Your Adventure Awaits...
THE DETAILS
Join me (Eva Kosmas Flores), and Elise Dumas of The Pineapple Chef for a 5-day retreat July 15th - 19th in the French countryside. We'll spend our days at La Cannonerie, a lovingly restored 16th century estate nestled between Cognac and Bordeaux, surrounded by a private estate of 30 acres of rolling hillsides. The home is complete with a beautiful stone loggia, where we’ll be dining + shooting, and is equipped with all the modern luxuries, including a tranquil heated swimming pool where we can relax in the evenings and take in the scenic surroundings.
Along with all of the workshop material (see ‘details’ below), we'll also go on a visit to a local cognac vineyard + distillery for a guided tasting and to learn about the traditional regional process of making cognac at Cognac Bertrand, who have been making their own small-batch bespoke Cognac for multiple generations. Being surrounded by barrels of this fragrant aging delicacy is an absolute dream!
We'll also visit a traditional French "brocante", aka antique shop, to hunt for props and take home a bit of the countryside back with you. This workshop is the perfect place to learn something new in a warm and welcoming environment, relax, connect with other creatives, and immerse yourself in the natural beauty of this tucked-away region of France, brimming with good food + drink, and ripe with inspiration.
July 15th - 19th, 2024
Storytelling + Photography + videography Workshop
STORYTELLING + PHOTOGRAPHY + videography Workshop
- Workshop material covers: visual storytelling, adjusting internal camera settings, manipulation of natural lighting, food styling, videography, the business side of photography, editing images in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC, and editing video footage in DaVinci Resolve.
- Each attendee will have a one-on-one session, where they have solo time with Eva or Elise to address any individual questions they have.
- The nearest major airports are in Bordeaux and La Rochelle, each is about 1 hour by car from the estate. You can also fly into Paris and take the train down. The nearest train station is Jonzac.
- This workshop is geared towards folks who are either comfortable shooting in manual mode, or have taken a workshop or online course with me or Elise before. A mirrorless, DLSR, or iPhone camera is required.
- All lodging and meals are included in the workshop's duration.
- Prices listed are per person, space is limited to 12 attendees.
- If you'd like to split the registration fee into 2 payments, just enter the code SPLITPAY at checkout. The second invoice will be sent on 6/3/24.
- Workshop material covers: visual storytelling, adjusting internal camera settings, manipulation of natural lighting, food styling and plating, videography, the business side of photography, editing images in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC, and editing video in DaVinci Resolve
- Each attendee will have a one-on-one session, where they have solo time with Eva or Elise to address any individual questions they have.
- The nearest major airports are in Bordeaux and La Rochelle, each is about 1 hour by car from the estate. You can also fly into Paris and take the train down. The nearest train station is Jonzac.
- This workshop is geared towards folks who are either comfortable shooting in manual mode, or have taken a workshop or online course with me or Elise before. A mirrorless, DLSR, or iPhone camera is required.
- All lodging and meals are included in the workshop's duration.
- Prices listed are per person, space is limited to 12 attendees.
- If you'd like to split the registration fee into 2 payments, just enter the code SPLITPAY at checkout. The second invoice will be sent on 6/3/24.
A peek into Cognac...
Monday July 15th
Guests arrive late afternoon + welcome dinner at 6:30 pm
Tuesday July 16th
Storytelling session, hands on shooting & styling, brocante (antique shop) excursion, social media + business roundtable
Wednesday July 17th
Natural light manipulation, hands on shooting & styling, videography lesson, video editing in DaVinci Resolve
Thursday July 18th
Adobe Lightroom editing intensive, One-on-One sessions, Bertrand Cognac outing
July April 19th
Farewell breakfast at 9 am, guests depart by 11 am
THE SCHEDULE
The airports that are closest to the estate are Bordeaux (BOD) and La Rochelle (LRH). Alternatively, you could fly into Paris and take the train down to either Bordeaux or La Rochelle and then take a cab the rest of the way. The nearest train station to La Cannonerie is in Jonzac, but because it is a local train for that leg of the journey it is a bit slow with lots of stops, so taking the direct TGV train to either Bordeaux or La Rochelle and then a cab would probably be faster.
The address of La Cannonerie is La Cannonerie, 17500 Réaux-Sur-Trèfle, France. If you or the driver just puts "La Cannonerie" in their google map app, it will come up automatically in google maps with the correct geo-location. You can see the google map location here.
Once you land at the airport /get off the train, you can either rent a car to get to the estate, or hire a car service/taxi. In the previous years the attendees have gone in on a car service/taxi together, so sharing it with other attendees would be a good option. You can use the WhatsApp group you'll be invited to in the welcome email to coordinate that, or do it via email once we send the welcome email.
Driving in France is pretty easy, as all signs are clearly marked, the highways are in good condition, and the roads aren't crowded outside of big cities. The roads can get narrow in small villages, however, so renting a smaller car would be safer. Also note that most rental cars are manual transmission unless you specifically ask for automatic.
GETTING THERE
...all you need to do is pack your bags, grab your digital camera or iPhone and show up. We’ve got the rest covered! All delicious meals, wines, and excursions are included in the workshop. Just relax—focus on learning, having fun, eating well, and shooting your stunning surroundings!
