I couldn’t wait any longer! So this is the Surprise Retreat I’ve been talking about on Instagram.
Now I would like to invite you to the 2018 Greek Photography, Filmmaking and Styling retreat, in the delightful little island of Paros.
THE PLACE:
Part of the group of islands called the Cyclades anchored in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece, Paros is the “chic” one. It’s less touristic and more authentic than its neighbours including Mykonos or Thira (Santorini).
The villa where we’ll be staying is a typical Paros property made of little houses located right by the beach and surrounded by a garden full of Mediterranean flowers and a veggie patch from which a lot of our food is going to be harvested.
OUR HOST:
Sandra Choremi is a Greek photographer and cookbook writer. She attended the 2017 Burgundy Workshop and I think she loved it. So she decided to host a retreat in her beautiful house by the beach and chose me to organise it. I am so so happy she did!
WHEN:
During 5 days and 4 nights: from September 7th to 11th 2018
WHO:
Anyone who loves travelling and is interested in photography & videography: bloggers, stylists, photographers, or aspiring to be; creatives of all types; people who want to spend a few days amongst like-minded folks in the unique Mediterranean light. Beginners are most welcome, we will give you a solid basis to start. And for pros, we have a lineup of incredible talents to help you grow. It’s the ideal opportunity for you to build up or refresh a portfolio, add video to your palette of skills, learn how to understand how to better follow an editorial brief and style typical Greek scenes with our super talented stylists.
WHAT WILL WE SHOOT:
The idea is to take photos of the island, strolling through the little streets of its villages, the sea, the villa and its garden, but also food, people and interiors.
ACTIVITIES:
Weather permitting, we will hop on a fishing boat to enjoy the Aegean see breeze and discover the traditional lifestyle of the island.
We will also visit a local ceramicist Monique Mailloux’s studio and take a plate painting class. Then we’ll visit her beautiful village of Parikia, building an appetite before heading to the restaurant with the best view.
To understand how people really live in Paros, we will visit a little farm with its cows, goats and chickens. We will see how they make the traditional cheese and visit an adorable little church nearby.
To catch the so special Greek Golden Hour, we will do an early morning shoot in the charming little village of Naoussa.
In the studio of Monique Mailloux
THE TEACHERS
4 incredibly talented women
KIM KLASSEN
> Canadian photographer and stylist
She will be teaching us how to style and shoot scenes of our everyday life. She will guide us through her quest to find beauty in everything around us.
Bio: Kim lives in a quite isolated little town in south-central Canada, in the province of Manitoba. She’s created on online photography school which includes life changing courses for aspiring photographers and stylists. She gives away all her secrets among which her famous backdrop from scratch tutorials. Kim is a true sharer and beauty seeker. She’s managed to make her life beautiful despite all difficult things life can throw at us. She is a real inspiration to me and I’m sure she’ll make this retreat extra special.
Getting to know her:
Photography Kim Klassen
Photography Kim Klassen
Lean Timms
> Australian travel and lifestyle photographer
Teaching: Editorial photography: how to tell a story, catch the essence of a travel, an experience, through a collection of images.
Bio: Lean is a very gifted photographer who shot fabulous travel images, mouth watering cookery books and has been published in numerous top Magazines. Her speciality is travel and lifestyle photography. Check out her breathtaking photos of Scandinavia. Rarely these particular lights and subtle colours have been captured so beautifully. She also works for big brands in Australia and beyond, instilling charm and beauty in everything she shoots. She was briefly my teacher at the unforgettable Daily Plenty workshop and I absolutely loved seeing how she works, listening to her explain her process and showing me where the winner shot was hiding in a 360° landscape. So I invited her to be a teacher at my very first workshop in Burgundy in 2017 and everyone had a blast! I can’t wait so see how she will capture this very special landscape of Paros.
Getting to know her:
Photography Lean Timms
Photography Lean Timms
XANTHE BERKELEY
> British photographer and filmmaker
Teaching: “How to create a dreamy mini-movie”
Bio: Xanthe is a very successful London artist who has created an online film-making school. Her little snippets of life are delightful. Her imagery makes you instantly happy. She manages to capture the essence of precious family moments and transforms seemingly mundane events into works of art, I’m talking vacuum cleaning, tea drinking or London tube riding.
