Aperture & Essence Photo Wellness Retreats | Matt Suess Photography

APERTURE & ESSENCE

Photo Wellness Retreats

Where seeing meets being

Dream places. Transformational experiences.

LAUNCHING EARLY 2026 - SIGN UP FOR MORE INFO AT BOTTOM OF PAGE

THE STORY

When Photography Becomes Something More

Maybe you know this feeling:

You're standing in front of an incredible scene - the light is perfect, everything is aligned - but instead of immediately reaching for your camera (or phone), you just... pause.

You breathe. You absorb. You let yourself be present with what's in front of you, not just capture it.
And in that moment, something shifts. Photography stops being about the shot and becomes about seeing. Really seeing. Not just the landscape, but yourself in it. Not just the light, but what it illuminates within you.

I've witnessed this hundreds of times in the photographers I've taught over 35 years.

Someone will lower their camera during golden hour - the moment we all chase - and simply stand there. Taking it in. And I see it in their eyes: they're doing the deeper work. The work of presence. The work of asking what am I really here for?

If you've felt this, you're not alone.

And you're not "doing it wrong." You're feeling the pull toward something more - the integration of your creative practice with your inner life.

For years, I helped photographers improve their craft. Composition, light, seeing what matters. And I loved it (and still do). But I kept sensing there was more - more meaning, more impact, more alignment between creative expression and how people actually transform.

So in early 2025, I became a certified life coach. My own life has been a series of reinventions - photojournalist to landscape photographer, corporate executive to educator, always learning that transformation isn't comfortable, but it's where we become most alive.

I wanted to help others navigate their transitions with the same intention.

Then, late 2025, cancer stopped me mid-stride.

Diagnosis. Treatment. The kind of pause that rewrites everything.

And in that forced stillness, clarity arrived:
The integration I'd been seeking wasn't photography or life coaching. It was photography and life coaching - woven together, each deepening the other.
Photography had always been my spiritual practice. The way I pay attention. The way I return to what matters. The way I remember I'm alive.

What if it could be that for you, too?

That's why Aperture & Essence exists.
Not to teach camera settings (though we'll cover technique for those who want it).
Not to collect locations like passport stamps.

For anyone using photography as a creative outlet - whether with a professional camera or a phone - who's feeling the pull toward something deeper.

Maybe you've been photographing for decades. Maybe you just started using your phone's camera to capture moments that matter. Maybe you're somewhere in between.
What matters isn't your gear or your technical mastery.

What matters is that you're asking different questions:
What do I want my photography to mean?
How do I create images that reflect who I'm becoming?
What does it look like to integrate creativity with my inner life?
Where's my community of people who understand this intersection?

These retreats are for that person.
The one who's ready to slow down and see deeply.
The one navigating a life transition and seeking clarity alongside creativity.
The one who uses their camera (or phone) as a way to pay attention, to be present, to connect with beauty.
You don't need advanced technical skills to join us. You need openness. You need curiosity about what photography can teach you about yourself.
You need space. You need permission. You need guidance in both the outer work (your creative practice) and the inner work (your transformation).

You need what I needed - and couldn't find anywhere else.

So I'm creating it.

Aperture & Essence: where your camera becomes a mirror, where seeing meets being, where creativity and consciousness integrate.

Small groups. Extraordinary places. Photography instruction at whatever level you need. Life coaching. Mindfulness practices. Cultural immersion. The whole you, not just the photographer you.

Whether you shoot with a $10,000 camera system or your iPhone, whether you've been at this for years or you're just discovering photography as your creative voice - if this resonates, you belong here.

If you've been feeling the pull toward this integration - I'd be honored to guide your journey.

You're not behind. You're not lost.

You're right on time.

WHAT IS APERTURE & ESSENCE

A Different Kind of Retreat

Aperture & Essence isn't another photography workshop.

It's an integration of photography instruction with life coaching, mindfulness practices, cultural immersion, and personal transformation - set in locations chosen for their beauty, their healing properties, and the richness of their culture.

The Photography

* Instruction tailored to your level (phone to professional)
* Composition, light, and creative vision
* Mindful seeing beyond technical settings
* Post-processing guidance (apps to professional software)
* Portfolio review honoring your work wherever you are
* Visual storytelling - what are your images really about?

