Are you ready to live a unique experience while you photograph one of the most difficult-to-access countries in the African continent?
Discover why South Sudan is one of the most incredible countries to document an ancestral tradition with your camera, while an expert travel photographer will take you to the ideal locations, with the best light, during an unforgettable experience.
Esteban is going to take you on an unforgettable trip through one of the most extraordinary unexplored countries of all Africa: South Sudan. In this photography experience you will take the best pictures of a hard-access location.
Could you ask for more?
You will be always guided by the best experts that will allow you to access a remote community that not many photographers have been able to photograph.
Travelling to South Sudan is to discover in your own rhythm the Mundari tribe, an ancestral culture that lives along the White Nile River with an exceptional beauty that will make you fall in love with it. The nature, the visual richness, the ethnical diversity, the kindness of its people, the unbelievable food by our private cook, the color, the adventure and the magical light will be all the time on your side. The Mundari are one of the few cultures that haven’t been highly impacted by the western world and the interaction with tourism as occurs in neighbors’ countries in the region. You will be photographing the pureness of a community that spends their life working around their cattle that travel along with them.
Our group will have a maximum of 10 people because we want you to have a one-to-one experience in each one of the locations we will explore.
From the documentary narrative through landscape, nature, portrait and nightscape photography, this workshop will give you the best technical and conceptual tools to improve your work.
The knowledge you will get you can only get it by travelling with an expert travel photographer like Esteban.
In this experience we will immerse ourselves in the Mundari culture, we will live with them and we will have plenty of opportunities to photograph them from sunrise ‘til sunset, with chances to capture the beauty of their singing during the starry nights. Additionally, one of our main activities will be looking for the Milky Way and the nightscape that we will be constantly searching during our adventure. The desert with its incredible clear skies, far from the big cities will allow us to seek and capture precious photographs of the sky.
Esteban will join you constantly in your process, while you photograph each location, but also during the one-to-one portfolio reviews you will be part of.
Travelling to South Sudan on your own is almost impossible. The language barrier is really hard, and the access to locations, people and spots we have already found is something we’ve got covered for you. When you travel with us, all you have to worry about is your next frame.
During our trip you will have exclusive experiences that if you’d be travelling alone, you’d hardly find the photo opportunities you will have with us. All the selected locations, villages and people we will meet have been thought exclusively for photographers.
We will enjoy the best available accommodation under the circumstances where we will be living.
While in the city we will stay at the best hotels. With the Mundari, we will camp in tents –they’ll be provided by us and we’ll take care of giving you the best comfort available for camping- while we enjoy a total immersion in a nomad community as impressive as the Mundari.
*Do you remember Sebastiao Salgado’s picture at the Mundari camps? These images become icons in his work and took his career to another level, where those images were the book covers in several editions during decades.
7 days starting from Nov 5th in Juba, to Nov 11th in Juba (with hotel included until noon)
During our expedition we will have a private 4X4 truck that will take us to all the locations where the Mundari might go. We will have bottles of water and snacks available during the expedition.
DAY 1: NOV 5th
Our meeting will be on Nov 5th in Juba (South Sudan’s capital city). Our team will pick you up at the airport according to your flight itinerary. We all must have arrived at the city that day. It is very important to consider the time zone difference (GTM +2) since this can create some confusion. Arriving to Juba takes some stopovers depending on where you come from, including whole days of flights, reason why we recommend you carefully check your flight and date times.
14:00 We meet up in the hotel to have our welcome lunch.
16:00 Itinerary’s review. Solving photography questions.
21:00 First night in Juba.
DAY 2: NOV 6th
Our morning will begin with a short trip that will take us to the north side of the country, where we will meet for the first time the Mundari community.
Don’t be surprise if once we arrive they’ll be more surprised to see you than you to them. In our exploration trips, kids would come with sticks to touch us and ran away since they were greatly surprised of our visit. You’ll love to see how they enjoy looking at themselves in the vehicles’ mirrors and come in big groups but very shy.
For our first sunset we’ll wait for the cattle to come back. When we arrived before, you’ll see an empty lot and you’ll wonder “where are all the cows?” In the evening, you will see a massive group of cows and bulls with huge horns to come back to the camp. The kids will take care of their cattle returning to the field and you’ll have plenty of spontaneous opportunities to capture their routine.
DAY 3: NOV 7th
At sunrise we will start capturing the morning light while we document how the Mundari, every single day, clean their cattle, use the fire’s ashes to cover their body and protect from the harsh desert sun. A magnificent opportunity to capture breath-taking photographs.
We’ll go and eat breakfast and rest to recover some energy. We’ll have a photo critique and we’ll understand how to document a photo-series and build a documentary archive.
At sunset we will climb stair to get unique angles and document the cattle coming back to the field.
