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Departs 08 November 2027
§ S 50.9° / W 73.4° — Expedition
ATLAS OF THE LAST LIGHT
Desert of Atacama — Southern Patagonia, Chile
Departs · 08 November 2027 · 21 days
Participants · 6 · Spots remaining 2
An archaeology of silence, from the Atacama Desert to austral Patagonia — 21 days from 25 October to 14 November, 6 participants.
§ 01
Archaeology of Silence
Where the earth seems to end, photography begins again. A photographic expedition along the most vertiginous axis of Chile, from mining towns swallowed by the desert to the abandoned estancias of the Strait of Magellan. Twenty-one days among forgotten railways, salt flats, volcanoes, wrecks, and mountains that seem to belong to another planet. We will not pursue only the great landscapes, but the traces left by man in the places from which man has disappeared. A journey dedicated to light, to distance, and to the construction of a personal photographic narrative.
§ 02
Two Photographic Quotes
To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It's a way of life.
Some photographs are like a Chekhov short story. They're quick things and there's a whole world in them.
— Henri Cartier-Bresson
These two quotations define the vision of the workshop: to photograph with attention and awareness, but also to learn to build images in which the visible suggests that which remains outside the frame.
§ 03
The Journey
There are territories that seem to await photography. Chile is one of these: a thin line of land stretched for over four thousand kilometres between the Andes Cordillera and the Pacific Ocean. To the north, the Atacama preserves desiccated industrial towns, theatres without audiences, cemeteries in the sand, and railways that end in nothingness. To the south, the Patagonian pampa leads toward fjords, estancias, wrecks, and mountains that the wind reveals and conceals in the space of a few minutes.
"Atlas of the Last Light" traverses these two extremes as though they were chapters of a single story: desert and ice, the blinding immobility of the north and the atmospheric instability of the south.
The expedition begins on the Pacific coast, among the wooden architectures of Iquique and Pisagua, an ancient nitrate port wedged between the ocean and a wall of desert. It continues through the oficinas salitreras of Humberstone, Santa Laura, and Chacabuco: industrial communities born around nitrate extraction, connected by a railway network and then almost completely abandoned.
Humberstone and Santa Laura represent today the most accomplished testimony of a mining civilisation that involved Chilean, Peruvian, and Bolivian workers. The complex was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2005; the UNESCO documentation recalls that more than two hundred plants were once connected by a purpose-built railway.
From the industrial ruins we will move toward San Pedro de Atacama. Here the landscape will progressively lose every human measure: salt crusts, red and turquoise lagoons, clay cordilleras, volcanoes, fumaroles, and night skies of exceptional clarity. Geology will become architecture; light, matter.
An internal flight will then take us to the other end of the country. At Punta Arenas the second chapter will begin: the Strait of Magellan, the ports, the monumental cemeteries, Estancia San Gregorio with its agro-industrial structures, the railway remains, and two ships wrecked on the coast.
The journey will end among Puerto Bories, Sierra Baguales, and Torres del Paine. Here it will no longer be possible to dominate the landscape: one will have to learn to wait for it. The wind, the clouds, and the rain will decide when to grant the mountain.
This is not a race between famous places. It is an itinerant workshop on landscape, on industrial memory, and on the idea of absence. Each participant will be accompanied in the construction of a coherent project: not a collection of views, but a sequence capable of becoming a portfolio, a book, or an exhibition.
§ 04
The Chosen Period
The recommended window falls between 25 October and 14 November, with a possible shift of a few days to align the astronomical sessions with the new moon. It is the best seasonal compromise between the two extremes of Chile: in the Atacama, days are generally temperate and the nights less severe than in the austral winter; the Patagonian spring offers longer days, residual snow on the mountains, and a light still grazing and low; Torres del Paine is fully accessible, but has not yet reached the crowding of December and January; weather changes remain frequent and can produce exceptional photographic conditions.
§ 05
The Educational Vision
The workshop is intended for intermediate or advanced photographers, but remains open to emerging authors motivated to develop a personal language. It is not tied to a brand or to any particular equipment. Its aim is not to teach a succession of technical formulas, but rather to help each participant recognise what they are searching for and transform it into a visual narrative.
The five lines of work: reading the territory — observing a landscape before photographing it, among history, geology, climate, and human traces; building a voice — identifying one's own project axis among industrial archaeology, alien landscape, architectures of abandonment, railways, borders, water, wind, or memory; working in sequences — alternating descriptive images, details, environmental portraits, landscapes, and transitional photographs; photographing time — dawn, grazing light, contre-jour, overcast skies, night, and long exposure as narrative tools; editing and giving form — recognising recurrences, eliminating redundancies, and building a final selection of 12–20 photographs.
