CREATIVE PHOTO-RETREATS

More than a workshop, more than a tour

Our Photo-Retreats reinvent the photographic workshop and tour and give purpose to your photography.

They propose you a very different and rewarding approach: to slow down and create personal work in an inspiring and authentic location for a whole week, covering all the steps of the photographic process, from the original message to the final print.

Our Photo-Retreats have been designed as holistic creative experiences that will combine moments of total immersion in the field with work in the studio and with round table creative discussions among the group members.

We will help you make wonderful images, edit them, process them and finally get them printed in the comfort of our exclusive lodge.

You will go home with an artist book made by you during the week. Is there anything more rewarding for a photographer than that?

 SCHEDULED PHOTO-RETREATS FOR 2025

• In the forest, Lithuania - 23rd to 30th of January 2025 - Last Place Available

• Islay and Jura islands, Scotland - 22nd February to 1st March 2025 - Fully Booked - Waiting List

• Skeleton Coast and Hartmann Valley, Namibia - 25th March to 2nd April 2025 - Fully Booked - Waiting List

• Gems of Northern Ireland - 3rd to 10th May 2025 - Last Place Available

• The Painterly Coast, Asturias, Spain - 20th to 27th September 2025 - Fully Booked - Waiting List

• Greek Impressions, Santorini island - 11th to 18th October 2025 - Fully Booked - Waiting List

• Northumberland, England - 14th to 21st November 2025 - Fully Booked - Waiting List

• Venetian Retreat, Italy - 1st to 7th December 2025 - Few Places

 
SCHEDULED PHOTO-RETREATS FOR 2024

All our Photo Retreats for 2024 are Fully Booked and for this reason, they have been taken out from the website

ISLAY AND JURA ISLANDS, SCOTLAND

During this Photo-Retreat, we will explore the enchanting allure of Islay's diverse landscape, where grasslands, untamed moors, and rugged Atlantic coastlines converge to create a captivating environment for photographers. Along the coast, an unspoiled wilderness unfolds, shaped by the island's geological and glacial history. From cliffs and arches to stacks and geos, sandy beaches to mudflats, Islay's dynamic coastline, perpetually caressed by the Atlantic, unfolds as a mesmerizing spectacle of texture, form, and color. Our lens will also capture traces of history – ruins, old graveyards, and some of Scotland's oldest Celtic crosses.

Venturing to the neighboring island of Jura, just a short distance away but worlds apart in nature, promises a wilder and more remote experience. Dominated by quartzite Paps towering over 700 meters, Jura's rolling moorlands host over 5000 red deer, outnumbering the island's human inhabitants.

Our base, a delightful house exclusively reserved for our group, will be the perfect haven. Here, we'll refine our photographs by the fire, savoring the world-famous whiskeys of the islands and relishing in Anca's delicious culinary creations crafted from locally sourced products.

As with all our Photo Retreats, you'll return home with a handmade artist book showcasing a curated selection of printed photographs captured during this unforgettable experience.

• Place: Islay and Jura Islands, Scotland

• Dates: 22nd February to 1st March 2025

• Fully Booked - Waiting list Available

• Price: 5'900 CHF

• Deposit: 2’000 CHF

• Single room

• House booked exclusively for our group

• All meals and drinks included - private chef

• Exertion Level: Easy 

• Photo level: All

GEMS OF NORTHERN IRELAND

In this Photo-Retreat we will embark on an extraordinary photographic journey to the North of Ireland, full of captivating landscapes and cultural treasures. Together, we'll explore the legendary Giants Causeway, a geological wonder of interlocking basalt columns, and discover the ancient castles that dot the landscape. We'll explore and photograph pristine beaches, majestic cliffs, monumental landmarks and vast oceanic expanses bathed by the dynamic and ever-changing light of the Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, we have scheduled this Photo-Retreat so that millions of sea birds have already arrived and populated the cliffs of these shores. Together, we'll venture to a local island to encounter and photograph these birds, including the charming Puffins.

For this exclusive Photo-Retreat we will be based at a stunning villa nestled directly on the oceanfront, and reserved solely for our group. We will enjoy the culinary delights prepared by Anca, savoring locally inspired dishes, and immerse ourselves in the creative process as we refine our photographs.

