Yes, you read that right. I have a very, very special item in stock at Sweet Gum Co. now: tickets to our workshop in Portugal! I couldn’t be more excited to be partnering with Sanda of Little Upside Down Cake to teach a food and lifestyle photography & styling workshop in Portugal this coming May. We’ve been secretly plotting this four day retreat for months from finding the perfect spot (Uva Do Monte: Bluberry Farm— a beautiful, completely renovated farm house turned inn where Sanda & De Alma e Coração just did their most recent Kinfolk workshop) to planning activities like an on-location beach picnic shoot and trip to a local fishing village. Keeping my mouth shut has been difficult to say the last, and now that registration is open, Registration closed! I can finally share! With only 8 spots available it’s going to be an intimate, hands-on affair, and it will be as much about building new relationships and the camaraderie of shared passions and curiosity as it is about learning a craft.
We’ll be covering all of the bases from camera basics like aperture/depth of field, exposure/shutter speed, and ISO & film speed to composition and working with varying natural light to post processing in Lightroom. In the end, however, technical skills are a means to an end. You master them so you don’t have to think about them. It’s like teaching someone to drive a car; the goal is the destination. We want to impart to you what we’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, so that you can realize your own style & creative vision. The goal of the workshop is not to teach you how to tell your story, but rather to teach you how to master the tools of camera, light, and composition to create photos that reflect you. That’s why our focus will be on both mastering technical skills as well as thinking about & discussing the creative process—about mood, narrative, and creating photos that are vital, alive & imbued with your personality.
I get a lot of emails asking for photography advice, and it’s some of my favorite advice to give (as those of you that have asked me know…I’m usually inclined to respond at length!). I firmly believe that a passionate, hard working person can teach themselves to do just about anything, but I also know that having someone teach you expedites that process exponentially. I’ve spent countless hours studying, reading, and, of course, shooting, and I’m so, so happy to have this opportunity to share the fruits of that labor with you!
We’ll have the farm all to ourselves, and it will be a weekend of leisurely cooking & baking, photography, building new relationships, exploring the local culture & landscape, and, of course, gathering around the table to enjoy beautiful food and each other’s company.The house is a leisurely walk from a Praia da Aberta Nova, a pristine, near deserted beach with white sands & breathtaking blue sea where we’ll enjoy the on location shoot & picnic during one of our workshop days.
The workshop is a come one, come all affair and everyone from all walks of life are welcome from the beginner to more advanced students, from the curious to the passionate. So if you know someone who’d love to join us (it would make a most excellent Christmas gift!) or will be joining us yourself, I can’t wait to meet each and every one of you. Spots are limited so don’t miss out! Details below.
Register Registration Closed!
The Details
When: May 7-11 2014
Where: Uva Do Monte: Blueberry Farm (about 130 km, an hour and a half, outside of Lisbon, the nearest airport)
How Much: fee is $1930 (to be paid in two payments of $965); single occupancy; does not include airfare and getting yourself to and from the airport and includes:
• 4 nights stay in your own private room at Uva do Monte, a beautiful & completely refurbished farmhouse in the Portuguese country side, which we will have exclusive use of
• 2 full days of hands on workshops: cooking & process shots, food & prop styling, camera basics & mastering your tools as a photographer, working with variable natural light, post-processing, and exploring the creative process behind finding your voice & creating a sense of narrative in your visual work including on on location beach picnic shoot
• 1 day of sightseeing in the surrounding area including a trip to a local fishing village as well as lunch, dinner, and wine on the town
• all meals as well as lunch & dinner out on our site seeing day
• wine & tapas upon arrival
• snacks & refreshments during workshop hours
• transportation to all workshop activities & sightseeing (ticket does not include airfare & getting to and from the airport)
• the workshop is open to 8 people
