The Saltwater Retreat Experience Guest Post by Nancy
Nancy attended the inaugural 2017 Saltwater Retreat for women photographers on Hatteras Island, North Carolina. Today she is sharing her thoughts and favorite photographs from the experience.
UNEXPECTED GIFTS
“The shell in my hand is deserted. It once housed a whelk, a snail-like creature, and then temporarily, after the death of the first occupant, a little hermit crab, who has run away, leaving his tracks behind him like a delicate vine on the sand.” — Anne Morrow Lindbergh, from Gift from the Sea
It's been four months since I attended Jennifer Carr's inaugural Saltwater Retreat. Joan, an online friend first told me about it—it sounded wonderful but I was so apprehensive. I’d never actually met Joan, Jennifer or anyone else who was going. I wasn't sure my photography skills would measure up. I didn't know what to expect. But I screwed up my courage and made the leap. Little did I know that by the end of that week I would form a special bond with every person at the retreat—the kind of bond that lasts because it's based on shared interests, shared experiences, and shared respect.
I loved the early morning beach walks, the daily photo excursions, the wonderful food (and wine!) - but most of all I loved our photo talks. I learned so much from Jenny and every other woman who attended - mostly about photography, but about other things too. Virtually everything we talked about was of interest to me, and the group had so many different perspectives to offer. When Jenny asked us if we would be willing to write a guest post about our experience I went back to review my notes and refresh my memory. I ended up feeling good about how many things I learned that I’ve actually put into practice. Here are some random things I pulled from my notes:
I like simple photos with strong geometrical shapes.
Printing your photos is a magical and oh-so-satisfying step in the photography process, something I wasn’t paying enough attention to.
A nighttime thunderstorm over the Atlantic is a stupendous light show.
A Russian Helios lens is a solid, affordable vintage lens that produces some unpredictable but beautifully unique results.
Jenny and Muffin are wonderful cooks, and I discovered I like lasagne with béchamel sauce much better than with ricotta cheese.
Towards the end of the retreat Jenny took us to a local independent bookshop called Buxton Village Books. It's a gem of a shop, owned by a charming older woman who seems to know just how to arrange books so that a browser like me will run across one tempting title after another - first a classic, then an intriguing book by an obscure local author, then a bestseller. I walked out of the shop with "A Gift from the Sea" by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, a classic I had never read before. It was the perfect memento of our memorable week—the whelk shell quote at the beginning of this post captured the essence of what Jenny taught us: use your senses, pay attention to details, tell a story.
Thank you Jenny, Joan, Sharon, Charlotte, Donna, and Muffin!
Follow Nancy online at Nancy Armstrong Photos.
The Saltwater Retreat is a women’s photography retreat and creativity workshop designed to educate, inspire and help you become the photographer you long to be. Held on the shores of Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks of North Carolina, this is chance for women photographers to spend a week immersing themselves in the craft of creating photographs without the distractions of home, this photography trip is more of a vacation than a workshop. I invite you to join me at the next Saltwater Retreat.