As in all our Photo Retreats, you will go back home with a handmade artist book containing a curated selection of printed photographs made by you during the Photo Retreat.

• Place: Northern Ireland

• Dates: 3rd - 10th May 2025

• Last Place Available

• Price: 5'900 CHF

• Deposit: 2’000 CHF

• Single room

• House by the sea booked exclusively for our group

• All meals included - private chef

• Exertion Level: Easy 

• Photo level: All

GREEK IMPRESSIONS, SANTORINI

When contemplating Greece, Santorini immediately captures our imagination. In many ways, Santorini is to Greece what Venice is to Italy! Indeed, it is the quintessential embodiment of Greek architecture and design set against one of the world's most spectacular landscapes. Perched precariously on the rim of a stunning volcanic caldera, its villages provide myriad subjects against the pristine blue backdrop of sea and sky, offering a vast visual tapestry for honing our compositional and observational skills—from intricate details to expansive vistas. For this exclusive Photo-Retreat, we have secured two splendid Greek villas secluded in the heart of the island, that will serve as our base for exploring and capturing the essence of the whole island of Santorini, and putting together a curated portfolio of images made during the Retreat. Anticipate also delectable cuisine, harmoniously prepared by Anca to complement the rich Greek flavors, alongside exquisite wines.

As is our tradition in all Photo Retreats, you'll return home with a personally crafted artist book, showcasing a curated selection of printed photographs captured during our time in Santorini. Undoubtedly, an extra Cyan Blue cartridge for the printer will be a necessity!

• Place: Santorini island, Greece

• Dates: 11th - 18th October 2025

• Fully Booked - Waiting List

• Price: 5'900 CHF

• Deposit: 2’000 CHF

• Single room

• House booked exclusively for our group

• All meals included - private chef

• Exertion Level: Easy 

• Photo level: All

VENETIAN RETREAT

There are many ways of experiencing and photographing Venice, but this one will be richer and more memorable than any other you can imagine! We will be living in an actual Venetian palazzo on our own, with our private chef and our own area to work on the images we make, print them and create a beautiful handmade book at the end of the Retreat. We will enjoy total flexibility and the actual feeling of having a Venetian home away from home, a few steps away from the Accademia bridge. We will photograph day and night a Venice far from clichés. If you enjoyed Rafael’s book “Timeless”, made in Venice, you will love this Photo Retreat.

• Place: Venice, Italy

• Dates: 1st - 7th December 2025

• Places Available

• Price: 5’900 CHF

• Deposit: 2’000 CHF

• Single room

• Palazzo booked exclusively for our group

• All meals included - our own private chef

• Exertion Level: Easy 

• Photo level: All

PHOTO RETREATS

Holistic Creative Experiences

1. PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE FIELD

All our Photo-Retreats take place in the most magnetic, authentic and inspiring places we have discovered all over the world. In our Photo-Retreats, you will spend plenty of time exploring and immersing yourself in inspiring “photographic playgrounds”, carefully chosen by us, having the chance to work with different subject matter and under different conditions. Unrushed, you will be able to slow down, connecting more with the place and allowing your inner landscape to blend with the outer one. Our Photo-Retreats are optimized so that we limit the amount of time traveling around so that more time is available in the selected locales. We slow down and run less, having more time available for meaningful photography. Our Photo-Retreats are not based on jumping from one viewpoint to another, chasing iconic vistas or clichés, but mostly on spending quality time in each location, connecting with them, and being able to produce personal and creative work.

2. REVIEWING AND POST-PROCESSING

Post-processing should not be considered a separate step in photography but rather as the continuation, or culmination, of a whole photographic process that started the moment we had an idea in our mind that we wanted to capture in a photograph. During our Photo-Retreats, we will study the most important and difficult task for the digital photographer today: knowing what is the intent and final vision we want for the image and what are the adjustments that need to be done in order to get there. All this is independent of the software we use and will give us the most important foundations of knowledge in order to post-process our images using any kind of software or tools.

In the comfort of our lodge, we will spend time reviewing the work you have made in the field, analysing the message and the coherence of your images, finding patterns and traits that reveal your personal vision and finding ways to make your images more expressive. We will help you post-process your images based on your original intent.

