Imagine staying in a beautiful Tuscan villa, amid vineyards and rows of cypress trees. There, insulated from the maddening crowd and the lure of social media, you will be able to recharge your batteries and refocus, while you live and work together in a community of fellow photographers.

We get up in the morning at a leisurely hour and are greeted by a substantial continental breakfast, with coffee, tea, cappuccino, cornetti, fresh fruit juices, and other Italian specialties.

If the weather is promising, we might head out in the immediate vicinity of our villa for a sunrise session, on a voluntary basis. We then return for breakfast.

We then have a morning session where we talk about photography. Every day we introduce a set of practices that will help you develop a specific skill.

We then have some private time that could be dedicated to relaxation, meditation, exercise or maybe a yoga lesson. This is followed by a light lunch.

The afternoon will mostly consist of time spent outdoors, camera in hand. We will take inspiration from what we discussed earlier in order to practice. We might do a walk in the countryside or visit a nearby medieval village and I will be there to help you with any questions you might have.

A couple days might be dedicated to visiting nearby areas, like the Tuscia or the Chianti regions. In this case we'll have lunch at a nice restaurant, which will always be included in the price.

When we say this is not a workshop, I mean that there won't be lessons about exposure, focus or the most basic points of technique. I will always be on hand to help you with any technical questions you might have, but that is not going to be the focus of our conversations.

You will learn to take photographs and judge them based on their effectiveness in conveying emotions and on their eloquence in telling stories. I will help you create a coherent body of work composed of a coherent series of images.

This doesn't mean there won't be work to do. I believe practice, and especially deliberate practice is the name of the game  In order to improve, it is necessary to exert effort to improve your performance and this is what I expect from you.

When we are out shooting, we will discuss things like aperture and shutter speed only as tools that we need to master in order to convey a feeling or to impart a certain mood to our photos.

On the other hand, there will be plenty of talk about composition, choice of subject, learning to recognize the best light and use it to your advantage.

Italy is rightly famous not only for its rich history, the ancient monuments, and the art that is everywhere abundant, but nowhere more than in Tuscany. It is also a sought-after destination for the quality and the amazing regional variety of food and wine.

A retreat in the heart of Tuscany would not be complete if it didn't allow you to experience some of its best cuisine and of its prized wines.

Thanks to our resident chef, every day you will be served local recipes prepared with fresh, natural products and cooked to perfection in our kitchen. We will of course cater to the needs of vegetarians and people with food intolerances,

It is said that Italians love life and they certainly demonstrate this at the table. Come savor the Dolce Vita with me!

We will host you in a villa is in the vicinity of the medieval city of Pienza, in the heart of the Val d'Orcia region. Our group will have exclusive use of the property.

The location is about 120km from Florence and 190km from Rome. If you come from outside Italy, you will probably fly or take a train to one of those two cities. We can arrange transportation, for a fee, to and from the airports and the railway stations of Florence and Rome.