The Comfort Zone

Are you growing with the flow or following the road most travelled by

New residential retreats for 2026 coming soon Uig Sands in March, Iona at Easter and Romania in May

New online summer workshop launching next week commencing mid June

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Poppies

Still life, I love the expression and intimacy of still life photography, the connection to the subject is intense as I explore its lines, gestures and suggestion. The experience is one of great reverence as we both give our undivided attention to each other.

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Hello,

Time flies when you’re having fun and life has certainly been busy over the last few weeks.

I have been feeling pretty exposed and vulnerable recently, I have really put myself in a place I have never been.

The studio space I have taken on at Krowji in Redruth, near my home in Cornwall has pushed and pulled at my feelings of inadequacy as a creative.

It’s funny how doing something you know to be good for you can make you feel like this. I have spent time getting the space right for me, it has some of my work on display, space for my toys and multitude of notebooks, sketchbooks, paper and other random stuff, it even has a comfy seat for guests and a not so comfy one for me!

Really it is a metal box with no phone signal so I should feel safe and protected but I feel very exposed!

This is way outside of my comfort zone, I have had a small home studio before, essentially a workbench in the barn at our previous house, but this one is within an artists community hub, Krowji is home to sculptors, painters, silversmiths, musicians, ceramicists and even a man who makes guitars - I feel a little like an imposter.

To add a delicate topping to this cake of discomfort I have signed up the Cornwall Open Studios which opens this weekend I am there 24/25th May 29/30 May and the 1st of June. Apparently I need to discuss my work and be available to share the backstory to my images. I have even added the option of helping visitors do smartphone still life. As I write this my head is in a whirl, I can feel my heart racing too.

What is achieved by pushing out of our comfort zones like this, surely it can’t be good for us!

Personal and creative growth happens when you move outside of our comfort zones, mistakes are made yes, and nothing is certain, but lessons are learned, experiences gained and you might even make a sale!

It is easy to be a creative and stay safe, to not take risks, but the downside is that you never grow, you churn out the same safe images but your appeal slowly dwindles and your light fades.

The best part about the comfort zone thing is actually making huge cock-ups, absolute clangers that make you hang your head while falling to your knees. There is huge joy in getting it wrong, in not being safe in have things go so pear shaped that you have no idea what is going on. This is where the important discoveries are made, this is where you learn to pivot and adjust and have some stories of failure to share.

Why would you share failures? Because it makes us human, accessible and means we don’t take ourselves seriously.

There’s a wonderful scene in the movie Minamata, where Johnny Depp plays the American photographer W. Eugene Smith - it is an incredible film about Smith’s drive to highlight the plight of the victims of mercury poisoning on the population of Minamata in the scene Smith (Depp) hands his camera to a victim of the poisoning and says ‘this, this is easy, anyone can do this, point, focus click but most importantly muck up (he uses another word)’ he then goes on to say that it is only in the muck ups do we learn or grow. He likens photography to jazz, pure improvisation and ends by handing the camera to the young victim saying go make music.

Minamata clip the bit I mention is at about 1:04 until the end.

Essentially what we do isn’t painting by numbers it is following the meandering yearning of our soul, creativity is not point and shoot, it is in the improvisation, the wondering what happens if, it is in the unsteady footsteps and loss of direction that sometimes keep you awake at night, it is the random one word notes scribbled in the early hours or the flashes of inspiration as you drive and have to pull over to make a note because you know it will all be forgotten if you don’t.

Don’t be frightened, feel the fear and do it anyway, and if it all goes wrong you have lost nothing and learned a lot, but the chances are that you will have inspired yourself to push further.

Thank you for your time

Best wishes

Paul

ps I you wish to come by and say hello during the open studios I would love to see you.

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The retreats I am offering for 2025 are as follows:

Erth Cornwall Mindful Photography Retreat, 27- 31st October 2025

Erth is special place sitting in the curve of a river just inside Cornwall. It is a place where time slows down and you can decompress by exploring your creativity and leave with a handmade book

Cornwall Boconnoc Mindful Photography Retreat, 3rd to 7th November 2025

The grounds of Boconnoc in south east Cornwall are a treasure trove for photographers, the house is surrounded by ancient deer park and magnificent trees, a meandering river winds through the grounds passing the saw mill all have a multitude of visual treats.

Collaborative Workshops

Together with Adrian and Clea Beasley I am running a number of creative photography and bookbinding for photographers workshops. We only have a couple of places left on these all inclusive workshops.

Explore Creative Image making North Devon 2nd -5th June 2025

This is our second exploration of creative techniques for image making. Myself Adrian and Clea like to push the boundaries of our equipment and imaginations in this workshop designed to inspire you to think out of the traditional box.

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