3. PRINTING & ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONS

Every day, we will make fine prints of a curated selection of images made by each participant, by using an Epson photographic printer and fine art cotton rag paper. This is when we will turn your images into something real and tangible, a creative token that becomes a materialization of your creative efforts.

These prints will also serve as a base of discussion and open the door to enriching feedback from other members of the group. The prints will become the perfect excuse to engage in enlightening round table discussions about our photographs, sharing and learning from each other how each of us sees and photographs the world in a unique way. Do not worry if you are not an experienced photographer. Everyone has something to say and we will help you with the technicalities.

4. EDITING AND BOOK-BINDING

Rafael Rojas will help you edit the selection of prints made during the week, attending to flow, resonance, and relationships of form and meaning. The idea will be to compose a body of work where the whole is more than the sum of the parts. You will also learn thanks to the enriching feedback from other members of the group. There is nothing like the sight of prints all over the place to engage in enlightening round table discussions about our photographs!

Finally, you will learn how to bind the prints and make your own artist book, the culmination of the whole photographic process, and the reflection of your personal vision of the place we have photographed during the week. For this, you will benefit from the help and insight of Anca. Not only she is our chef, but she is also an expert book-binder who creates all the artist books published by Platinum Press Editions, our sister company devoted to publishing fine art photography artist books.

At the end of the Photo-Retreat, you will proudly leave with an artist book made by you from A to Z. This will become the materialization of a week devoted to creative and expressive work. It will also become an indelible souvenir of a meaningful experience, a stepstone to become a better artist and an inspiring proof you have a unique and powerful voice. Based on the experience with our clients on Photo-Retreats, there is no way back after you will have concluded one of our events!

UNIQUE PHOTOGRAPHIC PLAYGROUNDS

Explore authentic, inspiring & magnetic locations

• All our Photo-Retreats are held in the most inspiring and authentic places on this planet.

• We carefully select locations off the beaten track that have maintained their genuine nature, quiet places where to slow down and fully engage in the creative process of expressive photography.

• We favor “photographic playgrounds”, rather than “viewpoints” or iconic vistas. We look for places that allow us a full immersion, where to connect with the landscape and produce personal work.

• Even when we visit iconic places, we do it differently. We go under the surface, trying to capture the spirit of the place, focusing on those aspects and areas that most other photographers oversee.

The planning of all our Photo-Retreats starts with finding a magical and unforgettable home-away-from-home where to stay during the week. All our Photo-Retreats include single occupancy accommodation in unique properties full of charm and character, that encapsulate the tradition, culture, and spirit of the place we visit. Depending on the location, it could be a luxurious Andalusian “cortijo”, a Swiss historical house from the XIV century listed as a monument, a secluded house by the ocean in Iceland, a top-class wooden loghouse in the Finnish Lapland, a floating boat, a Scottish Manoir full of character… These unique properties are rented as a whole for our group, granting us space to gather, eat the wonderful gastronomic meals that Anca will prepare, work on our images, print and create our books, and drink a glass of wine while we talk about photography and life. These places are not just “accommodation”, but truly cozy creative bubbles, a home-away-from-home, and very often a piece of history and tradition of the places we visit.

Gorgeous food from our own Private Chef

It is always easier to be creative and inspired when your stomach is happy! This is why our Photo-Retreats are also culinary feasts.

Anca, besides being a great architect and bookbinder, has trained for many years as a chef. She has specialized in the creation of surprising, sophisticated, balanced, and healthy dishes that will become a highlight of our trip. She takes inspiration in Mediterranean, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Middle East, and Eastern European cuisines among others. She will use local products and try to surprise you all with the most traditional ingredients of the area we will visit. In terms of quality, we choose the best: Lobsters, iberian pig, kobe wagyu beef and king crab among others have met our dishes during our Creative Photo-Retreats. By the way, as we have total flexibility, we can also cater to vegetarians, just let us know!

Not only will we eat well, but we will also have total flexibility when it comes to planning our days to our photographic activity, light, weather, etc.

FREQUENT ASKED QUESTIONS

Have you got questions? We have answers!

