lean timms

t w o d a y a u t u m n

p h o t o g r a p h y w o r k s h o p

i n t u s c a n y

Autumn Photography Workshop | Tuscany Italy

A TWO DAY INTENSIVE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP IN SAN MINIATO

with guest teacher Emiko Davies

PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP DETAILS:

Workshop Dates: Sunday 22nd & Monday 23rd October, 2023

Two Day Workshop Tickets: $3000 AUD

Workshop Location: Enoteca Marilu, San Miniato, Italy (halfway between Florence and Pisa).

Workshop Time: 9am - 5pm both days. Delicious morning tea, lunch and aperativo provided.

Suitable For: All photography lovers and levels - including small business owners keen to upskill and create their own content, absolute beginners ready to dive in and learn, photography lovers wanting to step up and into photography as a career and fellow photography professionals, etc.

Guest Teacher and Workshop Cook: Emiko Davies

Please Note: Airfares, transportation and accommodation are not included.

Tickets Available From This Sunday 25th June 5pm AEST (Australia) 9am CEST (Europe)

OPTIONAL MARKET DAY COOKING CLASS WITH EMIKO DAVIES:

Date: Tuesday 24th October 2023

Cooking Class Ticket: 175€

Workshop time: From 10am - 3pm

Suitable for: This is a very relaxed, delicious class suitable for all ages and levels of expertise.

More info on optional cooking class and how to book, below.

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP:

Join me in the heart of Tuscany for an intensive and fun two days of learning, as I openly share with you everything I know about the art of photography. As an intimate group of only 10 students, we will be focusing on the subjects of food and travel photography and will be digging deep into the world of of light, composition, storytelling, editing and so much more. The workshop will be part theory and part practical, with plenty of time to photograph and explore the delicious food and magical location during our weekend together in this beautiful part of the world.

After two days together, you will go home with an abundance of photography knowledge, the ability to shoot your camera on manual settings, the confidence to approach and capture a scene using natural light, and inspiration to photograph, curate and share your own stories through imagery. Two full days means so much to cover, and I can’t wait to share everything I know and love about photography with you! I am an open book, so bring your questions and I will give you all my answers.

Our guest teacher for the workshop, Emiko Davies, an award-winning Australian-Japanese food writer, photographer and cookbook author, will be sharing her cookbook and food writing process with us, along with spoiling us with her delicious autumn cooking throughout the weekend. Perfect timing too, as October brings the start of the white truffle season in San Miniato, the most prized of all truffles and only found in a hand full of places around the world! Also around this time, new olive oil is pressed, saffron is picked and chestnuts harvested. It is truly a delicious season to experience and photograph.

The workshop will be held at Enoteca Marilu, a newly opened space featuring a wine shop and cooking school, hosted by Emiko and her husband, Tuscan sommelier, Marco Lami. Enoteca Marilu is housed in a charming former stable off the main piazza of San Miniato. We will spend our mornings here and our afternoons out and about exploring and photographing the winding streets, hilltop views and local stores of the village.

TOPICS WE WILL BE COVERING:

Natural light digital photography 101
We’ll dig into photography and camera basics, and why it’s important that you understand them. You’ll walk away with a thorough understanding of the (magical!) exposure triangle and be able to use your camera’s manual settings - including a suggestion of my favourite go to’s - to help you confidently capture a number of different subjects and styles. For the professionals, I will share lots of my own tips and personal go to settings.

Light
Nothing gets me more excited than reading and embracing natural light. Autumn light is extra special. We’ll explore light direction first, it’ll blow your mind. We’ll find light and shadow and all the ways they can both make a photograph sing. We’ll work with harsh light and soft light and learn how to manipulate the outcome of both. I’ll share with you all my tips on light and bright photography along with the contrasting moody Italian chiaroscuro style.

Composition
The way a photograph is framed can completely shift the way a subject is viewed. It’s a really fun game. We will play with lots of different perspectives, angles, and formulas.

Storytelling
No matter the subject, a story is always worth being told. We could spend the whole weekend on storytelling alone. I have a special formula, you’ll love it. I can’t wait to dig into this with you.

