Chris is a writer, photographer, and destination guide with RoadOfAwe.com. He is the author of 11 books, an art photographer, and his "Creative Journeys" (described at RoadOfAwe.com) are designed to share his unique experiences with traditional communities in Central and South America, New Zealand, Hawaii, and the American Southwest. The non-profit organization he founded – RoadOfAwe.Org – sponsors projects that document and help conserve indigenous art and culture. His complete bio is here.
P E R S O N A L S T A T E M E N T
"With my books, film work, and photography, I explore the lives and customs of indigenous peoples and try to interpret their myths and rituals. I describe these cultures so to give audiences living in the modern world an awareness of non-western ideas and practices that can enhance their personal and creative lives."
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~ Chris Engholm
Mural of Father Kino in Magdalena, Sonora Mexico.
Calendar of Events
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August 29, 2010. Yesterday, Chris met with medicinal plant expert, Chacho,
in the colonial town of Alamos in Sonora, Mexico. Chacho is a well-known medicine man in the area and
provided a tour of his mountaintop forest of healing herbs, cacti, and trees that he has planted over the past 40 years. The photographs will appear in an exhibition of Sonoran Flora next year. The video interview will be edited and linked here soon.
August 22, 2010. This week we are packing up for an extended stay in Central America. Chris will be working on a series of book projects and photography while living on the shores of Lake Atitlan in the beautiful highlands of Guatemala for the next several months, and setting up an office for his tour company, RoadOfAwe.com there. The adventure can be seen, heard, and read about at www.themayagarden.wordpress.com. Incidentally, Chris's new phone number is 718-316-3702.
August, 2010. Last Saturday we participated in a benefit auction to raise money for Spencer Fox, a Cardiff, California teenager who suffered a spinal cord injury last winter. The auction hit its target of raising $12,000 and Chris' print sales made up over $6,000 of the total. Spencer is an inspiration to us all (he's already walking again) and we look forward to another chance to help later this year.
 July, 2010. Our seven weeks in New York City was a blast
by any measure. Many new friends and great experiences. I am adding a photo workshop called "Native New York," to be held later in the year through RoadOfAwe.com. Right now I'm preparing for an auction of 100 of my prints at a benefit on July 31st for Spencer Fox, the son of a friend of mine injured in a skiing accident earlier this year. We are expecting a large turnout and it should be great fun for a great cause.
June, 2010. My family and I are
currently spending the better half of this summer in Manhattan, New York. At this moment I'm sitting in the beautiful New York Public Library (where they filmed part
of The Day After Tomorrow), doing research for a book project. New Yorkers have changed since I last spent time here--more mellow, agreeable, and well, 'workin' class.' (Aren't we all?) We will be roaming the museums, parks, and galleries here until July 27th.
May, 2010. Chris has been hosting a photography and writing trip to Guatemala from May 16-29rd. The group met with community leaders and elders in Panajachel, Antigua, Santiago de Atitlan, Momostenengo, Chichicastenengo, and in San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico. In Guatemala, we spent time with RoadOfAwe.com partners, Oscar Palencia, Manuel Barrios and Nicolas Chavez and various organizations regarding the "Voices of Santiago Project" (see below) as well as future workshops and tours to be held in the country by RoadOfAwe.com.
April, 2010. Chris is spending most of this month organizing a "Writer's Journey" program for RoadOfAwe.com featuring
TV/Film writer, Michael Berlin, and a photo workshop called "Mayan Vision Quest," to be held in Guatemala in July. Please see RoadOfAwe.com for details. March 30-April 4, 2010. During Holy Week, we traveled through Sonora, Chihuahua, and Sinaloa, Mexico in search of local ritual and indigenous dances. Up in the town of Cusarere in the upper reaches of Copper Canyon, I was able to photograph and videotape Tarahumara villagers celebrating with drumming dances and ample amounts of local brew. From there we stayed in El Fuerte and visited various Mayo communities and finally, the Yaqui people further north. During a short stay in Alamos, I recorded local musicians using a portable sound studio, the results of which will be released soon under the title, Alamos Unplugged. April, 2010 . I have been invited to Yuma, AZ to show a collection of prints and to conduct of photographer's workshop on April 10th. Here is the brochure... March, 2010 . Early in the month, I conducted a workshop at the Casa de Cultura in Nogales, Mexico (see notice below) along with other culture shooters including Robert Rink and Richard Speedie. The Mexican audience of serious amateur photogs was wonderful---appreciative and attentive. I presented the third module of my three-part photographer's workshop called "Light, Line and Emotion" -- the part about how to create photographic story. During the week in Mexico and Phoenix at the Native American Art Fair held at the Heard Museum, I also hooked up with the fantastic Navajo photographer, LeRoy Dejolie and a good social documentarian shooter, Mike Hyatt.
