Instant Love- A Retreat in Marrakech

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I am so happy to announce that the Instant Love Retreat in Marrakech will be back again next year! Jen and I will be heading back to Peacock Pavilions to teach two back to back workshops. Over the course of your time in Marrakech, you will stay, eat and play at the absolutely beautiful Peacock Pavilions owned by lovely hosts, Maryam and Chris.

Throughout the week, Jen and I will lead workshops on how to use your Polaroid cameras and how to use instant film. The workshops are held in a beautiful, cosy tent where we share all our secrets on the basics of how to use the cameras and Impossible Project film, how we use light, the art of composition, and shooting portraits. There will be plenty of time for hands on shooting around the property and one on one instruction from Jen and myself.

We also will spend time shooting and shopping in the souks (gorgeous jewellery, glassware, silverware, leather, and ceramics!) and around the medina in Marrakech, eating fabulous food, having henna applied at a cocktail party (the Peacock Pavilion cocktails are delicious!), and soaking up the magical culture of Morocco. It was a life changing experience for me and I am so excited to head back.

Jen and I have prepared a beautiful pdf with all the information you need about the retreat for you to download. Download the pdf here, fall in love, and email us at info@instant-love.com for a registration package.

Our first workshop was attended by a group of fabulous women and you can read about some of their adventures on their blogs. We miss you, Amy, Andrea, Bria, Carole, Debra, Irene, Heidi, Helen, Liz, and Michelle! You can also read more about the retreat from me here, on Jen and Susannah’s blogs here, here, here (see me holding a sweet little Moroccan baby goat in that post) here and here! You can also see a mention and some of our participants images here at the Impossible Project blog.

We had an amazing time and I would like to thank all these people for their support: Maryam, Chris, Charlotte and Danny at Peacock Pavilions, our editor Bridget and everyone at Chronicle Books, The Impossible Project, Racing Snail Press and most importantly, my two amazing friends and partners whom I love so very dearly, Jen and Susannah.

Would you like to join us next year? It’s going to be an amazing time!

Paris, Je t’aime

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Firstly, welcome back to a newer, fresher Mocking Bird! Thank you for your patience as we cleared out the craziness. I’ve missed this space and am so glad to be back.

What can I say about Paris? Our 4 days were filled to the brim with sweet French magic. She delighted me in ways I could never have imagined and left me pondering faulty images my mind had conjured up ahead of time.

She wooed me as I knew she would with her beauty and sophistication. Seeing her architecture and regalness in the flesh touched me in new ways and I was overcome with joy upon being able to wander her streets as though they were my own.

Montmartre was as perfect as I could have hoped, with her cobbled stones, winding streets, soaring stairways, and boulangeries galore. The hardest part of my day was choosing which patisserie to purchase breakfast from. Our perfect little window overlooked the square on Place des Abbesses, where a 4 piece band would play in the evenings and people would stroll with baguettes in hand. Much to my joy, it also had a view of the Eiffel Tower, that I would look upon with wishes of ‘bonne nuit’ each evening. She truly is beautiful when she twinkles.

I didn’t have too much trouble with the language barrier as I ended up having my built in French speaker with me the whole time. Sean surprised me on my first day in Morocco with an email telling me he was coming to meet me in Paris. I was overjoyed that I would get to spend my first time in Paris with him. We have been talking about going together for as long as we have known each other and it wouldn’t have been right without him. We walked the Seine as I had always imagined, we shared a kiss on the Eiffel Tower, he indulged me in afternoon tea at both Ladurée and Angelina, and we strolled through the Musee d’Orsay and the Musee de l’Orangerie- oh my god, the waterlilies in that museum are AMAZING. I had one of my “this is a once in a lifetime experience right now!” moments there.

Paris always had my heart from afar and now she has a piece of it floating over Rue Lepic awaiting my return.

What do you think of my Polaroid memories? And let me know your thoughts on the new look! It’s great to be back!

I’ve Fallen Hard For Peacock Pavilions

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Today I want to share a little magic from Peacock Pavilions- the fine establishment where our Instant Love retreat was hosted. Peacock Pavilions is a beautiful oasis in Marrakech owned and run by lovely host couple, Maryam and Chris. We spent a week staying, teaching and playing at the pavilions and it was such a beautiful backdrop for our workshops. Every inch of the 3 buildings and grounds is showered in gorgeous detail and loveliness. I was there a week and even on our last day, I was still discovering new little details that I hadn’t noticed previously.

Each room is decorated with a different look but all using elements of Moroccan design to perfection. The first shot above was taken in one of the rooms in the Atlas Pavilion, while the next 2 were taken in the Medina Pavilion. The view from the room at the top of those stairs looks out over the olive grove and as the sun was setting, it was one of the most picturesque sights I’ve ever seen.

Staying at Peacock Pavilions is not just about the beautiful surrounds, for me the best part of our stay was hearing stories and learning about the Moroccan culture from Maryam and Chris. We ran our workshops from the sweet and cosy tent each day and lunched on the patio by the pool- and the food was pretty amazing too. I ate my own weight in Moroccan bread with every meal- Jen shared a Kesra recipe and some images of PP on her food blog, Nectar. It was so good!

Between the cocktail hours, Henna party, yummy breakfasts, amazing hosts, movie night in the tent, fun dinners and photo taking by the pool, our time at Peacock Pavilions was extremely memorable. Lucky for Jen, Susannah and I, we had an amazing group of ladies who joined us on the retreat and you can read about some of their experiences here, here and here!

