Revitalize your photography and deepen your artistic vision while exploring relationships with your subject, your camera, and your self. This retreat offered the opportunity to rethink what it means to see; cultivate simplicity in order to produce more insightful photographs; and explore photography as an expressive, rather than a technical, pursuit.



It’s the instructor’s belief that a photographer who possesses a keen inner awareness can use that knowledge to clarify her/his approach to and connection with the subject, be it a person, place, or thing. The challenge is to not only redefine personally relevant subject matter, but your own approach to creative expression.



Site-specific assignments (including those given during field trips to the North Shore of Lake Superior), focused on internal and external growth, and inspiration sparked by a balance of meditation, reading, conversation, critique, and the natural surroundings of the Cloquet Forestry Center.



Throughout the week, the group discussed issues related to natural light, composition, depth-of-field, and exposure as photographers deepened their visual awareness and clarified their approach to making images. Participants also looked at their individual approaches to photography, why they choose certain subjects over others, and if those decisions were made in the best interest of the work.