Easter in Sicily – Italy

Sicily is the land where I was born, where I first opened my eyes to the light. Sicily pulses in my veins; a mixture of its scents, its sounds and rhythms, its people, along with the colors and flavors that I carry inside of me. Sicily is where I began taking pictures. Since childhood, Sicilian Holy Week has fascinated me and been one of my favorite subjects. At first, I took photographs simply for fun, then later as a life choice, the voice of my soul, as a passion. And so it is no coincidence that as my workshops have spread around the world, I now return home, to the places I adored to photograph before falling in love with Cuba. After la isla querida, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru, the next location in my itinerary will be Sicily during the holy week of this year. They will be ten days of intense and stimulating work.

The theme of this workshop is to explore the fascinating island of Sicily in search of those daily moments of passion, pain and joy that have always accompanied Christ's death and resurrection throughout the centuries. We will photograph religiosity, often lived tragically, and the pagan expressions within the rituals. And we will also photograph daily life in all its different aspects.

Our first meeting will take place on the first day of the workshop no later than noon time at the Palermo International Airport, Falcone Borsellino. Together with my assistants we will travel towards the western part of the island in the province of Trapani. There we will experience and photograph some of the most heart-felt events I have ever witnessed; the live Via Crucis performance in Marsala, the night procession in Erice, the dramatic and unforgettable procession in Trapani that goes on through the night till the next morning.

During the other days to our disposal, we will visit other inland little towns where we will be able to document new moments of this week charged with pathos. The last three days will be devoted entirely to the editing and the final selection of the best images taken by each student. The two best photos of each participant will be included in the students' gallery on my web-page and on the booklet on their Sicilian experience that the students will put together later on.

Coming to Sicily will not simply be a photographic journey, it will also be an unforgettable human and culinary experience. You will find yourself immersed in a melting pot of unique and extraordinary cultures and architectures; you will get to know Sicilians first-hand, you will experience and photograph them in their daily existence, you will savor their delicious typical dishes of Sicilian cuisine including the to-die-for sweets.

Our base will be a 19th century villa by the sea just a few miles away by the famous Trapani salt-pans. Each morning, we will travel by car to the villages and little towns where the sacred processions will take place. Along the way, our eyes will fill up with the rolling hills in the province of Trapani, the harsh mountains in the interior of the island and the magnificent sea that caresses the coast.

As usual, I will only add, that it will be a great learning experience where we will share, as always, photography and life.

Air fare to Sicily
All major US carriers have non-stop daily flight to Rome. Alitalia is another good choice. Keep in mind that the earlier you book your flight the cheaper the airfare will be. From Rome you will have to catch another flight to Palermo. You can arrange that yourself or you can have my travel agency in Palermo help you make travel arrangements. Please remember that you have to to arrive to Palermo by the late morning on the day the workshop start. We will be waiting for you there to pick you up and take you to Trapani.

Accommodation
The first eight students that will enroll in the workshop will stay in the 19th century villa by the sea near the famous Trapani’s salt pans, the other seven will stay in nice accommodations next door.

Food
I believe that any extra word regarding the deliciousness of Sicilian food would be unnecessary. You should figure between $20 to 40 USD a day. When we will be traveling, we will often eat panini, pizzas and the famous stuffed riceballs. At night or during the three day editing, we will eat wonderful typical dishes in trattorie and restaurants in the area.

Film
The best film to bring is traditional B&W film such as Kodak Tri-X or Kodak T-Max 400 or 3200 asa, or color negative film by Kodak or Fuji with C41 processing. The other option is to bring black and white film Kodak TCN 400, Kodak Portra or Ilford XP2 that are also processed with C41 processing.

Processing
B&W film processing is $4 dollars per roll. 8x10 working prints are $6 dollars each. C-41 processing is $2 dollar per roll, an 8x10 inches color print is $3 dollars.

Internet Access
Internet acces is quite easy to find in all the island.

Refund Policy
I rely on your attendance to organize many of the workshops’ logistics, so if for any reason you decide to no longer attend the workshop, please notify me at least 60 days before the start of the workshop. At that time I will refund your full deposit. If you cancel between 30 and 60 days before the start of the workshop I will retain $200 as a cancellation fee. If notification is made less than 30 days before the start of the workshop no monies will be refunded to you.

Please note that in case of exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances such as hurricanes, earthquakes, major floods, tsunami, a war or governments' change of policies in the countries I teach courses, BazanPhotos will only offer as a refund a new workshop in any of the other venues during that same calendar year. No other forms of refunds will be available.

For further information on the workshops and the cost of the 10-day workshop please write to workshops@bazanphotos.com or ernesto_bazan@hotmail.com