PATAGONIA WITH BASTIAAN WOUDT
Eight days on an estancia far from everything, photographing under the guidance of master photographer Bastiaan Woudt.
February 13 – 20, 2027 Estancia El Condor, Patagonia Space for 8 photographers
His first workshop, ever.
This is the first workshop Bastiaan Woudt has ever taught. In years of shooting for British Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, with prints acquired by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, he has never opened his process to an intimate group before, until now.
He's doing it on an estancia in Patagonia, Argentina so remote that phone signal disappears hours before you arrive, with only the eight of you as guests for the week.
Cameras are no longer the only source of an image, a growing share of what people see was never photographed at all. That shift raises the value of what a camera alone can't produce: what you notice, and why you chose it. This week is built to sharpen exactly that, under someone who has spent his career refining his own.
For whom?
This workshop is for photographers who:
✔️ Want to learn directly from Bastiaan Woudt and see how he actually works, not just hear about it.
✔️ Want to experience Patagonia, not just photograph it from a distance.
✔️ Want to work alongside an international group of photographers, in English.
✔️Want a week surrounded by people who take their craft as seriously as they do. ✔️ Want to be somewhere on earth almost nobody else reaches.
➡️ Portfolio review is required before acceptance. We will get back to you within one week.
Maximum 8 participants - to keep the group intimate and the estancia entirely ours.
"I notice that I function better when things are quiet. I love being in a very calm environment, to work in too." – Bastiaan Woudt
What to Expect
Guidance by Bastiaan Woudt
An intensive week led by one of the Netherlands' most acclaimed photographers, teaching for the very first time. Bastiaan works closely with you, both on set and in review, showing you exactly how he approaches a subject. Nothing is off limits: ask him about his process, his choices, his business, anything you want to understand about how he built his career.
A small, international group
You share this week with just seven other photographers who take the craft as seriously as you do. The group is international, and English is the working language throughout.Individual mentoring & daily group sessions
Photograph gauchos and the land by day, then review your work with Bastiaan, both individually and as a group, each evening.Real people, real place
While more images get generated than ever, we go the other way. Real gauchos, real land, real light. Nothing staged, nothing added afterward.A day on horseback
One day is spent on horseback, riding at a gentle pace across the estancia's land, with time to stop and photograph along the way.A trip, and a culture, you won't forget
This is more than a photography trip. It's a week among gauchos and a way of life most people never get close to, in one of the most remote corners of the world. You come home with new work, but also with a story, and with things you've learned that reach further than photography alone.
An estancia far from everything
Hosted on an estancia at the edge of Lago San Martín, surrounded by mountains, wind and open space. Five hours from the nearest town, with no phone signal, this is the setting for a week without distraction.
Hosted and led by Kaat Celis
The workshop is organized and hosted by Kaat Celis, founder of De Donkere Kamer, who makes sure everything runs smoothly from start to finish. One evening, Kaat gives a business insights talk, sharing what she's learned as a mentor, entrepreneur and photographer to help you look at your own practice with fresh eyes.
"The best insights rarely come from a spreadsheet. They come from stepping far enough away from your daily routine to see your work, and yourself, clearly again." – Kaat Celis
Where we're going
Our base for this workshop is Estancia El Condor, a working estancia at the foot of the Andes in southern Patagonia, remote enough that it has never become a tourist stop.
The estancia sits on 40,000 hectares of untouched forest, lakes, mountains, rivers and open pampa, with marked trails leading through all of it. The estancia is fully self-sufficient, with its own electricity day and night. The nearest town is 360 kilometers away, and the closest airport is nearly five hours by road. That distance is exactly what makes the place work: nothing pulls you away from what's in front of your camera.
This is also where the gauchos live and work, on horseback, moving cattle across land that has shaped their way of life for generations. For one day, you ride alongside them.
"I've visited this estancia twice, and both times it did the same thing: it stripped away everything that wasn't real, until all that was left was what I could actually see." – Kaat Celis
Meals are prepared by the estancia's own cook, using vegetables from the garden and meat raised on the land itself. The house has 5 double rooms each with a private bathroom. Everything is included, your stay and full board for the entire week. There are no single rooms, you'll share with another participant.
Dates: February 13 – 20, 2027 (7 nights). February is summer in Patagonia, with long days and mild temperatures, though the wind can still be strong.
Location: Estancia El Condor, Patagonia, Argentina, with a first night together in El Calafate.
Price: €4999* per person, all-inclusive: the workshop with Bastiaan Woudt, your stay at the estancia, and full board (three meals a day, prepared with garden vegetables and estate-raised meat or veggie)
Getting there: Fly into El Calafate. We meet there as a group and spend the first night together. From there, we arrange the off-road transfer to the estancia, so you don't need to organize that part yourself. Getting yourself to El Calafate is not included.
Getting home: On February 20, we travel back to El Calafate together. From that point on you're on your own, so plan your onward flight, or an extra night in El Calafate, accordingly.
