Landscape: An Interior Dialect
Workshop at Valle del Tevere, Umbria
02-06 November 2023

‘When human solitude deepens, then the space of intimacy and exterior space touch and become identical.'
- Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space

In the tradition of painting the landscape was often represented as an ideal. With German Romanticism nature was to be regarded in awe and we humans should measure ourselves as mortal beings, albeit to convey a subjective, emotional response in the face of the natural world; the human presence in diminished perspective amid expansive landscapes, contemplating the metaphysical universe. Early photography, Pictorialism in particular, emulated painting until modernism understood the unique qualities of photography, yet still the natural world was seen as an ideal. The New Topographic Photographers from the mid 1970’s radically altered the perception of the landscape as a place no longer pure but changed irreversibly by humanity, photographed with a ‘neutral’ visual attitude, devoid of emotion.

This workshop is an exploration of the landscape with consideration of the various creative and conceptual ways in which this genre has progressed. The question to be asked is; what is my relationship to the natural landscape? Is my relationship a romantic or a topographic one? Do I want to emphasise emotion, the sublime and my individual, subjective connection to nature, or, am I more detached from this landscape, do I view it from a more conceptual or political perspective?

The location is situated in a remote area of Umbria, Italy. The location is perfect for a careful visual meditation of the natural landscape. Accommodation is provided for participants on site at the Villa Montreal.

Location: Villa Montreal, Valle del Tevere, Umbria, Italy

Nearest city: Perugia

5 participants

900 euros including accommodation and food (breakfast and group dinners every day)

To apply send 10-15 images and/or a website to:

Michael Grieve at info@hamburgwerkstattfotografie.com