I’ve been lucky to be the student of her “Make Films Course” and will never live my life the same way ever again. Both last year and this Summer, she’s accepted to teach at my Burgundy workshops. If you heard a crowd belly-laughing in the dahlias, that was her doing! She is fun, adorable and so so creative. I can’t wait to see the little films she’ll create with us in Paros.
Getting to know her:
xantheberkeley.com | @xantheb | e-Courses | Vimeo
Xanthe’s class during last year’s workshop
Photography Xanthe Berkeley
KAREN BALDRY
> Flower guru
Styling our tables, and teaching along the way. She will coach a table styling session and help our teachers make the most of each interior scenes. You can ask her for help when styling your photos anytime.
Bio: Karen is a mum of four. She has a passion for flowers and making life much more beautiful with them. Her style is simple and organic. She lets mother nature speak and very gently arranges blooms together. Her talent is to capture their inerrant beauty with as little intervention as possible. That’s why I fell in love with her work.
Getting to know her:
Photography Karen Baldry
BEHIND THE SCENES TEAM
Sophie Bellard
She will be our head cook for this session. Sophie is an über-talented London based French recipe developer. The blog she created with her two sisters is a mine of incredibly beautiful and more importantly tasty recipes. She will bring to our little adventure her right hand and British cake expert Julia Rumsey.
Together they will use and enhance the very simple and fresh ingredients found in Sandra’s veggie patch and at the local food market.
Getting to know her:
sisters-junction.com | @sistersjunction
Sandra Choremi
Sandra is our host for this Greek retreat. She is a passionate cook and cookbook author who loves to entertain and has decided to document her adventures through photography. In the last few months, she’s travelled around to world to attend workshops with the most talented photographers. Her dream was to host her own in her Paros little piece of heaven.
Getting to know her:
sandra-loves.com | @sandrachoremi
PLANNING
over 5 days – 4 nights
DAY 1 – Friday 7 September 2018
4pm – Arrivals (shuttle organised from the airport)
4.30pm – Welcome refreshments and nibbles – A little speech and some housekeeping
5.30pm – Visit of the property and walk on the beach (bring your swimmers)
6.30pm – Apéritif followed by our first long table dinner.
DAY 2 – Saturday 8 September 2018
Optional swim
8.30am – Breakfast on the veranda
10.00am –Departure with mini-bus to the village of Parikia
10.20am – Visit of Monique Mailloux‘s pottery studio
11am – Our little group splits in two. One half goes on a photoshoot in the village and habour. Then visits one of the most important churches in Greece “the church of the thousand doors”. The other half will learn more about ceramic plates and paint their own. And then we swap.
1pm – We’ll hop on a little boat to reach a charming restaurant by the sea.
1.10pm – Typical Greek lunch.
3.30pm – 4.00pm – Bus home
4.30pm – First class. Each teacher will take 4 students:
> Xanthe will initiate you on the fundamentals of film-making which include: gear & music, different shooting angles, editing and sharing.
> Kim will show you how to style and shoot ravishing scenes of the everyday life.
> Lean will introduce you to editorial photography. She’ll give you a brief, the type a magazine would give her, and will show you how to tell a story following this brief. She’ll take you on a walk and show you how to frame the images you’ll need to describe your journey. On the last hour she will share her editing process.
7.30pm – Time to rest (or keep editing)
8.00pm – Apéritif
8.30pm – Dinner lovelingly prepared with local ingredients by our two cooks
DAY 3 – Sunday 9 September 2018
6.45am – Light breakfast
7.00am – Walk to the Village of Naoussa for an early photoshoot to get the best light!
9.00am – Stop in a café for frappé, freshly pressed juices and traditional Greek breakfast
10.00am –We’ll hop on a fishing boat for a photoshoot. The seaman will take us home to our little bay.
1pm – BBQ with the catch of the day
2.30pm – 3 rotating groups of 4 people will attend a 3 hour workshop they didn’t attend the day before.
