This past weekend found me at New Skete Monastery again, leading a photography retreat, this time with beginning photographers.  The first retreat I led was in July, also at New Skete, with advanced photographers.  This time there was more discussion about the fundamentals of photography and composition but still a great deal of time spent practicing the art of seeing.

A guiding quote for my work and my life comes from Marcel Proust, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” As a photographer, technical skills are vital but secondary to the capacity to see. 

October beginners photography retreat participants at New Skete Monastery.

October beginners photography retreat participants at New Skete Monastery.

For all of us, seeing what is right in front of us in all it’s wonder, is often the hardest thing to do. Slowing down and paying attention is a practice that yields great rewards in many aspects of life.

“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.”  Dorothea Lange

It was so fun to watch these women gain control and understanding of their cameras so they could create images that showed the world the way they were seeing it.  Below are just are few of the many wonderful images they created.

 

More retreats will be scheduled.  If you would like to be notified when they are scheduled, sign up for my newsletter here and be sure to check next to “retreats”.

How will you see the world with new eyes this week?