“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.”
~Dorothea Lange, 20th century photographer

Explore and experience the dynamic interaction between mindfulness and photography in this relaxed weekend workshop. The focus of the two days will be on cultivating an open, expansive awareness that enhances the creative process.

Participants will explore photography as a gateway to increased inner stability and calm. Independent time for photographing around Brattleboro will be balanced with a variety of simple, yet powerful, guided mindfulness practices, accessible to all.

It’ll be an opportunity to slow down and care for yourself while deepening your innate creativity, intuition, and connection to yourself and the world around you.

The weekend will wrap up with sharing photographs, not a typical critique style, but rather, from a mindfulness-based perspective. There will also be inspiration, discussion and practical tips for integrating mindfulness into your photography and daily life.

Please note: These workshops are for non-photographers and photographers alike, whether you’re new to mindfulness practices or already have experience. Simply come as you are. Please bring a camera that you are comfortable using (phone cameras welcome) and note that technical aspects of photography are not part of the workshop. Digital cameras are preferred to facilitate sharing of photos at the close of the weekend.

Instructor: Amy Thompson Avishai brings two decades of experience as a photographer, educator and mindfulness practitioner to her teaching.

A Fulbright grantee, Amy has taught at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Griffin Museum of Photography and other institutions. Her photographs have been exhibited widely and appeared in several publications, including, the New York Times, Women’s Review of Books and, most recently, A Yellow Rose Project. She has also been a featured photographer in National Geographic.

It was while photographing in Cambodia in 2002 that Amy’s mindfulness journey began. Her practice has continued to deepen in the years since, and, in early 2023, she graduated from a two-year intensive mindfulness meditation teacher training program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, in partnership with the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkeley.

Amy offers Mindfulness Photography Workshops, Classes and Retreats out of her studio in Western Massachusetts, at retreat centers and other venues.

Website: amythompsonphotos.com

“All the technique in the world doesn’t compensate for the inability to notice.” ~Elliott Erwitt, 20th century photographer