Housing Options: All participants stay together in the main house at the estancia, in shared double room, each with a private bathroom. There are no single rooms available (apart from the first night in El Calafate)
* All prices are excluding 21% VAT
Practical Details
Do you have any questions? Do you need additional information? Do you want to spar before applying? Contact us! 🤍
Booking & Conditions
▶ 1.APPLICATION VIA PORTFOLIO SUBMISSION
Once approved (within 5 working days), you’ll receive a booking link.
▶ 2.PAYMENT
A non-refundable deposit of 30% is required upon booking to secure your spot.
The remaining balance will be split into two payments, due October 1 and December 31, 2026.
You may cancel anytime before December 31, 2026, but your deposit will not be refunded.
In case of cancellation after December 31, 2026, the full amount (100%) of the workshop fee is due.
Cancellation must be submitted in writing via email. You may transfer your spot to another eligible participant (subject to portfolio approval) upon written agreement.
▶ 3. AGREEMENT
To finalize your booking, you will be asked to sign a formal agreement through SignRequest. This includes the full terms and conditions of participation, including payment terms, liability, and cancellation policy.
The workshop will take place with a minimum of 8 participants. If there are fewer than 8 participants by November 30 2026, the workshop will be cancelled and the deposit will be refunded.
Bastiaan Woudt (b. 1987, the Netherlands) is a self-taught photographer working between fine art and editorial. He bought his first camera in 2009, right after the birth of his first son, with no intention beyond capturing that moment. What started there became an obsession with image-making that hasn't stopped since.
His work is instantly recognizable: stark black and white, drawing on the Dutch Masters and mid-century fashion photography, portraits that feel both timeless and entirely of now. Black and white isn't a style choice for Bastiaan, it's a decision. Without color, what remains is structure, contrast and presence, and that's what carries the image.
His photos have appeared in British Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, L'Officiel, Esquire, Elle and Numéro. His prints are held in the permanent collections of the Rijksmuseum and the J. Paul Getty Museum, alongside numerous private collections, and have sold at Christie's, Sotheby’s and Phillips. He was named New Dutch Photography Talent in 2015 and selected as one of the British Journal of Photography's Ones to Watch in 2016.
He has published several monographs, including Henro (2026) and Mukono (2017), and founded 1605 Collective, an art platform and publishing house through which he produces books and a magazine with other artists and architects he admires.
Working from his studio in Alkmaar, Bastiaan continues to explore identity, beauty and the human condition. Always in black and white, always searching for the image beneath the surface.
This is the first time he has ever taught a workshop.
Bastiaan and Kaat recorded a podcast together last year (in Dutch), which you can find here:
About Bastiaan Woudt
"I'm not someone who sketches out images beforehand, or decides in advance how something has to look. I just look at the person in front of me, sense the mood they're in, and let it happen on set." – Bastiaan Woudt
Why this workshop matters
This isn't just a trip with a camera in your bag. It's part of a broader mission: to give photographers direct access to people who've spent a lifetime mastering their craft, in places that can't be recreated in a studio or produced by a prompt. This workshop lets you:
Learn directly from Bastiaan Woudt, in the only workshop he has ever agreed to teach.
Work in a place that doesn't make things easy for you: wind, distance, and land that has shaped generations of gauchos before you ever arrived.
Sharpen the one thing no algorithm can produce for you: your own eye.
Spend a week away from your phone, your inbox, and everything else that usually pulls at your attention.
As more images get generated instead of taken, actually being there, with your own camera, becomes the rarest thing you can offer as a photographer.
FAQ
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This workshop is for professional photographers who want to learn directly from Bastiaan Woudt, and who are ready for a week without the usual comforts: no phone signal, simple shared rooms, full days outdoors in changing weather. We accept 8 participants after portfolio review, and the group is international, so you should be comfortable working in English.
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Because this workshop works best when the whole group is at a similar level. With only 8 spots and daily group feedback sessions, everyone gets more out of it when every participant is a serious, working photographer. Your portfolio helps us make sure this is the right fit, for you and for the group.
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The fee covers the workshop with Bastiaan Woudt, your stay at the estancia, full board, and the off-road transfer between El Calafate and the estancia. It doesn't cover your flights to and from El Calafate, or anything after the group returns there on February 20. Prices are excluding 21% VAT.
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At the estancia, you share a double or room in the main house, each with a private bathroom. There are no single rooms available. Full board is included throughout: three meals a day, prepared by the estancia's own cook with vegetables from the garden and meat raised on the land (or veggie). Your first night together in El Calafate is included as well.
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Exactly 8. We only run this workshop with the full group, since we have the estancia entirely to ourselves.
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A non-refundable deposit of 30% secures your spot. You can cancel anytime before December 31, 2026, but the deposit stays non-refundable. After that date, the full workshop fee is due, even if you cancel. Cancellations must be submitted in writing by email, and you may transfer your spot to another eligible participant, subject to portfolio approval.
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English. The group is international, so English is the working language throughout, including sessions with Bastiaan.
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Submit your portfolio through the application form. We review it within 5 working days, and if you're accepted, you'll receive a booking link to secure your spot with a 30% deposit.
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Yes, 8, the same as the maximum. If we don't have a full group by November 30, 2026, the workshop is cancelled and your deposit is refunded in full.