From the Nogales Nuevo Dia newspaper---
February, 2010 . Last week I led a small group to experience the annual chicha festival in Panama's Kuna Yala, a vast archipelago of tiny islands and home to the Kuna people. I will post an article with photos here soon from this adventure. January, 2010 . This month I have been roaming Arizona, walking historical and sacred sites in Sedona, Tucson, and in northern Sonora, Mexico. I will run a photographer s workshop in Nogales, Mexico on March 5th and attend a photo exhibition there on March 6th that features some of my images from Alamos, Mexico. I am also promoting the travel/workshop/tours viewable at www.roadofawe.com. December, 2009. Chris Engholm's "RoadOfAwe.com" is now live at www.roadofawe.com, offering "Creative Journeys for Photographers, Writers and Artists." Please check it out. December, 2009. We have just posted our brochure for guided workshops and tours for 2010 at RoadOfAwe.com. Please check it out. The dates for each tour will appear there soon. December, 2009. Early in the month, Chris traveled in New Zealand to meet with members of the Maori community. You can see some of the images on this site (see navbar at left). November, 2009. The Day of the Dead in Alamos, Mexico proved to be a photographic inspiration. It so happened that the moon was full during the same three days and rose after sunset above the Sierra Madre east of the town's beautifully manicured cemetery. You can see a batch of shots here, and read about the Alamos travel experience. I have been asked to show prints in a Photo Exhibition there on November 20th, and to plan a larger show there in the future. Please see my blog to get stoked about visiting this tranquil and soul-refreshing "pueblo magico." September, 2009. Chris filmed in Antigua and Santiago de Atitlan, Guatemala as part of The "Voices of Santiago" Project. This is a non-profit media project that aims to create a 50-hour oral history of "one of the last remaining traditional Mayan communities." Click to see the Voices of Santiago demo. July 15-30, 2009. During a photo shoot in Oaxaca, Mexico, Chris photographed and filmed the Guelaguetza dance festival and ventured south to Tapachula in southern Mexico to see the mysterious ruins of Izapa. His forthcoming newsletter describes these fascinating pre-Mayan ruins. June 19-29, 2009. Chris and his son, Brendan journeyed to Peru to shoot the Sun Festival on June 24th, as well as the Incan Sacred Valley and Machu Pichuu. May 16-24, 2009. Among the Kuna indigenous people of Panama, Chris filmed and shot stills for iTouchTours.com, a travel media company that plans its launch next year. We also filmed in Panama City, Portobelo, and at the Panama Canal. The highpoint was shooting underwater footage of a shipwreck in the San Blas Islands, on the Caribbean Coast of the country. Photos and video from this adventure will be posted here soon. April 27, 2009. We filmed over 30 hours of interviews with elders, shamans, and artists in Santiago de Atitlan before heading to Antigua for travel segment shooting for iTouchTours.com. The Santiago work led to the formation of a non-profit project -- The "Voices of Santiago" Project -- that intends to raise money to create a Filmed Oral History of Santiago de Atitlan, one of the last remaining traditional Mayan towns. Please check it out and get involved. On April 13, 2009, Chris will be filming in Santiago de Atitlan in the Mayan Highlands of Guatemala. The work is for iTouchTours.com, a travel media publisher. The plan is to shoot for 5
different "short documentaries" that will ultimately be available for download and viewable on the iPhone. Chris will
also be photographing the Mayan ruin sites of Quirigua in South Guatemala and Copan in Honduras for his Ruta Maya book.
In March, 2008, Chris had the pleasure of being at Chichen Itza and Uxmal in the Yucatan during the Spring equinox, shooting video and stills for a series of travel programs. See an account of the equinox antics on his fotoBlog. In February, 2008 Chris traveled in Chiapas, Mexico. In the town of San Juan Chamula, he avoided arrest while photographing and videotaping the annual Mayan carnival there in celebration of the start of Lent. The Chamula Maya are not fond of being recorded, and without official permission -- which is difficult to obtain -- outside photographers often land in a local jail after aiming their Nikons at the locals, especially inside the beautiful church in Chamula and during sacred celemonies at the many altar shrines nearby. Luckily, Chris returned with the footage intact. In December, 2008, Chris was in Guatemala photographing the last batch of 65 sacred Mayan sites for his book. He participated in community ritual celebrations, interviewed shamans and spoke with community elders. The trip started in the Peten in the north with a follow-up visit to Tikal, then Yaxha (where an episode of "Survivor" was set) and the huge caves of Naj Tunich, concluding finally at the ancient Itza capital of Tayasel on Lake Peten near Flores. He then spent a week in Santiago de Atitlan working with artist/story collector, Nicolas Chavez and conducting interviews with other local culture experts. The |
...a special thanks to all who visited
our "Legends of Guatemala" event earlier this year...
...and thanks to everyone who visited
our show last November as well...
"Your art bridges the gap between how people see in bits and pieces of beauty to an experience of the whole picture; a picture which is a story that teaches the spirit of awareness, adventure, and life on our awesome Earth." ~Richard Carter
"I really like your 'eye.' Thank you for sharing." ~Janet Schorle
"Great photography. Incredible composition." ~Tasha Lewis
"The images of the Esperanza Fire are really beautiful. Thanks!" ~Mary McAlers
"An excellent show! Great work and presentation. Pure art!" ~Jeff M. Lewis
"Very impressive." ~Barney Engholm (my dad)
"Really beautiful! Poetic captions." ~Nancy Woolsey
"Nice work. Wonderful art. ~ Marie Roberts
"Every picture tells a story. It's a gift." ~Petra Tucker
"Great images!" ~Emit
"Amazing work." ~Leah Koeng-Natindad
Live from the BEA!
I recently attended the national bookseller's convention in Los Angeles and posted a list of the "most anticipated new photo books," which you can see on our blog here.
