Dolomites Retreat
Venice & Dolomites • September 19-24, 2024
There’s something remarkable that happens when you gather a group of women, all with a love for photography and travel – that don’t know each other, come from different backgrounds & locations, varying amounts of experience & skillset — to experience somewhere magic together for the first time (all while capturing once-in-a-lifetime sessions in bucket list locations). They walk away reborn with a sense of strength, bravery, inspiration, confidence & friendships for life. After I hosted my Greece Retreat last year, I realized that I wanted to offer more of what that life changing experience felt like.
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste it, to experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.”
The experience I’m offering below is unique & a bit longer than typical photography retreats – it calls to the adventurers heart. Women wanting to discover more about themselves & the things we sometimes don’t even realize are sleeping within us, until we find ourselves completely transported to the beauty & unfamiliarity of a new place. I consider this as much of a soul retreat as a photography one. My hope is that it awakens you in a way that you can then pour out into your art with that newfound aliveness & way of seeing.
“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”
The itinerary & details are listed below to give you the full scope of what’s included. We’ll be doing A LOT of exploring & adventuring, as well as shooting 3 incredible sunset sessions. Not to mention getting gorgeous captures of each other in iconic backdrops. Though this isn’t a sit down & learn Retreat, there’s plenty of time for hands on shooting and learning, with time for editing in our Cabin, where I can walk around and help individually. I’ve been hosting Workshops & Retreats since 2016 & some of my past attendees favorite time is the unstructured time, where we can just freely discuss all things photography. My additional hope is to help those of you that have yet to jump into video as an add-on to your photography skills as well.
Retreat Itinerary
SEPTEMBER 19
Venice, Italy
Attendees will be arriving in Venice, where I’ll arrange for a water taxi for our group at 4:00 pm from the airport directly to our own private dock at our canal front loft – a perfect place to additionally enjoy a glass of wine or coffee while taking in the gorgeous views. This first night is for everyone to arrive, get adjusted with any time differences, start bonding & celebrate the beginning of our epic trip with your future BFF’s with dinner out in Venice! Shops, grocery stores, restaurants & popular sites are all in walking distance.
SEPTEMBER 20
Venice, then departing for the Dolomites
After a leisurely breakfast out, we can explore Venice a bit before checking out at 11 am. This is a great opportunity to throw something pretty on & take gorgeous portraits of each other in this iconic backdrop, while also exploring creative use of light & techniques (experts have suggested that Venice could be at risk of disappearing beneath the waves by as early as 2100). At check-out, I’ll arrange for another water taxi back to the airport, where we’ll grab our rental cars & drive the 2 hours to our cabin in the Dolomites. The drive is rather easy, beautiful & will provide a bonus opportunity to eat lunch out at one of the many quaint towns along the way. Once we’re settled in our cabin, we’ll head to town for dinner & groceries for the night. We also have a fire pit with stunning views at the cabin that would make a great place to enjoy after dinner, before all the adventuring kicks in to high gear the following day.
SEPTEMBER 21 – 23
In the heart of the Dolomites … almost touching the sky
LET’S GO – ALL THE EPIC ADVENTURING & SHOOTING!! After breakfast at the cabin each day, we’ll head out for sightseeing & hiking/exploring some of the most popular mountain passes & lakes in the Dolomites. We’ll finish each day with a once-in-a-lifetime Dolomite sunset shoot with either a family, motherhood or couples session, where I’ll be teaching & shooting with you side by side. Lunch & Dinner will be at one of the many idyllic mountain cafes available based on proximity to where we’re exploring/shooting each day, so go ahead and close those eyes & start daydreaming about all the incredible pasta & local delicacies you’ll be getting to savor!
All this time together will lend itself to open dialogue about all things photography. I also highly encourage everyone to mix up who they’re riding with each day, so that everyone has a chance to connect in meaningful & lasting ways with each attendee.
