*Sunrise captured by Barb during The Saltwater Retreat, Virginia Beach*

Barb attended the 2023 Saltwater Retreat for women photographers in Sandbridge, Virginia Beach, VA Today she is sharing her thoughts and favorite photographs from the experience.

Ever since I took Jenny’s breakout, In search of Wonder, I have been following her work and admiring her photos. This is how I first learned about The Saltwater Retreat. However, I always found a reason not to sign up. Maybe I wasn’t good enough. Maybe I was too old. But this past winter, when I noticed a Virginia Beach retreat scheduled, I took the leap and emailed Jenny with my desire to attend, along with my concerns. She got back to me right away with such a friendly and reassuring email that I signed up that very night with no regrets, only lots of excitement about this step I was going to take. Any nerves I might have had vanished when I met this incredible group of women who were so friendly and supportive of me and each other. I loved our conversations revolving around our photography, our journeys, and goals. And the laughter! I had so much fun with this kind, funny, group of women.

“Muffin,” who manages the retreat with Jenny, provided us with delicious, home cooked meals, stories, and memories of past retreats, and lots of laughter. Since our beautiful house was right on the ocean, the first morning sunrise was right at our fingertips as we rolled out of bed. Just a mile or so away, more stunning sunrises at the pier over the next few days gave us opportunity to get more gorgeous pictures of the sunrise, surfers, the pier, fishermen, and dunes.

During the following days we made visits to Norfolk Botanical Gardens for flower and macro photography, Pleasure House Point for birds, plants and wildlife, and Fort Story, where there is a beautiful beach and the first and second Cape Henry lighthouses. We visited Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge for sunset photos, and the boardwalk at Virginia beach where we saw and photographed the King Neptune Statue. There was plenty of time at each visit to explore different photo ideas and perspectives. All the while Jenny was available to answer questions, and to guide and challenge us. It was just such a special time to be among this group of photographers, who became friends by the end of the week, that I will treasure my memories and photos from this wonderful retreat.

The Saltwater Retreat is a women’s photography retreat and creativity workshop designed to educate, inspire and help you become the photographer you long to be. Held on the shores of Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks of North Carolina, this is chance for women photographers to spend a week immersing themselves in the craft of creating photographs without the distractions of home, this photography trip is more of a vacation than a workshop. I invite you to join me at the next Saltwater Retreat.

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