Photographers love life, light, joy and all that touches the senses! Maybe nowhere else in the world can this be found more than in Rio - and particularly at carnival time. The Rio workshop is much more than simply an experience in photography - it offers students an exposure to a way of living which is full of energy, sensuality, outdoor activity, and humanity in one of the world's most beautiful and exciting cities during the amazing time of the Rio Carnival.

This workshop is taught by Peter Turnley, one of the world's leading photojournalists. Peter has worked in over 85 countries around the world and discovered the soul of Brazil while making a photographic portrait of the Brazilian national soccer team in the year leading up to the 1998 World Cup. He returns frequently to Brazil on assignment and has taught the Rio Carnival Workshop four times since 2005. Peter has fallen in love with Rio and finds it to be one of the most alive and wonderfully human cities in the world. He has been working on a long term personal documentation of the Rio carnival called “On the Fringe of the Rio Carnival” and much of this excellent work can be seen here: http://www.peterturnley.com/rio/01.html

This workshop around the Rio Carnival is a very dense and exciting visual experience. Peter has now several years of experience teaching this workshop, and offers the students as a group daily photographic outings around themes of the carnival which are both very visually exciting and as these outing are always accompanied by Peter and his assistant, the students safety is always taken in to consideration. The Rio Carnival is at the center of the Rio Workshop experience. Students visit rehearsals of the amazing and famous Samba Schools that perform during the Carnival Parade and are exposed to some of the most amazing dancing and popular spirit found anywhere.  The workshop goes as a group to the Friday afternoon children’s carnival which is one of the most adorable sights one can see anywhere in the world. The workshop group goes together as a group to the Saturday night carnival parade inside the Sambadrome. On Sunday afternoon, the group returns to photograph the very exciting preparations of the samba performers and schools on the periphery of the Sambadrome and one of the unique aspects of this workshop is when the group returns early in the morning at 5am on Monday morning to photograph the amazing conclusion of the Sunday night Carnival Parade. The authentic scenes this presents will stay with students memories forever.

Throughout the week, students work towards building a portfolio centered around the scenes and spirit of the carnival. Each day also includes editing the day's "takes" and choosing the best selects for critique and sharing. The goal of this workshop is for each photographer to develop a photographic story and portfolio and on the final day of the workshop, there is always a final show with each student presenting a story of 15 images that will be edited with Peter from the students weekly selects. Students need not worry ahead of time about what they will photograph-from past years experience-the week offers a tremendous amount of visual opportunity for students to create an exciting body of work around the carnival theme.

Photographers visiting Rio come away with an experience memorable for a lifetime and this workshop promises to offer lots of excitement for the senses and for visual storytelling.

Students will develop a photo-essay covering the week at the famous Brazilian Carnival and must use digital cameras. Students must bring their own laptop and an external hard-drive for downloading and storing images. Students should have an editing program such as Aperture, Lightroom, Photoshop or Photomechanic on their computer.

Peter encourages students to have at least one wide angle fixed lens, i.e 28mm, 35mm, or 50mm, or wide-angle zoom lens and to have a lens that opens to a minimum of F2.8 as often shooting will be in low light conditions. Many of the scenes of the samba schools and the carnival parade are seen in low light-so having a lens with a fast aperture-a minimum of 2.8 should be seen as a priority!

Rio offers amazing opportunity for visual storytelling. Because of the diverse economic and security realities of the city, it is recommended that students taking this workshop have previous experience with overseas travel and street photography and a degree of "street smarts". Students with this background are encouraged to take this workshop. Turnley, with his vast experience in photojournalism, is an excellent instructor to help students hone their street photography skills.

Carnival Tickets

The class will attend three evenings of Rio carnival as a group at the Sambodrome in Rio. The first event, the children’s carnival, is free. For the second event, the class will attend a parade requiring tickets which cost approximately $295. Participants must purchase tickets to this evening through our travel agent, Stockler Expeditions, when reserving your hotel room, see below. The third evening, the workshop goes as a group and photographs on the outskirts of the Sambadrome-the exciting moments of preparation and conclusion of the carnival parade. The class will also be attending the Samba school rehearsals in the days prior to the main carnival

Arrival
Plan to arrive on February 13, or at the latest by morning February 14. The first workshop session will begin at 2pm on February 14.

Departures
The workshop ends at noon on Monday, February 20, with a final show of the students’ final 15-image photo stories made during the week. Students are free to leave on that afternoon. Those wishing to stay in the region longer are free to continue their trip.

Hotel
We have located a comfortable, reasonably priced  hotel with very close access to the Rio Carnival.  

(This is the hotel where Peter will be staying).

Magestic Rio Palace Hotel 

Address: Ave 5 de julho 195 - Copacabana

Phone: 21 2548 2030

www.majestichotel.com.br

Price for 6 nights:

$1379.00 net per person double /$2359.00 net per person single ( includes taxes and daily breakfast) Students are encouraged to double up with another student in order to keep lodging costs down. If you are interested, send an email to    registrar@mainemedia.edu 

Reservations and payment are made through Stockler Expeditions (contact info below).

Hotel Payment
Full payment 5 days after reservation
Hotel is non refundable and payable by wire transfer.

Hotel and Carnival Ticket Reservations
After you have registered for the workshop, you can book your room, reserve your carnival tickets and arrange for airport transfer through Sunie at Stockler Expeditions. Sunie can also handle your airfare.

Stockler Expeditions
10266 NW 4th Court
Plantation, FL 33324
954 472 7163
800 591 2955
E-Mail: stocklers@usa.net

Travel in Rio
Students can get from the airport to the hotel either by taxi or by arranging a transfer through our travel agent Stockler Expeditions. Sunie Stockler will quote transfer prices individually or as a group if several people in our workshop will be arriving on the same flight. Our hotel is a few blocks from Rio’s famous beaches so there will be ample subject matter within a short walk. Getting to the parades will require car-pooling in a van, which our Course Assistant, Ana, will arrange.

Meals
The first and last dinners are included in the tuition cost. There is a restaurant in the hotel and a buffet breakfast is included. Ana will make reservations for the group at nearby restaurants and help with translations and how to get around in Rio.

Visa Information
US residents need a tourist visa to travel to Brazil. These are obtainable, before departure, through any number of visa processing agencies. Google “Brazilian Visa” and you’ll find an extensive list.  A passport valid for at least 6-months after departure from Brazil is required.

Important-make sure you request a “Tourist” visa and leave enough time as the process can take a week or more.

Additional Information
The Brazilian Consulate in Washington, DC has information on travel, visas and personal safety.

Tuition Note: Includes welcome & final dinners. Travel, lodging, meals not listed in this description and parade admissions additional.