Are Creative Photo-Retreats only for advanced photographers?

Not at all! Our Creative Photo-Retreats cater to photographers of ALL LEVELS.

Do not worry if you are not very experienced in making photographs, processing your work, or printing images. We will help you all along, and you will learn by doing, with our support. You just need some knowledge about how to use your camera in manual mode.

How is that, you might wonder? Our Photo-Retreats deal with the expressive and creative potential of photography, covering all aspects involved in the photographic process, from A to Z.

Thanks to our Photo-Retreats, beginners and intermediate photographers will literally see their level sky-rocket and build some solid self-confidence. Advanced photographers, in turn, might very well experience an inflection point in their philosophy and practice of photography. If you are an advanced photographer who is able to produce at will aesthetically pleasing images but who feels that something is lacking, then our Photo-Retreats are made for you. They will expand your views, push you to abandon old ruts, leave your comfort zone, and experience a radical change of mindset when it comes to your photographic practice.

How big are the groups in the Photo-Retreats?

Due to the very personal approach and the amount of teaching involved, we work with very small groups, ranging from 3 to 5 people. Only on occasions, we might have as many as 6 participants, when the logistics recommend it.

Do you outsource the leading of your retreats to other photographers?

No. All our Creative Photo-Retreats are planned, defined, organized, and led personally by Rafael and Anca, as a team. We, Rafael and Anca, the only owners of Essential Seeing, both traded successful careers in order to devote ourselves to a passion. The passion of teaching and inspiring others to grow as artists, the passion of taking care of others and providing unforgettable experiences that become highlights in their lives. We are not perfect, but we try and do our best, and we have a blast doing it! Why outsource all this pleasure to others while we manage the “business” from our office? We want to be with you and we want to make sure all is made according to our values and uncompromising attention to detail.

Besides all this, we honestly doubt we could find anybody out there able to cover all the things we do in our Photo-Retreats… Without realizing, we have become a perfect team able to master a very wide range of skills. Anca has trained as a chef and a bookbinder for many years, Rafael has many decades of teaching experience under his belt. We both have been actively making artist books with our company Platinum Press Editions, and both of us have been travelling and organizing trips for as long as we remember.

Will we sacrifice time spent outdoors in order to work and print our photos?

No, in fact, the contrary will be true!

Our indoor sessions are not something we do in exchange of work out in the field, but in addition to it, or even in order to! You are likely to experience that the working sessions in the studio become the fuel of inspiration for you to go out there again and produce better work.

Every day we will devote a couple of hours to help you all choose some of the most expressive and personal images you have created the day before. We will work them together on the computer and print them. Then, you will be able to see what the other participants have created, and how each one of you has seen the same place in a very different, and personal, way. All this proves extremely inspiring and motivating to all our participants and put them in the perfect mindset to go out again and create new meaningful work. They also provide ideas and insight about new possibilities of creation.

Our indoor sessions give purpose to the outdoor sessions, and make them richer, deeper and more meaningful.

How are the itineraries planned?

We do not stick to a pre-defined plan, but adapt it to the weather, light, moods and group dynamics. This is where the intuition of Rafael typically makes wonders, allowing the Photo-Retreat to fold organically, and making every place the “right place”, and every moment the “right moment”. We will also reveal a place by carefully orchestrating not only the locales we visit, but also in which order we visit them, how we combine them, how long we spend in each.

Our Photo-Retreats are optimized so that we limit the amount of time spent in the car. We slow down and run less, having more time available for meaningful photography. Our Photo-Retreats are not based on jumping from one viewpoint to another, chasing iconic vistas or clichés, but mostly on spending quality time in each location, connecting with them, and being able to produce personal and creative work.

One of our tasks during the Photo-Retreats is to plan our time and our itineraries so that you are always inspired, challenged, and motivated while in the field. Creativity and inspiration follow cycles and it is important to plan a photographic trip accordingly. Photography as an artistic outlet of expression is not something you can be doing nonstop for 12 hours a day. That is production, not creation.

What do I get at the end of the Creative Photo-Retreat?

Not only will you have a memorable souvenir and lots of great photographs on your memory card.