One night has come, we’ll learn night photography while we seek the milky way and creating unique compositions. We are in the desert, let’s have some fun taking pictures
DAY 4: NOV 8th
We will wake up with a new opportunity to document the Mundari. We’ll start creating more detailed-oriented portraits using the feedback from the prior photo-critique. We’ll keep building our documental series, creating unique pieces that will start working as a series. After breakfast, we’ll have another photo-critique where we will focus on creating a photo-series with the pictures that we have been capturing.
At sunset, we’ll document the sunset with the gorgeous cows and bulls that fade with the desert dust that comes when they come back, the smoke coming out of the fire that warm us up at night and the intense activity that the community has.
At night, if we’re lucky enough, we’ll be able to observe a meeting of more than 500 people from the community, where they’ll gather to dance, sing and jump with the moon light. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to practice documentary photography at night and create a more compelling story for our photo-series.
DAY 5: NOV 9th
Yes, you’re right. We will wake up again to capture the Mundari. These are unique opportunities that we shouldn’t miss. The more we practice and stick with one community, the better our eye will understand where the right pictures are. You’ll realize that your pictures from day 1 are very different than the ones you’ll take this day. Your eye will be more trained, you’ll be more used to the context that you’re living, and you’ll document more accurately according to the photo-series that you’re capturing.
After breakfast and resting, we’ll create a photo-studio in the middle of the desert (yes, you ready it right, a studio in the middle of the desert) to get a totally different light and understand how to direction the natural light, control it and work with a community that doesn’t speak your same language. If you have seen Esteban’s pictures, you probably have wondered: how does he make it? This is the perfect opportunity to learn it.
At sunset, we’ll have a photo-critique, and we’ll plan the nightscape pictures. Clear skies and milky way or another party with the community? Let’s see what surprise the adventure brings to us.
DAY 6: NOV 10th
Before sunrise we will search for the best angles to capture the morning light and the intense morning activity. We’ll have the opportunity to say farewell by creating the last portraits and observing the community with a more calmful approach.
After breakfast, we’ll go back to Juba, where we’ll take our COVID test to be able to get out of the country. Afterwards, we’ll meet in the hotel to talk about how to make an income out of our photography series and how to turn this documentary work into a series that can be shared or sold once it’s post-processed and correctly edited.
At night, we’ll have our farewell night and workshop’s conclusions.
DAY 7: NOV 11th
During the morning we’ll review portfolios, organize our suitcases and start getting ready to travel to our next destination.
End of the Workshop.
*In the Mundari tribe there are a group of young men that, in order to become a man, they need to travel in the bushes for 6 months, totally naked, in the desert. The color of their skin, muscles and contexture is simply fascinating. It’s an event that none a single documentary photographer besides Esteban has been lucky enough to photograph. World-known photographers such as Sebastiao Salgado, Jimmy Nelson and Steve McCurry have tried without any success. We’ll try our best to find them and if we are lucky enough to find them, we’ll try to have access to a permit, so we’ll be able to photograph them. Nevertheless, this is not by any means guaranteed and it’ll depend on the conditions on the field. We’ll try our best to do it, but unfortunately, we cannot make any promises. However, we want you to see the images that you’ll be able to get if we are lucky.
When does the South Sudan 2023 workshop take place?
Our adventure in South Sudan will take place from Nov 5th 2022 to Nov 11th, 2023.
Esteban, why during that time? Couldn’t be another time of the year?
Although we would love to do it during vacations, thinking on those who study or work, we have our goal clear with this destination: Being able to travel and enjoy outdoors the majority of the time with a nice weather and an amazing light. In November, we have a fantastic weather that is between the 80°F and 92°F, which makes it a perfect time to visit the country. You won’t regret it!
Do I need a VISA to enter SOUTH SUDAN?
The majority of the countries will need a VISA to enter South Sudan. However, there are some EU countries that are allowed to visit South Sudan without VISA during a short amount of time. It is really important that, according to your nationality, you do check if you need it or not. We will take care of processing your South Sudanese Visa. Once you join, we’ll ask you for a copy of your passport to be able to get it with enough time prior our visit.
What is the workshop price?
From workshop’s launching until December 31st, 2022, the price is $4.500USD
From January 1st, 2023 to March 25th, 2023 the price is $5.000USD
From March 26th, 2023 to September 25th, 2023, the price is $5.500USD
From September 25th, 2023 to November 2nd, 2023, the price is $7.000USD
If you do early booking, you can save up to $
You can book your seat starting at $2500USD, non-refundable, that will save your seat to the corresponding pricing of the first payment.
Students of previous international workshops can have $150USD discount over any of the payment dates.
What does the price include?
