Costa Rica Creative Immersion Photography Workshop

With Rob Knight and Judy Host

September 11-19, 2021

Tuition:$3799 per person (All-inclusive)

 Double Occupancy

($500 single supplement)

 Deposit: $500

Final Payment due 4/16/2021

 Limit: 12 photographers

 Register By: 2/28/2021 

Highlights:

  • A unique exploration of travel, creativity, and photography
  • World-class Accommodations
  • Farm (and sea)-to-table meals (vegetarian, gluten free, and vegan options available upon request)
  • Experienced (and FUN) professional photography instructors
  • Optional excursions so you can customize your experience
  • Knowledgable and friendly local guides
  • “Off the beaten path” locations
  • Cultural exchange with local people
  • Make friends and connect with like-minded travelers

Your Instructors

Rob Knight

Rob Knight

Olympus Educator Rob Knight has been leading photography workshops in Costa Rica for over ten years. He loves to share his favorite place with photographers of all skill levels.

Judy Host

Judy Host

Judy Host is an internationally recognized Instructor and an award winning portrait artist who is very blessed to be able to make a good living doing what she loves to do.

Pura Vida.

pu•ra vi•da   adjective

Tropical birds call through the rain forest as you step into the warm morning. Spot scarlet macaws and toucans as you join your fellow travelers for a cup of coffee in the open-air restaurant. You can’t resist the beautiful morning light, and you’ve already captured some great shots before your second cup of coffee. After a home-cooked breakfast you set out for adventure. Today you will explore a local fishing village as the fishermen prepare for their work day. You’ll practice a costal version of street photography as they mend nets and prepare bait. After a delicious lunch you’ll board a private river boat to photograph crocodiles, birds, sloths and more. Our local guides make sure you don’t miss a thing, and Rob and Judy work with you to insure that you make the most of every once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunity. Then it’s back to the resort for cocktail hour, where you will share your experience and photographs with your companions. After enjoying a farm-to-table dinner in the open-air dining room you will head back to your comfortable air conditioned room to recharge and prepare for a whole new experience tomorrow…

That’s my personal idea of Pura Vida, anyway. Pura Vida literally translates to “Pure Life”. It’s sort of the official motto of the Costa Rican people, or Ticos. It’s often the answer you get when you ask a Tico, “how’s it going?” 

My name is Rob Knight, and I’ve been showing photographers around Costa Rica for more than ten years. I love the people, the wildlife, the landscape, the food…. you get the idea! I especially love sharing my favorite place with photographers who are up for adventure. That’s why I’m particularly excited about this workshop that I’m hosting in July 2021 with my friend Judy Host. 

When Judy approached me about arranging a Costa Rica trip for her photography friends, we agreed to create a photo workshop that would include all of my favorite things about Costa Rica. My goal being to create the ultimate Costa Rica photography experience. 

That’s what you’re seeing here, and I couldn’t be more excited! When you come with Judy and me to Costa Rica you will be treated to a little bit of everything. We’ll spend a few nights on the Central Pacific coast, and a few nights in the cloud forest. From the animals we’ll encounter to the temperature, you will be amazed by the difference between the two regions.

I’ll get to take you to all of my favorite spots to photograph wildlife. You’ll see monkeys, sloths, crocodiles, tree frogs, and more birds than you can imagine. Add to that excursions designed to highlight the people and the culture of Costa Rica. As much as we are excited about the photography, the food is a close second. Judy and I both love to eat great local food when we travel. I have hand picked my favorite restaurants to take you to all week. We will explore Costa Rican food from road-side stands to fine dining and everything in between.

I hope you’ll join us on this new adventure, and we hope you’ll come up with your own definition of ¡Pura Vida!

“It’s amazing what happens when we allow ourselves to slow down, be present, and enjoy our community and environment through photography, connection, and travel.”

What's Included

$3799 Per Person ($500 single supplement)

8 nights lodging in world-class accomodations.

ALL meals. You’re in luck because Rob is great at sniffing out the BEST food.

All Transportation including airport transfers*. You will be cool and comfortable in our air-conditioned bus with a restroom on board.

Daily Photography Excursions where you will have plenty of access to our talented instructors.

Optional excursions some days so you can customize your experience.

All tour tickets and park entry fees are included in your tuition.

Tips for drivers and guides are included in your tuition.

 

What’s not included:

*Your Costa Rica photo workshop fee does not include airfare to San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO).

Alcoholic beverages are not included.

 

We strongly recommend you purchase comprehensive travel insurance in case of emergencies. Questions?

Please note our cancellation policy.

Itinerary

Day one:

Arrive in San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO) early afternoon. 