SEPTEMBER 24
Dolomites, then departing for Venice
We’ll get up for a gorgeous sunrise opportunity, where attendees can take portraits of each other for marketing or personal purposes. After, we’ll have some time to decompress from all the adventuring & shooting with a slow breakfast & cup of coffee on the terrace. Then head into some dedicated round table editing time, where I’ll be walking around to help each person individually until lunch. Ideally, you’ll bring a laptop, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry, I’ll send out an editing video after the retreat showing how I edited the galleries. After lunch in town, I’ll schedule 1:1’s with each attendee for any additional focused questions to be answered. At 4 pm we’ll pack up and drive back down to Venice for our farewell dinner, rental car return & hugs goodbye.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
Daily breakfasts. Lodging in Venice (September 19-20) & the Dolomites (September 20-24), with mostly shared beds. Water taxis to/from Venice (September 19-20). Tourist tax & any parking fees or driving tolls if you’re a driver for your carpool. 50% off my online workshops: “All Heart Essentials” or “All Heart Video: Imperfect Family Love Stories as Art”.
WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED
Airfare, Travel Insurance (recommended), Transportation during the Retreat outside of the water taxis in Venice, Lunch, Dinner, Alcohol/Drinks, Snacks.
CARPOOLING
Since transportation isn’t included in this retreat outside of the water taxis in Venice & having your own vehicle for the Dolomites is a must — I’m recommending 3 attendees volunteer to drive 2 other attendees each to/from Venice in their rental cars and split the cost (estimated to be $170 for an automatic SUV rental each). If you’re a U.S. Citizen that hasn’t driven internationally before, don’t worry – they drive on the same side of the road as us & driving in the Dolomites is similar to driving in Colorado & quite easy. You do need an International Driving Permit on top of your license though & those are super easy to get from AAA & it’s only $20.
INVESTMENT
$4,000 - SOLD OUT
Limited to 10 attendees for an intimate & soul filling experience. Please email me at stormy@stormysolis.com to request your seat. $1,000 deposit due at registration with 3 remaining $1,000 installments due June, July & August 19.
Refund Policy
Seats are non-refundable or transferable. In the event you can’t attend, you can sell your seat to someone to replace you, but it is your responsibility (I’m happy to help by contacting those on my waitlist and announce on social media as well).
* Photos shown are from Google and not my work – these are meant to help give you an idea of locations & our lodging only
DOLOMITES RETREAT
Venice & Dolomites • September 19-24, 2024
There’s something remarkable that happens when you gather a group of women, all with a love for photography and travel – that don’t know each other, come from different backgrounds & locations, varying amounts of experience & skillset — to experience somewhere magic together for the first time (all while capturing once-in-a-lifetime sessions in bucket list locations). They walk away reborn with a sense of strength, bravery, inspiration, confidence & friendships for life. After I hosted my Greece Retreat last year, I realized that I wanted to offer more of what that life changing experience felt like.
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste it, to experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences.”
The experience I’m offering below is unique & a bit longer than typical photography retreats – it calls to the adventurers heart. Women wanting to discover more about themselves & the things we sometimes don’t even realize are sleeping within us, until we find ourselves completely transported to the beauty & unfamiliarity of a new place. I consider this as much of a soul retreat as a photography one. My hope is that it awakens you in a way that you can then pour out into your art with that newfound aliveness & way of seeing.
“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”
The itinerary & details are listed below to give you the full scope of what’s included. We’ll be doing A LOT of exploring & adventuring, as well as shooting 3 incredible sunset sessions. Not to mention getting gorgeous captures of each other in iconic backdrops. Though this isn’t a sit down & learn Retreat, there’s plenty of time for hands on shooting and learning, with time for editing in our Cabin, where I can walk around and help individually. I’ve been hosting Workshops & Retreats since 2016 & some of my past attendees favorite time is the unstructured time, where we can just freely discuss all things photography. My additional hope is to help those of you that have yet to jump into video as an add-on to your photography skills as well.
Retreat Itinerary
SEPTEMBER 19
Venice, Italy
Attendees will be arriving in Venice, where I’ll arrange for a water taxi for our group at 4:00 pm from the airport directly to our own private dock at our canal front loft – a perfect place to additionally enjoy a glass of wine or coffee while taking in the gorgeous views. This first night is for everyone to arrive, get adjusted with any time differences, start bonding & celebrate the beginning of our epic trip with your future BFF’s with dinner out in Venice! Shops, grocery stores, restaurants & popular sites are all in walking distance.