The Transformation

* Daily meditation, yoga, or breathwork
* Life coaching sessions (group and individual)
* Mindful exploration of stunning landscapes
* Journaling and reflection practices
* Connection to local culture and traditions
* Community with others navigating similar questions

This is for photographers who realize the best images come when we're willing to look inward as carefully as we frame what's in front of us.

WHO THIS IS FOR

For Anyone Using Photography as Their Creative Practice

Aperture & Essence retreats welcome photographers of all levels - from iPhone enthusiasts to professionals with decades of experience.

What unites our participants isn't technical skill - it's the desire for integration.

You might be:
* Using your phone camera to capture what moves you
* A serious hobbyist with professional gear and years of experience
* Somewhere in between - learning, growing, evolving your practice
* Navigating a major life transition (career shift, retirement, health challenge, relationship change)
* Feeling creatively stuck or seeking more meaning in your work
* Drawn to slow down and see deeply, rather than just document constantly
* Ready to explore photography as a practice, not just a pursuit
* Wanting community with others who understand this intersection of creativity and consciousness

You're not looking for:
* Pure beginner instruction (though we'll teach technique at any level you need)
* Another checklist of locations (you want depth, not just destinations)
* Generic wellness retreat (you need the creative outlet)
* Traditional photography workshop (you're seeking integration, not just skills)

You're looking for:
* Permission to slow down and be present
* Integration of creative expression with inner vision
* A cohort of peers navigating similar questions
* Expert guidance in both craft and consciousness
* Connection to place, culture, and authentic experience
* Photography as a practice - a way of paying attention, being present, seeing what matters

"Bring whatever camera you have. Your openness matters more than your gear."

WHAT TO EXPECT

For Anyone Using Photography as Their Creative Practice

Each Aperture & Essence retreat is designed around integration - weaving photography with practices that nourish your whole self and immerse you in the culture of where you are.
This isn't a traditional photography workshop with wellness added as an afterthought. It's a holistic experience where creative practice, physical presence, inner work, and deep connection to place happen simultaneously.
We don't just photograph locations - we inhabit them. We taste them. We listen to their stories. We let them shape us.

Your days unfold with intention, balancing activity and stillness, community and solitude, local immersion and inner reflection, doing and being.

Creative Practice

Photography Sessions
Guided instruction during golden hour and blue hour, plus time to explore and create on your own
Group Coaching
Photography critique and life coaching discussions - where craft questions and life questions interweave naturally
Post-Processing & Vision
Learn to refine your images in ways that reflect your authentic vision
Private Coaching
Individual time with instructors for creative direction, technical questions, or personal transitions

Wellness Practices

Morning Rituals
Yoga, meditation, or breathwork to ground your day
Mindful Exploration
Hiking, kayaking, soaking in healing waters, or simply sitting with the landscape - camera optional, presence required
Nourishment
Chef-prepared (when available) meals featuring local ingredients, shared where conversation flows
Restorative Time
Massage or bodywork when available, plus quiet time for journaling, resting, or wandering

Cultural Immersion

Local Encounters
Carefully selected restaurants where you taste the region's story through its food
Art & History
Museums, galleries, artists' studios, or living history experiences that deepen your understanding of place
Authentic Connection
Photo walks through villages or historic districts, conversations with locals, traditions that reveal a culture's heart
The Spirit of Place
Each location has its own offerings - we'll help you experience what makes it unique

The Rhythm of the Days

Your retreat unfolds organically, with structure that holds space for spontaneity and deep connection to where you are.
Mornings might begin with sunrise photography over a Norwegian fishing village, or gentle yoga followed by a soak in healing mineral waters under the New Mexico sky. Breakfast becomes conversation - not rushed, but savored, often featuring local specialties that tell you where you are.

Mid-morning could bring group coaching where someone's question about composition becomes a doorway to discussing what they're really trying to say with their images. Or it might be time on your own - to photograph the harbor, to journal by the pool, to wander cobblestone streets or gallery-lined plazas with your camera and your thoughts.

Afternoons hold space for cultural immersion and integration. Perhaps we visit a local museum to understand the artistic legacy that shaped this landscape. Or we share a traditional lunch at a family-owned restaurant where generations cook side by side. Maybe there's time for massage, or a solo walk, or simply resting in your private room as you process the morning's experiences.

Golden hour calls everyone back together - cameras ready, but not frantic. Shooting with intention. Pausing to simply witness. Letting the light do its work on the landscape and on you.

