Create impactful photographic conservation stories along alongside local communities.

In 2025 we are pleased to present a special workshop. Storytelling School is the ultimate educational and life experience that will prepare you to create compelling images, to work as a values-based photographer, and to become a storyteller for social change. This experience is not only about learning to tell stories, but also a profound inner journey into ourselves to understand why we do what we do and have a deeper purpose when creating stories.

For Conservation Storytelling School 2025 we partner with local communities where the jungle meets the ocean in a volcanic landscape that is also a UNESCO world heritage site. We will have the exclusive chance to learn the true story about this special community that safeguards knowledge around the womb of Mother Earth. This experience will prepare you to bring a sense of deeper meaning into your practice.

This small-group photography and storytelling workshop is for those interested in understanding and documenting the dynamics of global consumption and land/water protection and the importance of understanding different narratives as a tool for social justice. Photographers will get firsthand experience creating visual stories and narratives that are powerful, truthful and impactful.

TRIP DATES: MAY 10-23, 2025

COST: $4,999 USD (SHARED)

$5,499 USD (PRIVATE)

Mariana Rivera Uribe (She/Her) is a biologist, conservation photographer and filmmaker from Colombia. She has broad experience working with NGOs, governments and private institutions in the efforts to protect our natural and cultural treasures. She has worked with multiple indigenous communities in the Amazon, Chocó, Sierra Nevada and Chingaza, supporting grassroot, community-led initiatives standing for the defence of human rights and the territories. Mariana was one of the 5 winners of the Photographers Without Border’s Revolutionary Storyteller Grant in 2022, and her work has been exhibited at the Siena Drone Photo Awards, Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Mangrove Photo Awards among others. She has directed and collaborated on several award-winning impact films and is co-founder and producer at Coral Studio, an underwater and conservation film company based in Colombia.

Physical Rating: Moderate

Interactive and engaging lessons/discussions are interspersed with challenging assignments throughout the journey to combine practical and theoretical knowledge/skill-building. Each participant will not only contribute to the ongoing sustainability of the local, grassroot initiatives, but will also create powerful images and stories, working hand in hand with local communities, understanding the current challenges they are facing and their efforts to preserve their traditions and territories.

*All activities are dependent on the daily weather conditions and tides, which might affect the order of the itinerary.

*Participants will have the chance to take surf lessons, massages and diving with additional cost payable directly during free times.

DAY 1 

Fly into Medellín and meet anytime during the day. Make your way to the 4 star hotel we have arranged for you in a taxi. Get some rest or take the chance to meet up with the rest of the group to walk around the city, enjoy some local Colombian cuisine and get to know your fellow travelers.

DAY 2 

MEDELLÍN

Opening Ceremony

We will visit the Anthropology Museum of Antioquia to deepen ourselves into the history, culture and context of Colombia’s indigenous and local communities. We will get to know each other a bit through a simple photo exercise, followed by a delicious local lunch at the botanical gardens, where our first assignment will take place.

LESSON 1: Camera Refresh

For the beginners in the group, or for anyone who wants to refresh their camera skills, we’ll go over basic manual settings with some fun exercises so that you feel in control of your camera throughout the journey. Participants will work on their first assignment.

Your first assignment will be shared.

We will meet for a special dinner in the evening where we will learn more about the context of the place we will be traveling, the communities and the itinerary, and we will have the chance to answer any questions you might have. We will give an idea of what we each expect from the workshop. We will share our intentions in an intimate ceremony and prepare for our flight the next day.

DAY 3

TRIBUGÁ

We will have breakfast at the hotel before heading to the airport to catch our flight and fly over the vast rainforest of Choco to land in Nuqui, where we will try some local “empanadas” before catching our small boat to our hotel in an exquisite part of the Gulf of Tribugá called Guachalito, a small village on the beach where we will be spending the next few days (transfer lasts 45 minutes approx).

LESSON 2: Ethics of Storytelling

We will settle into the hotel before meeting for our first interactive discussion around decolonization, anti-oppression, privilege and allyship. We will reflect on what we experienced in the morning and if this has given us any ideas to develop for our stories. We will discuss why it is a priority to maintain an ethics code while working with communities and the importance of working collaboratively, as well as reviewing examples of how colonization in storytelling can lead to more damage than good.

