Creativity and Contentment

Reflections from a winter workshop on Harris

I walked over the dunes onto Scarista Beach, the roaring waves meeting still winds, creating sea spray that lingered over the shoreline beneath Ceapabhal and formed an unearthly, almost mystical landscape. The rare combination of low wind and sunshine in February was so surprising that it made me stop, sink down into the sand with appreciation and joy, and just look.

Thanks to Frances Berger and Julie Mills for some of these images!

Across the softly untouched, gently coloured sand, I could see women dotted along the beach: one standing in the wash of the waves, one wandering through the dunes, and two walking into the distance. And what was most lovely was that I could feel a sense of contentment between us all.

It was the end of a week-long residential Long Exposure Photography Workshop. The week had begun with challenging weather, some of the group grappling with unfamiliar equipment, and others tired from travelling. And yet, as so often happens on these residential weeks, and maybe it’s no coincidence….. I watched faces visibly soften, relax, and settle as the days went on.

I love the word, content, because photographers are often discontent. There is usually something better around the corner, or the equipment isn’t good enough, as though any of those things would automatically make for a better day. To me, a good day is one you enjoy, and when you are present. One where you can sit with friends, or enjoy being alone on an empty, wild beach and feel creative. Getting to know the land by sitting with it peacefully, or meeting the people who live and work here, is how you begin to understand a place.

We began our days with teaching sessions mixed with outdoor trips to practice the theory of photographing waves using long exposure techniques. This is something that comes easily to me now through years of practice, but I always work really hard to get the group into the right place at the right time. Knowing the places and how each beach works is a really big part of how I manage to capture my images. I explained using filters, reading the waves, and the tech of setting the camera up: all essential learning. However, I try to simplify this part because I think that photography is usually taught in an overly complex manner that is just not necessary and often just puts people off. And what is also needed is a wider view of teaching: how to loosen up within. Finding contentment naturally lends itself to flowing into creativity easily, and adding a sense of fun is really important, as that is a big part of the whole picture.

As I sat on my dune, I thought about women and the weight they carry through life. After conversations with Jo Boyle, who has been creating some beautiful bags for women (watch this space…), that sense of shared responsibility felt especially present.

The weight of caring, particularly in midlife, jammed between grown-up children who still need you and caring for elderly parents, whilst still working, can be really difficult. It’s different for everyone, but enter the menopause and the challenges it brings during this time, it’s a period in life when most women want or need time to look after themselves.

Yet putting ourselves first often feels counterintuitive after so many years of doing the opposite, as though rest, creativity, and joy are indulgent.

I feel this myself when I carve out time to attend a creative activity or event. I weigh up the cost of being there, the cost of getting there, time away from work, time I should be working or spending with others. I reduce expenses, even if it means travelling less comfortably. I need to stop and remind myself: this isn’t an all-inclusive, poolside holiday with no purpose, and I have to bring things back into focus. Is this good for my health? My well-being? My creative development? And if the answer is yes ( and it’s viable, within life and financial constraints), then I push through that ingrained instinct and book that trip.

I opened a conversation during the week about how important it is, and how our creativity can be stifled by a single remark that we were “no good at art.” Those words can live with us for a lifetime, robbing us of the joy of messy, playful, childlike creativity. Imagine the joy that gets withheld through life because of it.

I believe that freeing creativity in one area of life translates into freedom elsewhere, and more broadly, into a deeper ease of creating. So I offered the option of a playful painting session or a walk around the bays near my home, inviting people to enjoy the simplicity of noticing what’s less obvious.

And so, alongside the necessary technical focus of a long exposure workshop and the wonderful trips on location, we also made time in my gallery to talk, connect, and enjoy being together. We had homemade soups and fun cakes (complete with birthday-style sprinkles), lots of splashing around of inks on paper, and fun with a stamp maker I’ve just bought. None of this was planned, but I know these moments help unleash creativity and joy in a way that supports not only the person but their photographic practice as well.

If you’d like to join another of my very special weeks, here are some details:

Upcoming Retreat & Workshop Spaces:

South Wales Writing Retreat with Sean Tucker - 31st Oct - Nov 6th 2026

Isle of Harris - Long Exposure Photography workshop Feb 11th -17th ,

Isle of Harris Photography Workshop Feb 24th - 2nd March, 2027 tbc

Thanks for reading, Margaret x