What the teaching includes: editorial briefing before departure; preliminary online portfolio review; field tutoring; individual and collective exercises; introduction to night landscape photography; work on architecture and industrial archaeology; environmental portrait when possible and culturally appropriate; evening editing sessions; two individual reviews during the expedition; final editing; a follow-up online meeting within six weeks of return.
§ 06
The Day-by-Day Program
Day 1 — Santiago: the meridian of departure. Individual arrival and transfer to the hotel. Group meeting, presentation of the tutors, and operational briefing. In the late afternoon, a first photographic walk through Lastarria, Cerro Santa Lucía, and the architectures of the centre.
Day 2 — Santiago–Iquique. Morning flight to Iquique. Introduction to the history of nitrate and survey of the historic quarter of Calle Baquedano, with its wooden constructions, porticoes, signs, and faded facades. Evening session in the port area among warehouses, cranes, boats, and oceanic light.
Day 3 — Pisagua: a city between two voids. Departure before dawn along the coast. Pisagua appears wedged between a vertical cliff and the Pacific: an ancient nitrate port today inhabited by a very small community. We will photograph the theatre, the former railway station, the cemetery, the port structures, and the dwellings worn by salt wind.
Day 4 — Humberstone and Santa Laura. Entry at opening time to work before the busiest hours. Theatres, schools, workshops, dwellings, machinery, and the celebrated iron pool become elements of a story about daily life in a vanished industrial town. The second part of the day will be devoted to the production structures of Santa Laura.
Day 5 — La Noria and Mamiña. Exploration of the La Noria area exclusively with a local fixer, a suitable vehicle, and prior authorisations. In the afternoon, transfer toward the thermal village of Mamiña, an ancient Andean settlement overlooking a terraced valley.
Day 6 — Chacabuco, the geometric city. Transfer toward the Oficina Salitrera Chacabuco. The site possesses an almost metaphysical power: orthogonal streets, theatre, square, dwellings, and large industrial structures isolated in the desert.
Day 7 — Baquedano and the desert railway. Dawn at Chacabuco and continuation to Baquedano, a historic railway junction. Sheds, locomotives, water towers, and tracks will tell the infrastructure that united mines, towns, and ports. Arrival at San Pedro de Atacama in the late afternoon.
Day 8 — San Pedro and Cordillera de la Sal. Morning of acclimatisation, altitude briefing, and first image review. In the afternoon, a session between Cordillera de la Sal and Valle de la Luna, favouring authorised paths and less congested viewpoints.
Day 9 — El Tatio and Termas de Puritama. Departure before dawn for the El Tatio geothermal field. Fumaroles, frost, steam, and contre-jour will be faced with particular attention to safety. During the descent, a stop at Termas de Puritama: eight natural pools in an Andean gorge.
Day 10 — Salar de Atacama and border villages. Departure for Toconao and Socaire. Continuation into the authorised areas of the Salar de Atacama to work on salt crusts, reflections, flamingos, and great horizons, following the indications of local communities and park rangers.
Day 11 — Piedras Rojas and altiplanic lagoons. 4×4 excursion toward Piedras Rojas and the Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons. The route exceeds 4,000 metres. After dinner, an astronomical session in a private area far from light pollution.
Day 12 — Atacama–Punta Arenas. Transfer to Calama airport and flight to Punta Arenas. A day of transition, but also an exercise on travel: airports, windows, objects, waits, and the sudden change of climate. First evening walk on the Strait of Magellan.
Day 13 — Punta Arenas: port and city of winds. Dawn session on the Strait. Visit to the Cementerio Municipal, with its carved cypresses and the mausoleums of the families of navigators, merchants, and ranchers. In the afternoon, photography in the port and the outlying districts.
Day 14 — Estancia San Gregorio. Departure along the northern coast of the Strait. The Estancia preserves dwellings, workshops, agro-industrial infrastructure, and traces of the railway. On the beach lie the wrecks of the Amadeo and the Ambassador, transformed by rust and tides.
Day 15 — Laguna Blanca and the secondary pampa. Crossing the pampa along less-travelled roads. Fences, isolated service stations, small settlements, animals, and horizons will become the principal subject. Arrival at Puerto Natales in the late afternoon.