Maryam writes the popular blog, My Marrakesh and has her first book on Moroccan Design coming out in May. I cannot wait to get a copy in my hands.

Polaroid Portraits in the Pavilions

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One of my favourite memories of my time in Marrakech was the afternoon we did a workshop on portraits. Our days at Peacock Pavilions would start with a delicious breakfast in the main house, followed by a workshop led by Jen, Susannah and myself. Our workshops generally started with discussion in the tent that led to shooting in the pavilions and around the grounds. After our portrait workshop, we let everyone get to it to shoot portraits and self portraits.

Susannah made it her mission to try and shoot everyone and she did such a wonderful job of capturing each of us in such a beautiful way. Check them all out here. Both she and Jen shot the 2 best portraits that have ever been taken of me. Lucky girl, I am. I wasn’t so conscientious and spent time just observing and watching as everyone turned the cameras on one another. I am kicking myself now because I didn’t get a proper shot of Susannah- I will have to try later this year when we meet again!

Everyone was relaxed, laid back and enjoying spending time with one another and I love that we had that time to let go of some fears, from both behind the camera and in front. That afternoon, many of the ladies wanted to get back into the Medina to do some last minute shopping, so a small group of us stayed behind and had a shooting-fest in the gardens around the Medina Pavilion. It was a great way to really spend some quality time with amazing people.


A big thank you to Briana Morrison for shooting our Instant Love author portrait. She was certainly put through the wringer with 3 demanding photographers who took their time agreeing on an image. Thank you, Bria!

Marrakech Has My Heart

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When the opportunity arose for me to teach an instant photography workshop in Morocco, I was of course thrilled and excited, but there was a part of me that was a little apprehensive about going to Africa on my own. Travel and exploration is deep rooted within my heart and is the reason I’m a photographer. I love to explore and discover new things, so getting the chance to shoot, teach and travel in a vibrant place like Marrakech was a dream come true. But there was a part of me that was unsure of what to expect, and I wasn’t even sure it would be somewhere I would even like.

My first few days in Marrakech were an explosion. I had never set foot in a place so loud, so chaotic and so very, very vibrant. I was on sensory overload and at first glance, I wasn’t sure Marrakech and I would get along. My first morning, I awoke to the sounds of distant chanting- a sound to which my jetlagged mind wasn’t able to decipher. It wasn’t until a chance moment on a rooftop terrace overlooking the medina, that my heart was captured. The sun was blanketing the pink brick of Djemaa el Fna when voices called out from speakers across the entire square. It felt as though the calls were coming from every corner of the city all echoing in on top of one another. The girls and I stood there sinking it all in as the sun went down across the Atlas Mountains knowing that we were experiencing something special. It was a moment I will never forget for the rest of my life.

Marrakech hits you hard at first and then slowly draws you in…the people, the light, the architecture, the call and the absolute contrast of it all. There has never been a place that has existed like it in my life. Morocco has crept into my soul and I’m happy for it to stay there for the rest of my days.

There are lots more Polaroids, instant and film photos to come!

Morning in Morocco

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I awoke to the sounds of strange birds chirping in the terrace of my riad this morning, as the sun streamed through the shutter style windows. There is an orange tree that stands in the middle of the terrace that can be seen from every room.

Arriving in Marrakech last night was crazy and I don’t even have the words to describe what that experience was like. Chaos is one word that comes to mind.

We are going out adventuring today with cameras at the ready. Sunshine here we come.

Morocco Beckons

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This week I will be taking off for one of my biggest adventures of 2012. Come Sunday morning, I will hopefully be sitting somewhere delightful with the Instant Love team ready to take on Marrakech and our instant photography workshop. It seems hard to imagine that I will be in Africa in just a few short days. I have no idea what is ahead of me and I cannot contain the glee I feel about the amazing things I am going to get to shoot. Not to mention that I am going to get to meet some wonderful people.

This workshop is only the beginning of our Instant Love adventure as we have got lots of things planned already for the year ahead- one being a book launch hopefully somewhere in North America in Spring.

Mocking Bird may be a little quiet in the next few weeks while I take this show on the road however you know I will be back with plenty of photos to share- film, digital and of course, Polaroids! I’m sure you will see plenty of updates from all three of us from the road on twitter and facebook!

Speaking of facebook, Instant Love now has a facebook page. Come ‘like’ us over there! We’d love the support.

Have you been to Morocco? Photographer’s paradise, yes?

Does Your Heart Wander Too?

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You know when you read a book and it speaks to your heart so clearly that you feel as though it was written specifically for you? I felt that whilst reading every word of Pia Jane Bijkerk‘s My Heart Wanders. If you love to travel, to discover, to follow your heart, to make your home beautiful no matter where you are, then this book will speak straight to your soul.

Pia shares her journey from her life in Sydney to experiences living Paris and finding peace on a quaint little houseboat in Amsterdam. Her words are so honest, yet quiet; and falling into her book is like sitting down to afternoon tea with a friend. It spoke so strongly to experiences I myself have faced and lead me on a journey to one I have dreamt about. Her book is filled with beautiful photographs, doodles and notes that are so perfectly Pia. I fell so deeply into her beautiful world and may have even shed a tear of two. Insightful, poetic and charming, My Heart Wanders is a wanderer’s treasure.

I was lucky enough to spend a lovely brunch with the lady herself while I was back home in Australia and she is just as beautiful in person as she is in book form. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, I can’t recommend it enough!

Find information about My Heart Wanders here.

p.s. Happy Australia Day- and yes, I had to share some Aussie love today!