- 7 days of photography workshop where you will learn from: documentary photography, travel photography, landscape, portrait, photography equipment, photographic technique, composition and narrative, and three portfolio reviews by Esteban Toro.
- All meals starting from Nov 5th, 2023 to breakfast Nov 11th, 2023. Nov 10thth dinner is also included.
- Best accommodation available according to the best conditions that we can find in single accommodation, with high levels of cleanliness and security, to guarantee the best comfort possible during our trip, starting on the night of November 5th, 2023 and ending on the night of November 10th, 2023.
- Domestic transfer through South Sudan in a private car, totally comfortable and thought for photographers who carry bags of camera who wants good space for the legs!
- All the national park entrances, villages, game reserves and locations specified in the itinerary.
- South Sudan VISA.
- All the photoshoots –specified in the itinerary- with locals, including technical and compositing advice by Esteban.
- Bottles of water and snacks inside the car during our trips
What does not include this price?
- Airplane tickets from your country to Juba and from Juba to your next destination.
- COVID test.
- International calls from the hotel.
- Damages caused during your stay at the hotel we visit. It will be under your responsibility.
- Tips and additional transfers that you do on your own.
- International travel and health insurance.
- All the services not mentioned in the INCLUDED list.
What camera equipment should I bring for the experience?
- Any DSLR or Mirrorless camera, no matter what brand you have, is just what you need.
- Lenses: Any lens is useful for our expedition. However, if possible: A wide-angle 16-35mm, an intermediate zoom 24-70mm and a telephoto 70-200mm.
- Tripod (You can’t leave it at home!)
- Remote controller
- High capacity and speed memories that you can trust on
- Laptop (optional)
- Hard drive (NECESSSARY)
- A good and comfortable bagpack to take camera, one lens, batteries and a bottle of water for the photo walks
If you need help buying extra equipment, we can help you with that!
Don’t worry about what to take with you. All the information about clothes, how to protect your camera from the dust in the desert, as many other recommendations we will solve them out for you three months in advance with our workshop welcoming letter so you can prepare your luggage!
Do you have a brand-new phone with you? Welcome to take pictures with it. It will allow you to photograph freely during the trip and take good snaps. You can enjoy the whole adventure only with your pocket camera. We are totally phone lovers.
*Although you have to consider that when taking pictures at night, you will have some issues if you decide to bring only your phone. Anyway, it is always wonderful to contemplate the views during a beautiful night.
Who is this experience for?
It does not matter how advanced you are in photography. If you are beginner or professional, Esteban will always be there to guide you. He will check your process, according to your photography knowledge. If you have any doubt about your camera, framing, composition, light, narrative or even all of the above, you can always solve them out with him. His experience as a professor has given him an incredible patience to solve any doubt, even “the most stupid one” (but there are not really stupid questions though).
Bank Transfer is available in the United States.
We prefer Western Union for students overseas who cannot pay in a U.S Bank Account.
Do you know this transfer system?
https://www.westernunion.com/us/es/send-money/app/start
They have business offices all around the world and allows you to easily transfer money
The company will charge a small amount to transfer the money from the workshop.
You can transfer directly if you have a U.S account.
Once you decide to join us in our photography experience, we will have to start booking plenty of things to guarantee the best prices and quality, because of that, we need a minimum deposit of $2500USD to book your seat with us. As you have read above, we have a maximum availability of 10 people for the workshop. This is an exclusive experience, which implies that many of the seats will be taken before you finish reading this sentence. Join us now!
The outstanding balance can be paid according to the payment dates mentioned above.
The minimum quorum to the South Sudan workshop is 4 people. In case we don’t complete the quorum, we will give you back 100% of your deposit.
Does the price include the airplane tickets to or from South Sudan?
No. The airplane tickets to Juba and from Juba must be purchased by you. We can gladly help you to get the best discounts, so please do not hesitate to ask us for that.
Do I need to be athletic to assist the experience?
You don’t have to worry about your physical condition. We will do photo walks, be we will spend many hours taking pictures in the same location, waiting for the best light. We will always be thinking about the comfort of the group, so we will frequently stop and wait for the others. Also, we will always look for the best way to move from one place to the other, to make the greatest experience for everybody, no matter the age or physical condition.
What language will be spoken during the expedition?
All our workshop will be guided in English and Spanish. No worries, amigo!
When will you have another photo expedition to South Sudan?
These photo expeditions are unique. We might come back to South Sudan in 2050, but so far, we don’t have any other planned more than the 2023 experience.
I have another question, who I ask to?
Please, feel free to contact Esteban any time you need. He will call you back with all the detailed information you need to solve all your questions.
You can send him an email too: contact@estebantoro.com or get in contact by phone: +1 917-280-2554
THE ADVENTURE OF YOUR DREAMS: IT IS WORTH IT TO DO IT!