Day 16 — Puerto Bories and Puerto Natales. Session in the ancient cold-storage plant of Puerto Bories, an industrial complex declared a National Monument in 1996. In the afternoon, photography on the waterfront: piers, tin houses, shipyards, and clouds over the Ultima Esperanza.
Day 17 — Sierra Baguales. Private excursion into the remote Sierra Baguales, north-east of Torres del Paine. The landscape is composed of basalt towers, sediments, fossils, horses, and great distances. One of the least touristy days of the itinerary.
Day 18 — Torres del Paine: the massif. Entry into the park before dawn. Lago Sarmiento, Laguna Amarga, Salto Grande, and the first viewpoints of the massif. The route will be decided according to wind, clouds, and visibility.
Day 19 — Torres del Paine: water and ice. Lago Pehoé, western sector of the park, beach of Lago Grey, and icebergs. When conditions allow, navigation toward the Grey Glacier. Evening session devoted to the Cuernos del Paine and the reflections on Pehoé.
Day 20 — The day of waiting. A buffer day to return to the place that has not offered the desired conditions. In the afternoon, return to Puerto Natales, final editing, and construction of a sequence of 12–20 images per participant.
Day 21 — Puerto Natales–Santiago. Final session at dawn on the Ultima Esperanza. Flight to Santiago and end of the expedition. Handing over of indications to develop the final project and scheduling of the subsequent online review.
§ 07
Less Frequented Places and Industrial Archaeology
The journey deliberately includes locations outside the most conventional circuits: the port and former railway station of Pisagua; La Noria, subject to permits and safety; the Andean village of Mamiña; the Oficina Salitrera Chacabuco; the railway junction of Baquedano; the port outskirts of Punta Arenas; Estancia San Gregorio and its wrecks; Laguna Blanca and the internal pampa; Sierra Baguales; the industrial complex of Puerto Bories. No abandoned site will be reached through clandestine access. The preservation of the places and the safety of the group take precedence over any photograph.
§ 08
Atlas of Thermal Stops
Mamiña — Waters of the Andean valley. A thermal village, terraced cultivation, and an Andean cultural landscape. Insertion: Day 5, subject to verification of the chosen facility.
Termas de Puritama — The oasis in the quebrada. About 30 km from San Pedro de Atacama. Eight natural pools, Andean vegetation, and wooden walkways. Temperature approximately 33 °C. Insertion: Day 9, during the descent from El Tatio. Booking required.
El Tatio — Non-bathing water and geothermal landscape. A plateau north of San Pedro. Fumaroles, boiling springs, and steam at dawn. Insertion: Day 9. It is not a free thermal stop; one must remain on the authorised paths.
Lagunas de Baltinache — Optional extension. West of San Pedro de Atacama. Turquoise salt lagoons, not thermal. A possible alternative to Valle de la Luna, should accesses and regulations allow. Bathing only in the expressly enabled pools.
Puerto Bories — Water, steam, and recovery. It is not a natural spring, but the spa of The Singular can become a stop for recovery after the days in the pampa. It should be presented as a hotel experience, not as a thermal site.
§ The Itinerary
The Itinerary
§ Phase 01
ARRIVAL · SANTIAGO
The Meridian of Departure
Individual arrival and transfer to the hotel. The group meets, the tutors are introduced and the operational briefing is held. In the late afternoon, a first photographic walk through Lastarria, Cerro Santa Lucía and the architectures of the centre.
§ Phase 02
THE NITRATE COAST
Santiago to Iquique
Morning flight to Iquique. Introduction to the history of nitrate and a survey of the historic quarter of Calle Baquedano: wooden constructions, porticoes, signs and faded façades. Evening session in the port among warehouses, cranes, boats and oceanic light.
Pisagua, a City Between Two Voids
Departure before dawn along the coast. Pisagua appears wedged between a vertical cliff and the Pacific, an ancient nitrate port now inhabited by a very small community. We photograph the theatre, the former railway station, the cemetery, the port structures and dwellings worn by salt wind.
Humberstone and Santa Laura
Entry at opening time, to work before the busiest hours. Theatres, schools, workshops, dwellings, machinery and the celebrated iron pool become elements of a story about daily life in a vanished industrial town. The second part of the day is given to the production structures of Santa Laura.
La Noria and Mamiña
Exploration of the La Noria area, exclusively with a local fixer, a suitable vehicle and prior authorisations. In the afternoon we transfer towards the thermal village of Mamiña, an ancient Andean settlement overlooking a terraced valley.
