Day 2

Today was our first "official" day in Teotitlan. We had our photography learning session taught by Sam and Tom Robinson at 9 a.m. We learned tips and tricks about aperture to help focus the image and really make it our own. They want to teach us to be "in control of the camera instead of the camera controlling us" because it's simple enough to set your camera on automatic and just click the button. We went on a walking tour of the village. Behind the church are ruins of the old Zapotec Temple (Zapotec is the indigenous culture here in Teotitlan de Valle) which are stunning. When the Spanish invaded Mexico and conquered the various villages, they would destroy the temples and use the remains to build churches. They believed that by using part of the old temple, the people would be more accepting of a new religion.
After meandering around the village a little more, we went on a tour at a candle maker's home. The candles were extraordinary and so detailed. We also got to see a demonstration of how to decorate the candles. It is unbelievable how much work goes into one candle! The demonstration also provided good photo opportunities.
After lunch we headed back to Las Granadas to rest and edit our photos to get ready to present our Best 10 photographs of the Day!