You will also go back home with a handmade artist book made with fine art prints of your work during the week. Something you will be able to show your friends and family, as soon as you arrive home, truly a physical outcome of your creative week.

You are also likely to go back home with a few recipes “stolen” to Anca, who will put together menus difficult to forget!

How is the food organized?

Anca, besides being a great architect and bookbinder, has trained for many years as a chef. She has specialized in the creation of surprising, sophisticated, balanced, and healthy dishes that will become a highlight of our trip. She takes inspiration in Mediterranean, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Middle East, and Eastern European cuisines among others. She will use local products and try to surprise you all with the most traditional ingredients of the area we will visit. In terms of quality, we choose the best: Lobsters, iberian pig, kobe wagyu beef and king crab among others have met our dishes during our Creative Photo-Retreats. By the way, as we have total flexibility, we can also cater to vegetarians, just let us know!

How is lodging planned for Photo-Retreats?

The places we select as our home-away-from-home need to be a contribution to the dream experience of our Photo-Retreats. They are not just functional places to sleep and eat, but magical bubbles where to get inspired, work and discuss, enjoy wonderful meals, and spend quality time together.

For this reason, we run our Photo-Retreats from manor houses, palazzos, cortijos, traditional farms, luxurious alpine chalets, historical buildings, castles, lighthouses, and African tented camps, among others.

We are extremely picky when it comes to the choice of lodging during our Creative Retreats. We only book places that we can have entirely for us. They need to have a special character, ideal locations, and the highest standards in terms of comfort and equipment available in the area. All our rooms are for a single occupation.

What do I need to bring for the Photo-Retreats?

Once you enroll on any of our Photo-Retreats, you will receive detailed information about what to bring and how to prepare for the event.

On top of the photographic material, clothing and outdoor equipment, you will also need to bring your own laptop, with a copy of Adobe Lightroom or Capture One installed in it. If you do not have that software, you can always download a trial version for free from the Adobe site. Bring also your own mouse! The cheese will be provided by us :-)

Can I have some feedback from other participants?

Yes, if you would like to have some feedback from other participants who have already attended our Photo-Retreats, we could put you in contact with them so that you can know first-hand what to expect.

All of our Creative Retreat participants repeat with us every single year… that is the best testimonial!

I see little information about the particular scheduled Retreats on this website... How can I know more?

Our Photo-Retreats are personal and tailor-made creative experiences and the booking process needs to be personal, too. After all, you are about to enroll in a memorable and enlightening experience, not buy a pair of shoes!

For this reason, if you are interested in any of our Photo-Retreats, we would love to personally meet you online in order to give you details and answer your questions about the specific location, the logistics, the way our Photo-Retreats in general work, etc. By meeting online, we can also discuss and make sure we are ideal for you, and you are ready for us. Putting together groups of similarly oriented people who are on the same “wave-of-length” is also our responsibility and part of the value we offer to our clients.

If you are potentially interested in any of our Photo-Retreats and not ready to book straight, just contact us by using the button “More info”, and we will gladly plan an online meeting with you!

How can I book a Photo-Retreat?

If you are ready to enroll on any of our Photo-Retreats and there are still places available, please use the “Book” button and send us the booking application.

Once we receive it, we will send you the invoices for the payment of the deposit and then for the balance, in due time.

Payments will be made via wire transfer (transfer into our bank account), and a confirmation of payment will be sent to you by email, acting as proof of booking.

Are these Photo-Retreats safe in terms of Covid?

Our Creative Retreats are the safest option nowadays for those who want to travel and practice photography. During the whole week, we are totally autonomous and independent, having our own lodge and our private chef. You will barely have any contact (if any at all) with other people other than the rest of the participants. Our Creative Retreats are a bubble of creative inspiration where to feel safe and forget about the troubles of the world for a while.

In which languages are Photo-Retreats run?

The official language for our Photo-Retreats is English, and this is the language that will be used when talking to the group as a whole. However, bear in mind that personal explanations to each participant can be done also in French or Spanish, as we are bilingual in these other languages. Also, during the indoor sessions, we work with each of the participants individually, and therefore English, French or Spanish can be used.

A certain international composition of the group should be expected, with all the fun and wonderful implications that brings!