Snowdonia Residential Landscape Photography Retreat (£995 Per Person, limited to six places)

Join me and Brad for a five day and four night photography and creative retreat in the beautiful Snowdonia National Park. (15th-20th November 2024)

Following on from the conversations that me and Brad had on his podcast ‘Finding Light’ we decided to put together a workshop with a difference. It’s going to be aimed at those creatives who are maybe struggling with identity, want to discover who you are through the lens and want to find your personal connection to the landscape. The camera is a powerful tool and when we can combine it with an understanding of why we’re drawn to certain subjects in the landscape we can start to put some meaning into what and why we create. This workshop is designed to send you on the path of self discovery and will hopefully give your photography a level of direction that might be currently missing. Some refer to this as style but I personally believe that our style is ever evolving, developing and changing depending on where we are in life and what we want to communicate at certain times.

The emphasis will be predominantly around landscape photography and we will visit a multitude of off the beaten track locations, Snowdonia is a wonderful place and it’s got so much more to offer than the classic locations. Me and Brad have spent many an hour exploring the lesser tread locations around the National Park and we will be sharing these beautiful locations with you throughout the retreat. Our pasts and struggles can play a huge role in developing who we are as people and creatives, the psychology behind why we seek out certain places to connect to not only with the landscape but ourselves is fascinating and can play a fundamental part in discovering our direction. There will be some questions asked of you that wouldn’t typically find there way into a photography workshop and evening exercises such as post processing, writing, social media and marketing to help you grow a relationship with your audience.

We both have a wealth of location knowledge around Snowdonia National Park and while many of the locations that we visit will be off the grid we will also spend some time in the more popular locations to cover a wide range of subject matters. Depending on the weather conditions at the time of the workshop we may even spend a morning or evening up on top of a mountain

‘‘Woodland photography is widely regarded as one of the most challenging genres of landscape photography but I fully believe that it’s also one of the most rewarding and not necessarily from a photographic point of view. The benefits that come alongside a walk in the woods are far more powerful than I believe photography can do justice, although we can hope to translate our experiences into something that captures the feeling’s and emotions that we feel at the time. The woods have provided me with a greater connection to nature, a place to escape the daily stresses of life and most importantly the mental health benefits from spending time in these environments has been life changing for me, I need the chaos to calm the mind.’’

- Marc Robbins

‘‘I found myself looking towards the trees and woodland, seeking sanctuary and healing; places for refuge and stability in my life. Many of the trees became ever-present characters in my life; most of them male to my imagination, and all of them, extremely patient, consistent, and wise. The consistency that these figures showed was something that I had never experienced in my early life, and I began building trust with a world that I found to be rather fragmented as I grew up and moved around the country between different homes. I am grateful to have connected with the trees on a much deeper and spiritual level throughout 2021, and I began to see them and photograph them in more than their physical form.’’

- Brad Carr

The retreat will be ran in a relaxed manner with the aim to encourage creativity, there are some important things to consider when it comes to composition but neither me or Brad are rule followers. We will work with whatever the weather throws at us to understand how to make the use of light on any given day, Snowdonia in November can often provide a real mix of conditions and we will choose locations to maximise your photography time. Composition is massively subjective but there’s certain thing’s that can help to make sense of the chaos such as balance, framing, separation, colour, depth, space, texture, layers, flow, repetition and character. We will also discuss and practice cropping in camera, understanding our final aspect ratio in the field is massively important and can save us loosing vital quality when we come to print, something that’s often overlooked. You will be given plenty of time to explore and practice composition with mine and Brad’s guidance if required to help you to start seeing for yourself, creativity will be encouraged in the hope that you find your own voice and way’s of interpreting the landscape. Our evenings will be spent going through processing techniques, talks around creativity, writing and developing skills that can help you to connect to the landscape and your audience.

Our base for the retreat will be Plas Blaenddol (www.plasblaenddol.co.uk). It’s a beautiful property located in the heart of Snowdonia and will provide a very relaxing environment to spend our evenings. It’s also perfectly located to give great access to the National Park.

What’s Included.

• Four Nights and Five Days accommodation and photography in Snowdonia.

• Photography tuition and location guidance from me and Brad.

• Understanding of light and composition and how to make use of the available conditions.

• Technical guidance, understanding your camera, the exposure triangle and how to use your histogram.

• The use of filteration and understanding how to use it creatively and effectively.

• Processing guidance in both Lightroom and Photoshop.

• In depth discussions and exercises based around all forms of creativity, from photography to writing to creating a connection with yourself, the landscape and your audience.

What you’ll need to bring.

• Yourself with an open and curious mind.

• Your photography equipment, camera, tripod, memory cards, filters if you have them.

• Good quality and varied outdoor clothing. (The weather won’t be stopping us so come prepared for heavy rain, frosts and gale force winds.)

• A umbrella.

• Laptop if you have one.

• Some comfortable lounge wear for the evenings.

Payment

We want to keep this as cost friendly as possible so the overall price for the retreat is £995 which is incredible value for a five day landscape photography retreat with a high standard of accomodation. There’s the option to pay with a £250 deposit with the full balance due eight weeks before the workshop commences or you can pay in full. Please contact me or Brad to discuss leaving a deposit.

We hope to see you soon.

Marc and Brad.