Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures
"Seek your own vision, and create great photos!"

© 2011 Margo Taussig Pinkerton.  All Rights Reserved.  From Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures.  For usage and fees, please e-mail TBC (at) BCphotoadventures (dot) com or contact us at 310 Lafayette Drive, Hillsborough, NC  27278 or at 1-919-643-3036 before 9 p.m. Eastern Time, ET.
See Student
Galleries
© 2011 Margo Taussig Pinkerton.  All Rights Reserved.  From Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures.  For usage and fees, please e-mail TBC (at) BCphotoadventures (dot) com or contact us at 310 Lafayette Drive, Hillsborough, NC  27278 or at 1-919-643-3036 before 9 p.m. Eastern Time, ET.
Click for
Guest Reviews

Quotable Quotes from Alumni - Belize, Land of the Maya

Here are a few comments from our alumni. For more, click here.

As time permits, we will be adding more quotes.
This was my third photography workshop with Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures, and Belize is the trip I was most excited about for 2020. For our workshop in Belize, we stayed at the Cotton Tree Lodge, a resort situated at the edge of the jungle/rain forest near Punta Gorda.

The daily meals are all farm to table and feature the local cuisine. Truly a dining experience to savor. The accommodations are thatched, rosewood cabanas along the Moho River. Our home base was awesome, allowing us to concentrate on our photography.

The photographic learning experience included cultural visits with local Maya artists and families. We visited a family home to prepare tortillas, observe local weavers and potters, Creole style drummers, and chocolatiers who instructed us in the art of making chocolate from cacao beans. During each visit, we photographed the Maya in their local habitat and traditional dress. The colors were divine, and the photographic possibilities were endless. To keep the jungle tame, the locals use machetes to manage the growth. The highlight of my trip was an excursion to a local high school. The students learn about all aspects of farming and gave us “hands on” instruction of the proper use of the machete. I am a fan! The intersection between our interactions with the Maya people and our photography was genuinely rewarding both culturally and photographically.

Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures are perfect for the photographic enthusiast. Our fearless leaders, Margo and Arnie, are professionals in the field who enjoy sharing their enthusiasm and knowledge with each and every person on one of their adventures. And, who can resist Belize in January?

    ~ Mary D., North Carolina
Belize! What a wonderful experience! Cotton Tree Lodge was the perfect location for a workshop. Yes.. the dirt roads were bumpy, the air was humid, and the Wi-Fi was iffy, but none of that mattered. The people we met were eager to share their culture. I would definitely recommend a visit to Belize with Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures.

    ~ Diane P., Georgia
Top ten reasons why you should enroll in the Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures Belize Workshop [starting at the "bottom" with the 10th]:
  1. The Weather:  January in Belize is comfortably warm. Evenings are cool, but a light jacket will be enough.
  2. Chocolate:  Belize is known for producing cacao which is the basis for chocolate candy. They don’t dilute it with milk and sugar, so it is good for you! We visited a local grower/producer and learned about the history of cacao and how to harvest it to make chocolate.
  3. The Food:  I did not go hungry and I am a picky eater.
  4. The Jungle:  We are located in southern Belize in the middle of the jungle (think rain forest). The landscape is breath taking with many photo opportunities.
  5. The Cotton Tree Lodge Accommodations:  The rosewood, thatched roof cabanas are incredible. There is hot and cold running water, drinking water, raised walk-ways, farm-to-table food, solar power with a back-up generator, etc. This is my idea of camping.
  6. The Locals:  We visited the homes of a few locals and were warmly welcomed. They allowed us to photograph their activities, their homes, their family members.
  7. The Cotton Tree Staff:  The owners are an incredible family. They hire locals to run the place and were very accommodating to the needs of our photography group.
  8. The Cultural Experiences:  We witnessed first hand the life of the Maya people in rural Belize. No tourist magnets, no post card shots, just authentic day-in-the-life of the Belize people who have lived on the land for centuries. While there are modern conveniences such as cars, each home we visited had a traditional wood stove alongside a modern gas (kerosene) stove.
  9. The Photo Opportunities:  It was easy to seek your own vision given the natural surroundings and local lifestyles.
  10. Margo and Arnie:  Their coaching style is to understand your needs and work with you one-on-one. I learn so much during the group debriefs/critiques not only from Arnie and Margo but from the other participants who may have seen the same scene but had a very different interpretation. The family atmosphere and positive energy of each workshop is what keeps me coming back to BCPA workshops. Belize was a unique experience I highly recommend.
    ~ Rose P., Ohio