I recently spent five days alone at a friend’s home on a small bush block located just outside the quaint seaside town of Port Fairy on the south-west coast of Victoria. I say ‘alone’, but, in fact, I had the company of three alpacas, four chickens, one cat, and a large fruit and vegetable patch, which was bursting with organic life, and ready-to-eat produce.

To be in the presence of David Whyte, poet, and philosopher, is to allow yourself to be open to an invitation; many invitations, in fact. An invitation to leave behind all preconceived ideas and expectations, an invitation to revisit the deep well that resides within each of us, and to find replenishment and a way forward from a grounded, and expanded place.

Florence, capital of Italy’s Tuscan region, is well regarded for its historic buildings and churches, its overflowing galleries of art and sculpture, food, wine, rollings hills dotted with rustic villas and rows of vineyards. For me, it also became the location for a five-day Art of Writing workshop with Australian author, and long-time Florentine, Lisa Clifford.

For much of my working career as a photographer and writer, I’ve been privileged to travel extensively each year. Whether it be for clients, or for my own creative pursuits, I’ve travelled across Australia and the globe to cover a range of stories and photo assignments.