§ Phase 03
THE DESERT INTERIOR
Chacabuco, the Geometric City
Transfer towards the Oficina Salitrera Chacabuco. The site possesses an almost metaphysical power: orthogonal streets, theatre, square, dwellings and large industrial structures isolated in the desert.
Baquedano and the Desert Railway
Dawn at Chacabuco, then on to Baquedano, a historic railway junction. Sheds, locomotives, water towers and tracks tell the infrastructure that once united mines, towns and ports. Arrival at San Pedro de Atacama in the late afternoon.
§ Phase 04
ATACAMA
San Pedro and the Cordillera de la Sal
Morning of acclimatisation, altitude briefing and the first image review. In the afternoon, a session between the Cordillera de la Sal and the Valle de la Luna, favouring authorised paths and less congested viewpoints.
El Tatio and Termas de Puritama
Departure before dawn for the El Tatio geothermal field. Fumaroles, frost, steam and contre-jour are approached with particular attention to safety. During the descent, a stop at the Termas de Puritama: eight natural pools in an Andean gorge.
Salar de Atacama and the Border Villages
Departure for Toconao and Socaire, then into the authorised areas of the Salar de Atacama to work on salt crusts, reflections, flamingos and great horizons, following the indications of the local communities and park rangers.
Piedras Rojas and the Altiplanic Lagoons
A 4×4 excursion towards Piedras Rojas and the Miscanti and Miñiques lagoons; the route exceeds 4,000 metres. After dinner, an astronomical session in a private area far from light pollution.
§ Phase 05
TRANSITION
Atacama to Punta Arenas
Transfer to Calama airport and flight to Punta Arenas. A day of transition, but also an exercise on travel itself: airports, windows, objects, waiting, and the sudden change of climate. First evening walk on the Strait of Magellan.
§ Phase 06
THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN
Punta Arenas, Port and City of Winds
Dawn session on the Strait. Visit to the Cementerio Municipal, with its carved cypresses and the mausoleums of the families of navigators, merchants and ranchers. In the afternoon, photography in the port and the outlying districts.
Estancia San Gregorio
Departure along the northern coast of the Strait. The Estancia preserves dwellings, workshops, agro-industrial infrastructure and traces of the railway. On the beach lie the wrecks of the Amadeo and the Ambassador, transformed by rust and tides.
§ Phase 07
THE PAMPA
Laguna Blanca and the Secondary Pampa
Crossing the pampa along less-travelled roads. Fences, isolated service stations, small settlements, animals and horizons become the principal subject. Arrival at Puerto Natales in the late afternoon.
Puerto Bories and Puerto Natales
Session in the ancient cold-storage plant of Puerto Bories, an industrial complex declared a National Monument in 1996. In the afternoon, photography on the waterfront: piers, tin houses, shipyards and clouds over the Ultima Esperanza.
Sierra Baguales
A private excursion into the remote Sierra Baguales, north-east of Torres del Paine. The landscape is composed of basalt towers, sediments, fossils, horses and great distances. One of the least touristy days of the itinerary.
§ Phase 08
TORRES DEL PAINE
The Massif
Entry into the park before dawn. Lago Sarmiento, Laguna Amarga, Salto Grande and the first viewpoints of the massif. The route is decided according to wind, cloud and visibility.
Water and Ice
Lago Pehoé, the western sector of the park, the beach of Lago Grey and the icebergs. When conditions allow, navigation towards the Grey Glacier. Evening session devoted to the Cuernos del Paine and the reflections on Pehoé.
The Day of Waiting
A buffer day, to return to the place that has not yet offered the conditions we were waiting for. In the afternoon, return to Puerto Natales, final editing and the construction of a sequence of twelve to twenty images for each participant.
§ Phase 09
RETURN
Puerto Natales to Santiago
Final session at dawn on the Ultima Esperanza. Flight to Santiago and the end of the expedition, with the indications needed to develop the final project and the scheduling of the subsequent online review.
§ 06
Accommodation
We will sleep where the land allows us to remain close to its changing light. In the Atacama, beneath a sky so vast that night becomes a second landscape. Further south, our camps and simple lodges will offer warmth, shelter, and a place to gather after long days on the road. There will be nights of canvas, dust, wind, and shared meals; and nights in small, characterful places chosen not for luxury, but for their sense of distance and belonging. As the continent unfolds, so will our way of resting within it. From the driest desert to the cold edge of the world, every place we sleep will become part of the journey, and part of the work.