Participants will work on their second assignment.

After a delicious lunch, we will go for a walk on the beach to get our first sense of the territory, and work on our second assignment, while enjoying the landscape and the sunset. We will put into practice the photographic techniques we learned and answer any questions regarding photography and the stories participants will be working on.

We will head back to the hotel to relax, take a shower, and select the photos we will share for our second assignment. Once done, we will have dinner together, share our impressions, questions and learnings so far.

DAY 4

TRIBUGÁ

We will spend the majority of our time here, discovering the territory, speaking to the communities that have lived here for generations, and having opportunities to create our stories as well as learning about the challenges and understand what the main environmental challenges the communities are facing and the grassroot initiatives led to face them. We will learn about the relationship of the communities with their land, and local traditions such as artisanal fishing, local cuisine, agriculture, sustainable tourism, the preparation of “viche,” a traditional, and emblematic sugar cane drink of the Pacific coast, which has been used for more than 300 years for medicinal purposes and was recently declared a cultural heritage of Colombia, and more.

LESSON 3: Storytelling

Learn the art of crafting a compelling story in one photograph, or through a series of photographs. We will further develop our ideas and discuss how to materialize them into a compelling and powerful project. We will discuss the creative process behind a photo series and how these projects can lead to a positive impact.

LESSON 4: Working with Natural Light for Maximum Impact

Photography is painting with light and light can help us make our stories all the more powerful, too. Learn a variety of light types found all around us to create works of art, how movement/stillness and blurriness/sharpness can help you strengthen your stories and have a stronger impact.

To put these techniques into practice, participants, along with members of the local communities, will go on a hike to a pristine waterfall in the rainforest. We will introduce ourselves to the territory and listen to what she has to share with us (easy beach hike and only some good water shoes needed, swimsuit, sunscreen, hat and a drybag). We will listen to the communities on the history and context of the region and how they relate to and understand the territory as well as their efforts to protect it as well as the most recent challenges they are facing due to climate change, where rivers have overflown and the rising of ocean levels are putting several communities at risk. Participants will have the chance to ask questions and deepen their understanding of the people, culture and traditions as well as the environmental challenges and initiatives.

We will walk back to the hotel to work on our stories, ask any questions before sharing our assignments and share any ideas and challenges faced, and how these techniques could help us strengthen our final stories.

DAY 5

TRIBUGÁ

We will have a free morning to work on our stories, have a massage, go for a swim or just relax on the beach.

LESSON 5: Portraiture & People

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, so it’s no wonder why people bring life, emotion and interest to our images. Learn about different types of portraits and learn to make your images stand out and how portraits can contribute to telling the story you want to tell.

Participants will work on their third assignment.

In the afternoon, we will put into practice the lessons learned so far by taking portraits and understanding how angles, perspectives, distances, lighting and more can serve as powerful tools to create impactful stories and reflect our intentions, as well as how to approach people, children, indigenous and local communities, the ethics around portraiture, and how to include portraits into our stories.

Participants will share their assignments and story developments.

DAY 6

TRIBUGÁ

May is sardine run and whale shark season in Choco! We will try our luck and explore one of the newest community-based tourism initiatives. A 30-minute boat ride will take us to Cabo Corrientes, where we will have the chance to snorkel with sardine runs and if we are lucky, we might get to see larger animals such as whale sharks and dolphins. We will get a chance to learn from the communities how community-based projects have been a sustainable alternative to halt major industrial projects imposed by the governments and private entities.

We will head back to the hotel for lunch and afterwards, participants will have the chance to take surf lessons, massages and go diving with additional cost payable directly during the day and prepare for our hike the next day before dinner.

LESSON 6: Landscapes & Long Exposures

There's a reason for the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words". Create depth, eye movement and drama with some new tools for creating landscapes, long exposures and more. Learn how to do night photography and how to play with light and darkness to give your stories a more mystical and different touch.

Participants will work on a night photography assignment and share it the next day.

DAY 7

TRIBUGÁ

Participants will share their assignments from the night before, receive feedback and discuss their projects to further develop their stories and photography skills.

We will head to Coquí, a small village located a few minutes by boat from the hotel. We will have a special lunch at Zotea (“zoteas” are traditional beds to grow herbs and local plants in the communities), an etno-gastronomic hub where local men and women are working to recover the traditional knowledge related to recipes, local plants, fruits, and ingredients which are found only here, and are combining them with modern techniques to impulse their economy and preserve their customs.

