How often do you check in with where you connect with the earth? We walk over hundreds of different surfaces every day which, paired with an interesting pair of shoes, can make a thoughtful image
Where have your feet taken you today?
Come back tomorrow for more tips!
The sky offers so many surprises – but sometimes we are so busy we forget to look up
Look up when you are out and about today – what do you see?
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Tomorrow 17-year old photographer Ffion Atkinson shares her story. More tips throughout the week!
We often notice only those things we choose to notice, and zone out thing we inherently dislike. Although I love sunny flowers, I am not generally a fan of bright yellow. So I went in search of it, and found so much waiting for me.
What is your least favourite colour? Where can you see it around you now?
Come back tomorrow for more tips!
Often we have a natural inclination to try to fit an entire object in the frame, however big that might be. Try to resist that sometimes (especially if photographing something quite ordinary), and go for bits of an object instead. Sometimes the results can surprise you – and end up much more artful. The image above is of part of a beautiful ceramic serving dish I found in Greece.
What ordinary things around you have beautiful parts?
Come back tomorrow for more tips!
This is one of the oldest ‘rules’ of photography, but it is so powerful when you consciously try to use it.
Imagine your viewfinder split into a 3×3 grid of nine same-sized rectangles. Try to place the subject of your photo along one of the dividing lines (above), or in a place where the grid lines intersect (below).
What rules do you like to break?
More tomorrow!
[Image courtesy of Jessica Swift]
I love happy people.
And Jessica Swift is definitely one of life’s happy people (see here for the Do What You Love interview with her).
Have you heard she is making rainboots covered in her gorgeous designs and carrying secret messages?
We would call them ‘wellies’ here in England.
She needs your help to get them manufactured – and bring puddle-splashing happiness to people all over the world.
Check out her fun Kickstarter video here – only six days to go!
So excited to have been invited to moderate a panel at The Creative Connection Event featuring inspiring artist Kelly Rae Roberts and creative business mentor Kathy Hansen. We will discuss ‘The Nuts and Bolts of Launching a Creative Business’. It will be a fantastic opportunity to draw out real insights and practical advice from three women who have achieved so much in a relatively short time, learning some incredibly valuable lessons along the way.
The event is the brainchild of Jo Packham, the creative force behind Where Women Create. It will be in Minneapolis in September (more details here). Will I see you there??
The team (including our fab teachers!) from L-R: Ellie, Hannah, Lex, Rachel, Flora, Suzanne, Louise, Priscilla, Chris, Juliette, me, Paul Image: courtesy of NavyBlur
It is not possible to deliver something like the Do What You Love retreat without an army of angels – and I was blessed with the best.
Shiny happy people, full of energy, initiative and creative love, they generously gave their time to help outside of class hours. They gave the other participants a warm welcome, got up early, went to bed late, helped make the place look beautiful and did much behind the scenes – always with a smile (and frequently with a belly laugh and a mouthful of chocolate) – to help make everyone’s experience as special as it could be.
I am truly indebted to the retreat team who helped make it all happen, and proud to call them my friends.
Here is a sneak peek behind the scenes with the team hard at work…
[Image: NavyBlur]
Preparing the site signage…
[Images above and below: NavyBlur]
Registering arrivals and showing them to their lovely lodges…
[Image: NavyBlur]
Explaining where to find everything…
[Image: NavyBlur]
Breakfast meetings…
[Image: NavyBlur]
Serving wine and sparklers…
[Image: NavyBlur]
Preparing for early morning yoga with the lovely Devi Kirin Kaur
[Image: NavyBlur]
Adding little touches around the place…
[Image: NavyBlur]
Opening the tipi up for dinner…
[Image: NavyBlur]
… and checking the cakes taste delicious!
I must also thank the wonderful Christine Boyd and Xander Neal of NavyBlur for all the fab photos, and Jack Benson and Rafael Gibbons of Nut Films for the film (which is in the works – so exciting!). Can’t wait to share Do What You Love interviews with them in the coming weeks…
Thank you all!
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For more of my posts about the retreat see: Gathering / Full of Love / Reflecting / Bloom True with Flora Bowley / Paper heaven with Rachel Hazell / Delicate wax and wire sculptures with Priscilla Jones
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Missed the retreat? Why not join the Do What You Love e-course?
This online adventure starts on June 6 and will take you step-by-step along the path towards doing what you love.
Find out what participants who took the course last time had to say HERE.
Find out more and register here.
This is your life we are talking about…
(Image: NavyBlur)
Wow. The inaugural Do What You Love retreat was everything I hoped it would be and more.
People connected, created, laughed, cried, shared, opened up, grew, made friends – and more than a handful said it changed their life.
It was a beautiful thing to be part of, and I thank everyone involved from the bottom of my heart.
(Image: NavyBlur)
Over the next few days I want to share a few posts on each class, on the creative enterprise sessions, on my amazing team, on the magical place we called home for a few days, and on the other things that made it special.
For now I just want to share a few of my favourite photos from the wonderful Christine and Xander of NavyBlur, our official photographers.
For me these capture the essence of the retreat, and as I reflect on the journey of the past few months, and the days of the retreat itself, it is these images which are so close to my original vision.
(Image: NavyBlur)
(image: NavyBlur)
(Image: NavyBlur)
(image: NavyBlur)
(Image: NavyBlur)
(Image: NavyBlur)
(Image: NavyBlur)
(Image: NavyBlur)
(Image: NavyBlur)
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For more posts about the retreat see: Gathering / Full of Love / Bloom True with Flora Bowley /Paper heaven with Rachel Hazell / Delicate wax and wire sculptures with Priscilla Jones / No (wo)man is an island
***
Missed the retreat? Why not join the Do What You Love e-course?
This online adventure starts on June 6 and will take you step-by-step along the path towards doing what you love.
Find out what participants who took the course last time had to say HERE.
Find out more and register here.
This is your life we are talking about…
(Image by NavyBlur)
There is nothing quite like a dream coming true, and that’s what happened at the Do What You Love retreat, held in a beautiful part of the English countryside last week.
There are so many things to tell you and show you, so many people to thank and memories to share.
But right now I just want to breathe and reflect, and sleep!
All I will say is that for five days this special part of the world was FULL of creative love!
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Updated: for more posts on the retreat see: Gathering / Reflecting / Bloom True with Flora Bowley /Paper heaven with Rachel Hazell / Delicate wax and wire sculptures with Priscilla Jones / No (wo)man is an island