§ Photo Gear
Photo Gear
- DSLR or mirrorless camera body, weather-sealed — dust and wind are constant across both sectors
- Wide-angle lens (16–35mm or 14–24mm) for vast desert horizons and architectural interiors
- Standard zoom (24–70mm) for documentary work and architectural detail
- Telephoto zoom (70–200mm) for compressing distance in the pampa and isolating wildlife
- A fast prime (35mm or 50mm f/1.4 or faster) for low-light and astrophotography
- Sturdy carbon-fibre tripod with ball head — essential for long exposures, night work, and dawn vigils
- Cable or remote shutter release
- Polarizing filter for the salt flats, lagoons, and ocean reflections
- Neutral density filters (3-stop and 10-stop) for long-exposure work on water and clouds
- Graduated neutral density filters for high-contrast dawn and dusk scenes
- Lens cleaning kit — microfiber, blower, and sensor swabs (dust and salt are relentless)
- Extra batteries — cold desert nights and long exposures drain them quickly
- Sufficient memory cards (64GB or larger; 21 days of shooting requires ample storage)
- Laptop with editing software for daily critique sessions
- External hard drive for backup of each day's work
- Headlamp with red light mode for pre-dawn departures and astronomical sessions
- Rain cover for camera and a dry bag for the Patagonian sector
- Windproof, waterproof outer shell jacket — Patagonian wind is fierce and sudden
- Insulating mid-layer (fleece or down) — desert nights drop below freezing
- Thermal base layers for the El Tatio dawn session (temperatures can reach −5 °C at 4,300 m)
- Sturdy non-slip footwear — salt crusts, gravel roads, and wet Patagonian trails
- Sun protection — hat, sunglasses, and high-factor sunscreen (the Atacama sun is intense at altitude)
- Warm gloves with grip for operating the camera in cold conditions
- Dust-proof bags for protecting equipment in the desert sector
§ Personal Gear
Personal Gear
Over the years, we have developed a welcome package to make your stay as comfortable as possible and help you make the most of your experience. It brings together a thoughtful selection of essentials—things that are easily forgotten or can be difficult to arrange from abroad.
We begin with one of the most important: staying connected.
Your welcome package includes:
Everything is packed in a protective, waterproof expedition dry bag, ready to accompany you throughout the experience.
§ The Light Map
The Light Map
In the Atacama sector (late October), sunrise falls near 06:30 and sunset near 19:00. The desert air is exceptionally dry and clear — night skies above San Pedro are among the darkest on earth, ideal for astrophotography sessions around the new moon. At El Tatio (4,300 m), pre-dawn temperatures can drop to −5 °C; the geothermal steam is most photogenic in the first hour after dawn, with contre-jour backlighting. Salt crusts and lagoons are best in the low, grazing light of early morning and late afternoon; midday sun is harsh and flat. In the Patagonian sector (early to mid-November), sunrise advances to near 05:45 and sunset extends past 20:30, granting long working days. The Patagonian spring light is low and warm, with residual snow on the peaks. Torres del Paine alpenglow occurs near 06:00 on clear mornings — weather windows are short, and we move on the forecast, not the schedule. Wind, cloud, and sudden rain can transform conditions in minutes; overcast skies, though, are not a loss — they give even, diffuse light that flatters the granite towers and suppresses harsh contrast on ice and water.
§ After the Journey
After the Journey
After leaving the Atacama and Patagonia, where desert light and southern weather had taught the eye different forms of absence, the images need to be placed again among those who crossed that long Chilean axis together.
I did not include six months of post-workshop contact by chance, nor as a simple service.
Many years ago, I was teaching an online course that could easily have felt impersonal. Instead, when it ended, the group did not want to dissolve. We had never all sat around the same table, yet years later we are still a living community. From that experience came conversations, magazines, books, friendships and shared ways of looking.
It taught me how valuable a small circle of people can be when they have lived and worked through an experience together.
For this reason, every workshop includes six months of continued contact at no additional cost: a private group, image sharing, feedback, and a form of ongoing tuition shaped by cultural prompts — a book, an image, a thought, an exhibition, or an occasion that may open a new direction in the work.
The event ends. The adventure in photography begins.
§ 04 — The Archive
Frames from Desert of Atacama — Southern Patagonia, Chile
A selection of high-resolution frames captured on past expeditions. Select any image to view it full-size.