Take the airport shuttle and check into the Double Tree Cariari hotel in San Jose.

Welcome dinner with the group at the hotel.

 

Day Two:

Early breakfast at the hotel before we depart for Jaco Beach.

Check in at Croc’s resort and casino.

Explore the town of Jaco Beach (street photography, shopping, etc.) and have lunch in town.

Enjoy the hotel/beach/pool in the afternoon before dinner at the hotel.

 

Day Three:

Breakfast at the hotel.

Visit to Tarcoles fishing village for some Costa Rican “street” photography.

Mountainside lunch with a Pacific Ocean view.

Private cruise on the Tarcoles river (the crocodile river) to see crocodiles, birds, and more.

Dinner at the hotel.

 

Day Four:

Breakfast at the hotel.

Early bus ride south to Manuel Antonio National Park.

Explore the national park to see monkeys, sloths, birds, and beautiful beach vistas.

(There will be time to visit merchants in Manuel Antonio.)

Ocean view lunch in Manuel Antonio.

Photographing world-class surfing and sunset at Playa Hermosa.

Beachside dinner in Playa Hermosa.

 

Day Five:

Breakfast at the hotel.

We will party with the locals during the Independence Day Parade. It’s a great chance to experience the culture as we photograph Costa Ricans of all ages in traditional costumes dancing and playing traditional music.

Delicious seaside lunch.

Afternoon at the hotel to hit the beach, the spa, the casino, or whatever you like.

Dinner in Jaco Beach.

 

Day Six:

Breakfast at the hotel.

Depart for Villa Blanca Resort and Nature Preserve.

This will be a relaxing day exploring the nature preserve at Villa Blanca, including the hummingbird gallery and the chapel in the cloud forest.

Today is a great opportunity to take advantage of the excellent spa services at Villa Blanca.

We will have lunch and dinner at Villa Blanca.

Optional: Guided night hike in the cloud forest to look for tree frogs and other critters.

 

Day Seven:

Breakfast at Villa Blanca

Optional morning excursion: Visit to the town of San Ramon for street photography, exploring, and/or shopping.

We will have lunch at Villa Blanca.

Optional Afternoon excursion: We will travel to the Arenal Volcano area to visit a geothermal hot spring resort. You can have a soak in the warm waters, enjoy the swimming pools and water slides, or simply relax and have a drink. We will have dinner at the resort before returning to Villa Blanca. 

If you don’t come on the hot springs excursion your dinner will be served at Villa Blanca.

 

Day Eight:

Breakfast at the hotel.

Coffee plantation tour (including lunch)

Visit to Sarchi artists village

Afternoon at the hotel

Dinner at El Sendero restaurant

Optional: guided night hike in the cloud forest to look for tree frogs and other critters.

 

 

Day Nine:

Breakfast at the hotel.

Departures for the airport.

Our Host Hotels

Croc’s Resort

Jaco Beach, Costa Rica

Beautiful Pacific oceanfront hotel with all the modern amenities. CLICK HERE for more details.


Villa Blanca Cloud Forest Hotel & Nature Reserve

San Ramon, Costa Rica

Private cabins and a gourmet restaurant surrounded by the beauty of the cloud forest. CLICK HERE for more details.

Equipment Suggestions

Equipment Suggestions

A Mirrorless or DSLR camera with interchangeable lenses, point-and-shoot camera, or even your phone!

  • A versatile mid-range zoom lens (18-55mm, 24-105mm, etc) is recommended.
  • You will also want a longer telephoto lens (something 400mm or longer is best) for shooting wildlife on the trip.
  • A wide-angle lens will  be handy for landscape photography.
  • A dedicated macro lens is useful for flowers, tree frogs, etc..

Additional suggestions:

  • Memory cards. We recommend 128GB of storage or more.
  • Tripod.
  • Hot-shoe flash 
  • Lens cleaning cloth or lens pen
  • A good lightweight camera backpack like the Tenba AXIS 24L is recommended.

Physical Considerations

This workshop is designed to be an easy trip for most photographers, but there ae some things to keep in mind. Costa Rica tends to be hot and humid. We usually experience temperatures in the mid to high eighties and humidity above 90%. We do not do any strenuous hiking during the workshop, but there is some walking involved on well-maintained trails.

There were so many wonderful experiences it is hard to say which was my favorite. The expertise of our instructors really made it. Nice to be able to ask questions while working instead of a traditional classroom setting.

Anne Nettles

This photography workshop was a great experience that provided numerous opportunities to learn more about photography and the local culture. Both the instructors and local guides are very knowledgeable and pointed out things that I would never have noticed on my own.

Nicole Widmer