Travel/Location Photography
This one makes my heart sing. It’s really all about sharing a genuine sense of place. We will go for a wander through the winding streets of San Miniato, past old buildings, hilltop views, old city walls and out to the countryside. I should say weather pending, but as the Swede’s say, there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. So bring a raincoat and your sense of adventure, just in case!

Post Production/Editing
I will step you through my editing flow, both on Lightroom and phone. We will cover basics, explore your style, exporting tricks, and develop your own preset.

Industry Chat
Let’s chat openly. The best type of industry chat. Marketing, pricing, getting published, image licensing, editorial insights, creative inspiration etc, etc.

Q&A’s
We will have plenty of time for questions throughout the workshop, and special allocated time toward the end of our second day.

Photo of white truffle by Emiko Davies

ABOUT LEAN:

Lean Timms is an Australian travel, lifestyle and food photographer working across editorial, commercial and publishing fields, currently based on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country, Canberra Australia.

Forever exploring and full of curiosity for this world, Lean’s greatest love is to discover and document inspiring places and stories. Lean’s approach to photography is driven by natural light, in situ spontaneity, storytelling and capturing a genuine sense of place. 

A once upon a time creative arts high school teacher, Lean loves to teach and share, and has been lucky enough to teach photography at workshops and retreats all around the world.

Select Photography Clients and Publications:

QANTAS
Lonely Planet
Vogue Living
ADOBE
Airbnb
Murdoch Books
Gestalten Publishing
Hardie Grant
Tourism Australia

Photos of Lean by Zoe Spaleta

ABOUT EMIKO DAVIES:

Emiko Davies is an award-winning Australian-Japanese food writer, photographer and cookbook author based in Italy. Growing up in a diplomatic family, she spent most of her life living in countries other than her own, from China to the USA. After graduating from art school, she ended up in Florence, Italy, in 2005 to study art restoration and fell in love with a Tuscan sommelier. They have recently renovated a new home in a charming hilltop village between Florence and Pisa and have opened their own space for sharing food and natural wine experiences in San Miniato.

Emiko has written five cookbooks, Florentine: The True Cuisine of Florence (March 2016 and a new edition in November 2020), Acquacotta (March 2017 and a new edition in February 2023), Tortellini at Midnight (March 2019), Torta della Nonna (March 2021), Cinnamon & Salt (April 2022), published by Hardie Grant. In October 2023 her sixth book, Gohan, which is about the Japanese cuisine of her upbringing, will be published by Smith Street Books.

Photos of Emiko and Marco by Sofie Delauw

THE LOCATION: ENOTECA MARILU + SAN MINIATO

Enoteca Marilu is housed in a charming former stable off the main piazza of San Miniato. We will spend our mornings here and our afternoons out and about exploring and photographing the winding streets, hilltop views and local stores of the village.

OPTIONAL MARKET DAY COOKING CLASS WITH EMIKO

An optional add on day especially put aside for those booked into the two day photography workshop.

Come and join Emiko for a market day cooking class at Enoteca Marilu. We’ll visit the local market, buy seasonal fresh produce, cheese and salumi to inspire our lunch and then cook a hands-on, vegetable-forward Tuscan meal (usually an antipasto or two, fresh pasta with sauce followed by a dessert), which we will enjoy with wine together afterwards. This is a very relaxed, delicious class suitable for all ages and levels of expertise. The class is approximately 5 hours.

Those booking into the photography workshop will be sent optional booking instructions to the cooking class once your photography workshop ticket has been purchased. Cooking class seats is limited to 8 participants only.

More info here.

