwork photographer is sometimes uncomfortable with and that you have to be flexible to adapt to whatever happens. You have to “Go with the Flow”.
Ernesto and the other students make you feel at home from the very first moment, you feel that are your friends and everyone wants to share with you all the pictures taken and the editing sessions. The reviews are always constructive, if some pictures do not work, each student and Ernesto will explain to you why.
Teamwork empowers chat, debate and the learning process far away from “egos” and opinions that only go in one direction.
Each of the students has time to talk about the other photos and listen to how others react to his or her images.
Can there be a better learning environment?
Ernesto has combined his great photographic work and his talent with the humility of the sage and the desire to teach that only great teachers possess.
The Workshop is not about being with a great photographer and his wonderful students, but to be with a great teacher. This is not common as great professionals are prone to fail when teaching.
Ernesto masters both professions: that of being a great photographer and to be a great human being. Santiago Llobet
® Sophie Peeters
Here I am, writing this note, back in the comfort of my own home. But I’m not the same as before I left… the Amazon has captured a fragment of my soul, calling me back, feeling a strong magnetic attraction to return. I feel grateful to have so abundantly and gracefully received all that I needed and more. Going back to the basics of living and venturing deep into the lives of the people in the Amazon, is a very humbling experience and invites you to have a whole different perspective on life. I am grateful beyond words for the time spent in the Amazon and for the kindness of the Goddess of Photography.
I am very appreciative to have been able to share this wonderful time with all the Go With The Flow students, each one made this experience very special in his own way.
Ernesto, thank you for your wonderful energy, warmth and for welcoming us again in the most unexpectedly beautiful and amazing situations! And also for your kind appreciation of my learning curve, no matter what settings I used with my new digital camera. Who cares if it works. I will never forget that. Thank you for all that you are.
Big big hug
Sophie
® Stan Raucher
You may wonder why
Ten workshops with Ernesto
Life’s visions unfold. Stan Raucher
