Words and imagery that encourage you to retreat to be kind to yourself, express yourself, find inner peace and become strong again.

Taking your place in the world. Strong, calm and needed

Margaret x

Debbie Hartmann shares the incredible stories of her photography projects that helped her mum as she was experiencing Parkinson's disease and Dementia and her friend with brain cancer. Debbie turned her creativity into positive, fun projects that lift both her and others during difficult times in a natural and intuitive way. Her enthusiasm for life and helping others is contagious. This episode is possibly one of the most heartwarming stories of humanity and love tied up in photography projects. Debbie is an extraordinary person who always seeks out the positives in life and allows herself to connect naturally to who she is and use that in her photography. She finds beauty everywhere and recently set out on a photography project to better help her "like" the harsh Minnesota winters. Please take a look at her projects and beautiful photography on her website.

https://www.heyhartmann.com/

In this episode, I take a reflective winter walk in January's snowfall to share my thoughts on slowing down and the challenge of balancing that with content creation.

Substack has given me one cohesive platform where I can share my writing, images, video and audio and that has helped me feel less overwhelmed. This episode is about my journey towards a more fulfilling, less pressured approach to sharing my life and work. And how that has brought about my concept of visual meditations. If you’d like to write in to tell me about something that is challenging for you right now, I would love to be able to create a meditation for you ( anonymous) Just email me at [email protected]

I also outline 3 ways in which sharing your work on substack is helpful, even if you don’t have big aims to write for business, followers or monetisation:

1/Help encourage you to write more - a place to write and a place to publish.

2/ Learning to practice putting things out into the world and gaining confidence through doing.

3/ Finding community; people around us to motivate and uplift us.

Finally, I share my plans for a future writing retreat in Wales with Sean Tucker and more details for the Creative Light Festival in Harris in October 2025.

Some Links that may be helpful

Creative Festival

Writing Retreat

Substack / Newsletter

Dear readers, I hope you enjoy this meditation, which I wrote while thinking about a time of year when there can be many pressures. It is accompanied by a video from my home in Harris, and the music was a commissioned piece by Will Collant.

Sending love, Margaret

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Join Margaret as she updates us on her life in Harris while out paddling on calm waters on the island. She meets an otter who is having breakfast and enjoys the early morning on the Isle of Harris, a time when she feels most creative. 

A difficult year has resulted in deep thought about the way forward for her personally and for her business.  She articulates the journey to arrive where she is today and how she has continually adapted to ensure that everything she does is in line with her personal values. Ideas on why you should always keep evolving as you grow and change so that your life and creativity feels right for any given time. Keep listening to hear what lies in store for the next inspirational chapter.

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A. S. Apothecary is a crofting enterprise based on the Isle of Harris. Their work is deeply rooted in the ethos of therapeutic plant work. Join Margaret as she talks to Amanda who is the founder, plantswoman and gatherer, distiller and creative force behind A.S Apothecary.

This chat gently guides you through the process of how they cultivate a diverse range of therapeutic plants on their croft organically. They grown lush plants on the croft and in a huge greenhouse which 'meanders like a garden' inside. Hear how they wild harvest and use the plants for their products.

The Imagery is so powerful - the scent and atmosphere in their workshop is almost tangible. You can feel the passion for their work flow throughout. They produce skin care, Wild Eve, speciality teas, tinctures, first aid kits and even roast coffee!

A wonderful calm and soothing journey through nature - do not miss this.

You can find A.S. Apothecary on Instagram
Their website is www.asapoth.com

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Dr Marie-Lise Schlappy joins me to chat about HSP's ( Highly Sensitive Persons.)

HSP, is a term coined by psychologist Elaine Aron who has written several books on the subject. You can find more on her website https://hsperson.com/

We chat about how the traits are different to introversion, but a large proportion of introverts are HSP's 

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A solo episode from Margaret recorded out by the water with bird sounds in the background. Living more slowly and in tune with nature and how silence and nature sounds help soothe the nervous system. Cooking and baking and other creative activities that help slow down and live better. 
Documenting the wildlife and flowers that surrounds me in a small area around my house. 
Why creativity is important - it gives you the tools for coping and releasing emotions during difficult times in life. Making a date with being creative and allowing time for play. 
What are the circumstances in which you feel creative - begin to notice and then repeat when you feel the need to feel inspired. 

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In this conversation, Margaret Soraya interviews Bill Ward about his approach to photography, specifically his use of intentional camera movement (ICM) and his connection to water. They discuss the importance of being open and generous in the photography community, as well as the role of movement in both acting and photography. Bill explains how movement is central to his photography and how intentional camera movement allows him to add his own unique touch to his images. They also explore the relationship between a photographer's personality and their photographic style, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and self-expression in photography. In this conversation, Bill Ward and Margaret Soraya discuss their experiences with underwater photography and the challenges they face with their equipment. They also explore the idea of projects and how they evolve over time. They touch on the process of exhibiting and creating books, and the importance of choosing the right images and writing to accompany the work. They emphasize the need to keep photography interesting and fresh by constantly exploring new subjects and techniques.

Takeaways

• Being open and generous in the photography community can lead to a more collaborative and supportive environment.
• Movement is central to Bill Ward's photography, and intentional camera movement allows him to add his own unique touch to his images.
• A photographer's personality and personal experiences can influence their photographic style and subject matter.
• Authenticity and self-expression are important in photography, and photographers should strive to create work that resonates with their own passions and interests. Underwater photography can be challenging due to equipment issues, such as aligning the camera correctly in the housing.
• Projects in photography are ongoing and can evolve over time, allowing for exploration and growth.
• Exhibiting and creating books are valuable ways to showcase and present photographic work.
• Choosing the right images and writing is crucial when putting together an exhibition or book.
• It's important to keep photography interesting by constantly exploring new subjects and techniques.

Sound Bites

• "There's a temptation to be territorial, but as you say, being open and generous is important."
• "Intentional camera movement is about adding your physicality to the photographs."
• "Movement is absolutely central to what I really like doing in terms of photography."
• "It's the going back and back and back that's the thing... that's where the good stuff comes from."

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Matt Payne is a full-time landscape photographer, mountain climber and adventurer living in Durango, Colorado. He also hosts the hugely popular weekly F-Stop Collaborate and Listen podcast producing candid conversations with photographers.

Join Margaret in their conversation where they explore numerous topics from how Matt found his creative purpose and how he gets great joy from promoting other photographers.

His weekly podcasts have given him back so much. He loves the wonderful conversations, listening to lots of viewpoints and sharing and uplifting others' work and we talk about my own favourite episode of his where he highlighted women in Landscape photography.

Matt takes the approach that 'Perfection is the enemy of good enough' and uses it in all sorts of ways. Give yourself permission to fail and start to identify areas of improvement.

In August 2023 he got the opportunity to experience the Colorado trail and walked 500 miles home.  During this time he pontificated about life and himself and he subsequently became a full time photographer. Watch out for the book in time to come

Matts podcast page on his website
Matts Instagram
Matts' podcast facebook page

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