Evenings bring the group together for meals that nourish body and soul - sometimes at the retreat center, sometimes at a carefully selected local restaurant where the menu reflects centuries of tradition or innovative regional cuisine. Then perhaps a portfolio review where we honor each person's work. Or a life coaching session where someone's transition becomes everyone's learning. Or simply conversation around the fire (or under the stars), sharing what the day revealed.

And always, time for yourself. Your private room. Your thoughts. Your process.

The specifics vary by location - yoga overlooking Norwegian fjords, soaking in ancient mineral springs beneath desert skies, photo walks through artist colonies, sound healing under the midnight sun, dining where Georgia O'Keeffe once found inspiration - but the intention remains constant: to create space where your whole self can unfold, informed by the place you're in.

What Makes This Different

If you've been to photography workshops before, you know the pattern: wake early, shoot sunrise, grab breakfast, shoot all morning, quick lunch, shoot all afternoon, shoot sunset, process images, critique, sleep, repeat.

Maybe you saw stunning landscapes. Maybe you got great shots. But did you actually experience where you were? Did you taste the local cuisine beyond hotel buffets? Did you understand the culture that shaped those landscapes? Did you connect with the people who call that place home? Did you tend to your body and soul, or just push through exhaustion to get the shot?

This isn't that.

Yes, we photograph. Yes, we chase the light. Yes, you'll learn and grow as a photographer.

But we also breathe. We pause. We immerse ourselves in place. We taste and listen and learn. We soak in healing waters. We practice yoga. We ask why we're making the images we make. We explore what wants to shift, both in our photography and in our lives.

We honor that you're not just a photographer passing through. You're a whole person seeking not just to capture a place, but to be changed by it.

These retreats hold space for all of you - and all of where you are.

LOCATIONS

Dream Places, Deep Roots

Aperture & Essence retreats take place in locations chosen for their photographic beauty, their capacity to facilitate transformation, and the richness of their culture.
We don't choose destinations for Instagram-worthy backdrops. We choose places with soul - where the landscape tells a story, where traditions run deep, where healing happens naturally, where you can taste history in the food and hear it in the language.

Locations I'm considering for 2026/2027 include so far: Santa Fe, NM, Norway, Italy, Iceland

More locations will be mentioned in the near future.

MEET MATT SUESS

Photographer • Life Coach • Cancer Survivor • Your Guide

I've spent 35 professional years behind the camera - 17 as a New England photojournalist (including 2003 New England Press Association Photographer of the Year), and 18 years teaching landscape, nature, and travel photography workshops around the world.

I'm an OM SYSTEM Ambassador and have taught for companies like B&H Photo, Red River Paper, Hunts Photo & Video, Skylum, ON1, and more.

My life has been a series of reinventions: photojournalist to landscape photographer, to photography educator, New England to the Southwest and back again. I've learned that transformation isn't comfortable, but it's where we become most alive.

In early 2025, seeking more meaning and impact, I became a certified life coach. Later that year, cancer stopped me in my tracks. During treatment, clarity arrived: the integration I'd been seeking was photography and life coaching - two practices woven together, each amplifying the other.

I know what it's like to:
* Question everything after a health crisis
* Navigate major life transitions and reinventions
* Seek meaning beyond technical mastery
* Want photography to be a practice, not just a pursuit
* Need community with others navigating similar questions

Aperture & Essence exists because I needed it. And I kept meeting photographers who needed it too.

I'd be honored to guide your journey.

EARLY ACCESS

Be the First to Know

Aperture & Essence retreats launch Summer 2026 with intimate pilot experiences expected in Norway's Lofoten Islands and New Mexico's Land of Enchantment.
Join our early interest list to receive:
* First access to retreat dates and details
* Founding participant benefits
* Updates on locations and programming
* Reflections on photography, presence, and transformation

EMAIL SIGNUP FORM COMING SOON!! In the meantime, CONTACT MATT HERE.

FOR WELLNESS PROFESSIONALS

Partnership Inquiries Welcome

If you're a yoga instructor, meditation teacher, bodywork practitioner, or wellness professional interested in co-creating photo wellness retreats, I'd love to hear from you.

Aperture & Essence is exploring partnerships with qualified professionals who share our values of authenticity, depth, integration, and respect for place and culture.

Contact Matt here!