Retreat Overview and General Information

The retreat will start on Day 1 with pickup from either Edinburgh airport, or a nearby hotel. This will be between 10am and 11am on the 15th October. We will transfer to our small hotel, where each person will have their own en suite room and we have the hotel completely to ourselves. We are located within walking distance of the beautiful “Birks o’ Aberfeldy, an expansive beech woodland with a series of rivers and waterfalls flowing through it. In mid October the colours of autumn will be resplendent and here, in addition to the surrounding area, will be our palette and mirror for the 8 nights/9 days of the retreat.

I grew up in Perthshire, and I know the impact this landscape had on both my personal and creative development. It was where my first photographs were made, it is where my imagination sparked into life as I roamed the woodlands and mountains, climbed on its cliffs and watched its wildlife. This is my childhood home, and the powerful energy is still in full force today.

Photography: This is a retreat and we will be spending our time as much without cameras in our hands as with. The photographic time will amount to between 4-6 hours per day (weather dependant.) The focus will be on slow photography, with each excursion solely focusing on a single location (although they are all quite extensive). Time to immerse, sit, look, feel, engage and listen to the whispers. The first 2 hour session at the nearby woodland will be without a camera in hand, with the intention of familiarising yourselves with the location, to notice without the urgency, or need of making photographs. This is very much in the spirit of Minor White’s approach, but less rigid.

Meditation: We will start each day at 6:30am with a group meditation lasting 30 minutes. I will provide a zafu (meditation cushion) and zubaton (meditation mat) for each person who wishes to sit on the floor. Otherwise a solid chair would also be available for the others. Remaining upright and still is the key, regardless of where the bottom sits. If you have not already done so, I would recommend starting your formal practice now, to build your mental stamina and to get used to sitting still for a half hour. I would also like to have a second 30 minute session in the evening around 8:30pm to close the day.

Group council & discussion: Astrid Preisz is a qualified facilitator for The Ways of Council and we will be holding 2 of these sessions (at least) during the retreat. More information on these sessions will be posted well before the retreat for people to prepare.

Teaching: I will be running a couple of expressive photography sessions in a classroom setting with a projector and screen. Understanding the relationship between noting, creative seeing, compositional distillation and consequence of aspect ratio, the distribution of feel and processing will be covered. PDF and video material will be available as an aid memoire. Photography can be a great facilitator of developmental insight.

The retreat will end with drop off at Edinburgh airport or a nearby hotel around 1pm on the final day.