Photography Retreat Vol.7

Join us for our next adventure in Cetona, Tuscany, 17-21 October 2024..

  • accommodation in a traditional Tuscan farmhouse

  • authentic Italian food made by our local chef

  • a free tour of the neighbouring olive farm

  • panoramic views of the beautiful Tuscan countryside

Hosted by Chantal Convertini and Lena Aires

Read on to find out more!

We are excited to announce that we will be hosting our next photography retreat in Cetona, Tuscany from 17th - 21st October 2024! For this retreat we have picked a beautiful Tuscan farmhouse that feels cosy and intimate yet filled with space and natural light.

In addition to the charming interiors, the house has a huge garden with wild flowers, trees and a private swimming pool. We are really excited to host a retreat in such a beautiful part of Tuscany and we look forward to cooking up some classic Italian meals to keep us feeling energised and nourished. We can’t wait to get shooting in this gorgeous house and grounds! So if you decide to join us, this is what will be included in the cost of your ticket:

  • Accommodation in our beautiful rural farmhouse

  • All food and drink for the duration of your stay cooked by a local chef - this includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and some alcoholic drinks.

  • All planned activities, teachings and shoot demonstrations

  • Special gifts from Chantal and Lena

Your hosts..

Lena and Chantal

Lena is a film photographer from North Wales in the UK. She loves to make intimate, documentary style portraiture and self portraiture, as well as still life and landscape photography. She particularly loves to photograph people in a natural and candid way. Aside from photography, Lena loves spending her time looking at art books, reading about the cosmos, practising yoga and exploring nature with her camera.

Chantal is a photographer and artist from Switzerland. Her most intimate work is created in a series of self portraits, something she has practised continuously since 2016 as a way to document and express herself. Another central theme to her work is capturing others, mostly those who are close to her, and she enjoys photographing them using the same process and techniques she uses to capture herself. Chantal lives and works in Basel and next to photography enjoys travelling, dance and reading.

What to expect - creativity, inspiration and connection..

In an increasingly digital world, our retreats offer artists the opportunity to actually work together face to face, to collaborate creatively, challenge each other in new ways and create a ton of new work. The retreats offer a fully immersive experience from morning to night.

Over the course of four nights and five days Chantal and Lena invite you to a communal creative space where you can learn, share knowledge and experience, eat homemade meals and come away with new ideas and a fresh approach to your practice. The retreat involves several portrait shooting sessions, demonstrations and activities that aim to teach you about both the technical side of photography and how to delve deeper into your own personal practise. For those who want to learn more about shooting film and specifically self-portraiture on film, or for those who would like to dip a toe into analog photography but don’t know where to start, we have a dedicated Fundamentals of Film session and Self Portraits on Film session with lots of tips, tricks and techniques for you:)

Aside from these inputs, there will be plenty of time to relax, explore the surrounding nature or try out the swimming pool. In and amongst all the creative tasks there will be time to enjoy good conversation, eat delicious food and drink good wine. These get-togethers are designed for any level of photographer, film or digital - whether you are a complete beginner looking to learn the basics, or an advanced photographer looking to find new inspiration and meet new people. Our retreats offer time spent away from one’s normal life, to take refuge, to ignite that creative spark and challenge yourself to take a new approach to your own work.

For more information on the vision behind our retreats and to see more photographs and testimonials, check out the ‘retreats’ page at the top of this page and visit Chantal’s webpage.

Location…

Our beautiful farmhouse is located in the high green hills of southern Tuscany in a small town called Cetona, located in the southern province of Siena. The nearest airport is Florence which is just over 1.5 hours away by car.

The house - a cosy, intimate space in the Tuscan countryside…

We will be staying in a charming Tuscan farmhouse situated on top of a hill with spectacular views of the rolling Tuscan hills. Surrounded by acres of beautiful olive trees, nature, spacious grounds and lawns, the house also comes with its own private swimming pool. By uniting four apartments, three of which are directly connected, the villa offers plenty of space to relax and socialise in. During the restoration of the house the owners made sure to retain all the original structure and features. There is a beautiful panoramic view over the valley and the countryside as well as a local olive farm which we have been offered a free tour of! Inside the house there is a range of shared bedrooms, bathrooms, a large kitchen and living area and free wifi.

Dates and timings…

We start our adventure on Thursday 17th October. We aim to gather together and start the retreat officially at 2pm. If you arrive earlier you can relax in the house, try out the pool or explore the grounds and get shooting! If you arrive later than 2pm then not to worry as this first afternoon is more about getting to know each other, settling into the house and sharing a bit about ourselves. The official end of the retreat is Monday 21st October when we are all required to check out in the morning by 10am sharp.

Food

All food and drink is included with your ticket price. We have a wonderful local chef cooking for us so expect a delicious and authentic Italian lunch and dinner. For breakfast we will prepare a help yourself style continental style brunch of cereals, fruits, bread and local meats and cheeses. We will provide lots of vegetarian options and some meat dishes to ensure all needs are catered for. We supply a small amount of alcohol for each evening meal but we usually suggest that those who would like can bring a bottle of their choice for the group and we all share. Please let us know of any allergies or dietary requirements you may have in advance so that we can plan the menu accordingly.

Cost and how to buy your ticket..

The cost of the retreat is 1750CHF / £1500 per person and includes shared accommodation in the villa and breakfast, lunch and dinner during your five day stay. If you are ready to book you will need to make a deposit of either 500CHF (with the remaining 1250CHF to be paid in September) or you can pay £500 (with the remaining £1000 to be paid in September). To do this please send an email to lenachantalphotographyretreats@gmail.com telling us a bit about yourself, your photography journey and why you would like to join us on the retreat. Once you are ready to book your ticket we will send you a private payment link where you will be able to securely pay either in GBP or CHF via bank transfer, PayPal, ApplePay, credit card or bank transfer. Once we have received your deposit, your place is confirmed! This amount will then be deducted from the final fee (please bear in mind that the deposit is non-refundable). You can pay in instalments if you would like, just let us know and we are happy to accommodate your needs.

We hope you can join us in Tuscany!

Much love,

Chantal and Lena xx