After lunch, we will go on a canoe ride through the mangrove forests, known as some of the best preserved in Colombia and the world, which includes seven of the world’s 12 species. Here you can spot rare birds, crabs, crustaceans and unique tropical plants, and learn how communities have transitioned from cutting down the mangrove forests to reforesting them and benefiting from local tourism as a way to protect them, and how these mangroves protect the communities from erosion and hurricanes, which have become more frequent with climate change.

We will go for a walk around the village of Coqui where we will have the chance to deepen our skills on portraiture and ethical approach to communities and children, and further develop our final stories.

DAY 8

TRIBUGÁ

Carrizalito is a special place that meets the optimal conditions for the natural habitat of the Chocoan harlequin frogs. Enjoy a 6-hour trek that combines mountain and river within the jungle, going up a natural path to see the beautiful and colorful poisonous frogs and other species that live in Nuquí, then continue to finalize with a refreshing swim in Rio Terco, where you can enjoy a natural pool with a waterfall of crystal clear water. Learn about the issues communities are facing with deforestation, the loss of native species and the battle against industrial projects which threaten the traditional ways of living of the communities.

To consider: This trail can be challenging due to the rugged terrain, humidity and very steep sections. It's essential to be physically fit and prepared for this adventure.

What to bring? Wear comfortable and breathable clothing suitable for the tropical climate, sturdy hiking shoes, Swimsuit, rain coat or jacket with a dry-bag to keep the equipment safe, hydration and a towel.

We will be back for lunch and have the afternoon to rest, continue working on our stories, and finalizing our ideas for our final projects.

DAY 9

TRIBUGÁ

LESSON 8: Making Change

How to strive towards being an ally while working with communities on the frontlines.

Learn to create effective campaigns and make change that avoids problematic narratives and stereotypes and reinforces powerful values while considering the needs and points of view of the communities or people you are working with.

We will explore how our stories can have a positive impact and support the communities and causes we are supporting.

After lunch, we will have a short walk to Lili’s dive shop to visit the “Guardianes del Mar” (Guardians of the Sea) local organization, who is working to remove ghost nets (abandoned fishing nets which become life traps for marine life) and protect the coral reefs which the locals depend on. We will learn why this is a critical issue worldwide and the depth of its impact on the ocean. They will share the challenges of running a local community-based organization and of what to do with the recovered fishing nets, as well as getting these stories out there to have an impact on this problem, which are still very much unknown to most people.

DAY 10

TRIBUGÁ

LESSON 9: Social Media, Websites & Presentation Skills

You now know how to craft powerful images and tell a story; what next? We will teach you how to take your Instagram, website and speaking game to the next level.

We will have a free afternoon to complete our stories, rest, go for a massage or go for a walk before heading back to Medellin the next day.

We will have a special closing dinner along with a fire, to integrate what we have learned and felt during the last few days, share our perspective, experiences and challenges.

DAY 11-12

RETURN TO MEDELLÍN AND SHARING YOUR STORY

We will travel back to Medellín, where participants will have a free morning to rest, explore the city or get some souvenirs. 

In the afternoon, we will put all that we have learned and shot to the test! Each participant will have 10 minutes to share their images and stories using all the techniques we learned during the week, and close with a special farewell dinner.

DEPARTURE

Leave any time on day 12 or after (any extra days must be covered by each participant).

what’s not included

• International air fare to/from Medellín, Colombia and applicable tourist visas or airport taxes.

• Medical insurance for travellers (required)

• Tips or gratuities

• Incidentals (e.g. alcoholic beverages, snacks, souvenirs, etc.) or optional tours or activities (e.g. yoga, massages, etc.)

what’s included

• Orientation and tours

• All transportation between program activity destinations and to/from all included activities

• Accommodations

• Most meals are included (please allow $100-300 USD for additional meals, drinks and gratuities)

• Staff & experts: PWB Staff, Local Staff

My bags are packed. Sign me up!

Please select the workshop of your choice below.

You will be required to make a $500 USD, non-refundable deposit to secure your space.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: FEB 25 2025 OR WHEN FULL (MAX 6-8 PARTICIPANTS).