SEPTEMBER 20
Venice, then departing to the Dolomites
After a leisurely breakfast out, we can explore Venice a bit before checking out at 11 am. This is a great opportunity to throw something pretty on & take gorgeous portraits of each other in this iconic backdrop, while also exploring creative use of light & techniques (experts have suggested that Venice could be at risk of disappearing beneath the waves by as early as 2100). At check-out, I’ll arrange for another water taxi back to the airport, where we’ll grab our rental cars & drive the 2 hours to our cabin in the Dolomites. The drive is rather easy, beautiful & will provide a bonus opportunity to eat lunch out at one of the many quaint towns along the way. Once we’re settled in our cabin, we’ll head to town for dinner & groceries for the night. We also have a fire pit with stunning views at the cabin that would make a great place to enjoy after dinner, before all the adventuring kicks in to high gear the following day.
SEPTEMBER 21 – 23
In the heart of the Dolomites … almost touching the sky
LET’S GO – ALL THE EPIC ADVENTURING & SHOOTING!! After breakfast at the cabin each day, we’ll head out for sightseeing & hiking/exploring some of the most popular mountain passes & lakes in the Dolomites. We’ll finish each day with a once-in-a-lifetime Dolomite sunset shoot with either a family, motherhood or couples session, where I’ll be teaching & shooting with you side by side. Lunch & Dinner will be at one of the many idyllic mountain cafes available based on proximity to where we’re exploring/shooting each day, so go ahead and close those eyes & start daydreaming about all the incredible pasta & local delicacies you’ll be getting to savor!
All this time together will lend itself to open dialogue about all things photography. I also highly encourage everyone to mix up who they’re riding with each day, so that everyone has a chance to connect in meaningful & lasting ways with each attendee.
SEPTEMBER 24
Dolomites, then departing for Venice
We’ll get up for a gorgeous sunrise opportunity, where attendees can take portraits of each other for marketing or personal purposes. After, we’ll have some time to decompress from all the adventuring & shooting with a slow breakfast & cup of coffee on the terrace. Then head into some dedicated round table editing time, where I’ll be walking around to help each person individually until lunch. Ideally, you’ll bring a laptop, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry, I’ll send out an editing video after the retreat showing how I edited the galleries. After lunch in town, I’ll schedule 1:1’s with each attendee for any additional focused questions to be answered. At 4 pm we’ll pack up and drive back down to Venice for our farewell dinner, rental car return & hugs goodbye.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
Daily breakfasts. Lodging in Venice (September 19-20) & the Dolomites (September 20-24), with mostly shared beds. Water taxis to/from Venice (September 19-20). Tourist tax & any parking fees or driving tolls if you’re a driver for your carpool. 50% off my online workshops: “All Heart Essentials” or “All Heart Video: Imperfect Family Love Stories as Art”.
What's Not
INCLUDED
Airfare, Travel Insurance (recommended), Transportation during the Retreat outside of the water taxis in Venice, Lunch, Dinner, Alcohol/Drinks, Snacks.
CARPOOLING
Since transportation isn’t included in this retreat outside of the water taxis in Venice & having your own vehicle for the Dolomites is a must — I’m recommending 3 attendees volunteer to drive 2 other attendees each to/from Venice in their rental cars and split the cost (estimated to be $170 for an automatic SUV rental each). If you’re a U.S. Citizen that hasn’t driven internationally before, don’t worry – they drive on the same side of the road as us & driving in the Dolomites is similar to driving in Colorado & quite easy. You do need an International Driving Permit on top of your license though & those are super easy to get from AAA & it’s only $20.
Investment
$4,000 - SOLD OUT
Limited to 10 attendees for an intimate & soul filling experience. Please email me at stormy@stormysolis.com. $1,000 deposit due at registration with 3 remaining $1,000 installments due June, July & August 15.
Refund Policy
Seats are non-refundable or transferable. In the event you can’t attend, you can sell your seat to someone to replace you, but it is your responsibility (I’m happy to help by contacting those on my waitlist and announce on social media as well).
* Photos shown are from Google and not my work – these are meant to help give you an idea of locations & our lodging only
