My Experience of Ruth's Course
When I first embarked on this project I imagined (somewhat arrogantly, I’ll admit) that I’d be able to undertake an analysis of Ruth’s course in the same way I watch Ian assessing CPD provision (his own and others) – assessing her methods, the way she constructed the course and the way she delivered it. But that type of formal analysis eluded me; instead, I found myself exploring different topics such as the idea of a safe space, reframing and resilience (as you can see below). And slowly, I came to realise that Ruth provides a wellbeing course which incorporates photography (not, as I initially imagined, a photography course which incorporates wellbeing).
In practice, this is the first course I've been on that wasn’t solely aimed at informing my photography and so my misinterpretation is understandable. But, as it was principally a wellbeing course, that means I don’t have any accrued experience which would enable me to assess it in the way I might review a photography course. Nevertheless, the exploration involved in looking back over the course, reviewing my experiences, and writing about them hasn’t been wasted; it’s helped me understand what I’ve gained from those few short weeks.
With hindsight, I could have reached this conclusion more quickly if I’d thought about the book which Ruth has co-written with Lis Parker, and compared it with the books written by the leaders of the different courses and workshops I've attended in the past. All the books written by these earlier course-leaders centre on camera-craft and photography – they share the techniques they use, their photographic thoughts, style, ethos, vision. In contrast ‘The Art of Applewood – from Hospital to Homes’ by Ruth and Lis is, in Ruth’s words, “about the ‘spirit of place’, the relationships between people, and a connection with the earth.” It’s a moving story, illustrated with Ruth’s sensitive and touching images.
The nine pages which you can see below contain a lot of words – but you may enjoy just dipping in, rather than reading them in detail.
My Experience of Ruth's Course …
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