SOME HELPFUL INFO TO PLAN YOUR WEEKEND WITH US

How to get to San Miniato: https://www.enotecamarilu.com/faq

Where to stay in San Miniato: https://www.enotecamarilu.com/blog/where-to-stay-in-san-miniato

Where to eat and some information on white truffle season: https://www.emikodavies.com/san-miniato-dining-and-white-truffle-guide/

And places to explore from here further: https://www.enotecamarilu.com/blog/things-to-do-in-tuscany

Photos of Enoteca Marilu by Sofie Delauw

TESTIMONIALS:

- I had the absolute pleasure of attending Lean’s photography workshop at The Estate Trentham. Over two days Lean shared her passion and breadth of knowledge in the art of photography. Her ability to connect to us all at different levels was remarkable, and it has left me just wanting more. We learnt to appreciate the imperfections in our photography and to simply capture beauty in the everyday in our own individual style; and I now have the confidence to shoot my camera on manual. It was not only a photography workshop but a wonderful gathering of kindred spirits and they were all the most beautifully, creative, generous souls. I feel so very, very lucky and grateful to everyone who made the weekend absolutely perfect - Sharon Van Der Kruik @family_founded

- I was lucky to snag a ticket to Lean Timms November photography workshop (honestly get in early, or you’ll miss out) and far out was I impressed and overjoyed with the experience. It was a gift to myself for my birthday, something just for me, with the hope of learning new things but also reigniting my love for photography; and honestly, it was all of that and more. My experience surpassed any expectation, from the location, to food, content and then connections – mind blown! It was considered, quality and immersive, with every element thought out and executed by the best in the business. Not only is Lean an extremely talented photographer, she’s also a natural teacher. Mixing technical information with humour and great analogies, Lean had our diversely experienced group captivated and upskilled in no time at all. The workshop was the perfect mix of theory and practice with the most divine treats, lunches & food to die for in between. The weekend was the best investment in myself and a fabulous way to kick off my 4th decade, an experience I won’t forget. Very grateful, thank you Lean & Team. - Jessica McIntyre-Geering @dalesrun

- This course was an indulgent luxury for me, and a significant investment in my current chapter of life. Lean was cognisant of this, creating an experience that felt generous, whilst still understanding her own worth. Perhaps that is just a complicated way of saying I felt like it was good value for money! Lean seamlessly navigated a class of beginners and seasoned professionals - not an easy task by any stretch. Lean’s teaching is gentle and encouraging and she managed to guide without prescribing. The content was comprehensive and informative - I thought the breadth of content was great. But most of all Lean presented in a way that was vibrant and full of humour, which is obviously just a reflection on Lean as an individual - it is invigorating to be around passion, so thank you Lean for sharing this - Hannah Lewis @penguinpantry

- Lean is one of those educators who is as generous with her knowledge as she is talented. She guided me through the areas I wasn’t confident in, and stepped me through her approach to light, composition and editing. I walked away with a much stronger set of skills and bucket loads of inspiration to apply to my work. Anyone would benefit from time with Lean, she takes the time to ensure you achieve what you want out the workshop. I can’t wait to do another one! Anisa Sabet @anisa.sabet

- I learnt so much with Lean during her course. I've done other photography courses, but Lean has a wonderful ability to communicate and make complex information easy to understand. She is a born teacher. Lean has a gentle, patient and encouraging manner which really helped give me the confidence to push out of my comfort zone and start achieving the kind of pictures I've always wanted - Cressida Campbell @pecoradairy

- Lean is a wonderfully warm and generous teacher. From the minute our session kicked off, her enthusiasm for photography, capturing stories and meeting new faces was clear. Our time together went so quickly, learning and practicing on the go and reinforcing all the tips and tricks Lean shared - so much goodness! I left feeling so much more confident with my camera and lots of excitement to continue practicing all that I learnt.  – Alison Jackson @ferroforma.studios

Are you keen but not quite sure yet? Do you have some questions for me? Please send me an email and I would love to chat more with you!

CANCELLATION POLICY:

We understand that things change and COVID looms. We would like to be as flexible as possible, so should you need to cancel we will offer up the resale of your ticket. In the event that it sells, we will gladly refund your ticket minus a 3% handling fee. Unfortunately we are unable to refund your ticket if it does not resell. Valid travel insurance is encouraged for your trip to help with last minute changes. Thank you so much for understanding.

It would be a joy to have you join us for a very full, very inspiring weekend in Tuscany.
Really hope to see you there.

Lean. X