5.30pm – Time to rest or edit your photos
6.00pm – Styling session with Karen around the dinner table
7.30pm Apéritif followed by another special dinner prepared by our two cooks.
DAY 4 – Monday 10 September 2018
Optional swim
8.00am – 9.00am – Breakfast
9.00am – 3 rotating groups of 4 people will attend a 3 hour workshop they didn’t attend the day before.
12.00am –Time for a rest, or edit your photos or take a swim
1pm – Picnic lunch (weather permitting)
2.30pm – Walk to a local farm. Lela, the farmer will talk about her cows, chicken and sheep and how she makes traditional cheese. She’ll give us the key to a beautiful little white church nearby. We’ll walk back home on the beach.
7.15 – Walk to the lovely seaside restaurant of Siparos where food is prepared exclusively with local ingredients and the menu inspired by the owner’s grand-mother’s recipes.
9pm – Bus home
DAY 5 – Tuesday 11 September 2018
7.30am – 8.30am – Breakfast in the main house.
8.30am – 10.30am – {QUESTION TIME} Each teacher will answer your questions about shooting, editing, styling, business, social media and whatever comes to your mind.
10.30am – 11.00am – Packing and goodbyes
11.30am – Shuttle to the airport.
COST:
2950 Euros for 5 days and 4 nights, shared room (2 people max per room) all meals, drinks, bus transport, all activity, classes and accommodation included.
The method of payment is BANK TRANSFER only.
For the bank details Contact me.
To pay in two instalments, please contact me.
IMPORTANT:
> Transport from where you are to the villa and back is not included. We will offer a free shuttle for those who need it, from the airport to the house and back at the times indicated. If your hotel is on the road, we will gladly stop for you.
> Rooms and bathrooms are shared.
> Sheets, towels, shampoo and soap are provided.
> Food and drinks are provided for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. Drinks include wine for apéritif and dinner. We want you to have a clear mind for the afternoon sessions ;)
> If you have any allergy (food or other) let me know just after booking. We will do our best to accommodate dietary requirements and this will mean a careful preparation, so we need to know as early as possible. The food will be traditional Mediterranean cuisine with lots of vegetables and fruits.
> September is still very Summery in Paros. The average temperatures are around 23°C, there is nearly no rain but sometimes quite strong winds. Summer clothes with a few light cardigans or vests will be perfect.
> There are only 12 spots available.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
Due to the involved logistics, no cancellations or refunds will be possible unless you find someone to replace you. Please make sure you can make it before booking. We also strongly encourage you to have travel insurance to cover the retreat in the event of strikes, natural disasters, health problems, and other unforeseen events.
VARIATIONS:
The program can be subject to variations depending mainly on the weather. But don’t worry, there will always be a great plan B as exciting as plan A but sheltered :)
In the event that a teacher is not able to attend, we will offer an alternative course of equal standard and quality.
WHILE YOU’RE THERE:
This could be the perfect opportunity for your to visit Greece and the Cyclades.
– If you’re looking for a hotel, we’ve negotiated -20% at a marvellous little boutique hotel called SEVEN of Mikri Santa Maria beach.
– Hop on a boat and visit more islands
– Ask us for advice on what to do on the island
* * *
“GREECE with the Flo Show & friends” is actually many retreats or workshops in one. We will not talk about 1 style, 1 method, 1 type of photography. It will be a very thorough and intense series of ateliers where you’ll be given a really solid and artistic base by incredible people, each one with very different views, techniques and styles. We chose to create small groups of 4 people so you can properly access your teacher, take a real part of each course and project. You won’t queue to take a photo :) You will get to know these wonderful people who will be your teachers for these five days but also the other passionate attendants who could, who knows, collaborate with in the future.
CONNECT:
You will find more photos of the place on Sandra’s Instagram @sandrachoremi and on my Instagram feed and Instagram stories very soon @the.flo.show.
Feel free to spread the love by sharing this article with our hashtag #greecewiththefloshow and by tagging me @the.flo.show.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST:
If you have any questions please contact me!
Paros photos published with the authorisation of Sandra Choremi.
How do I do to be in??
Hello my dear Elena!
I’m sending you an email right now :)
x
Flo
Thank you for the shout out Chloe!