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In the Hungarian mobility we’ve been on a 6 days workshop. Our focus was on the group processes and experience, creation, reflection triangle rather than lecturing on the method of Seven Step Configuration Analysis and its extensions towards photography. Our week was planned multidimensional: we get more than a method that is closely connected to our values. Daily routine, the activities themselves and the process of the week was planned to support each other towards harvesting the most out of our unique time spent together. Our days’ topics were following the arch of the way a pictorial product gets born and the way we can get closer to understand its deeper messages.

We worked with colours: how we can describe colours verbally, what cultural meanings are relating to them and finally what is our personal ”colour dictionary” (Colour Keys method). We moved into the world of shadow, visuality and reality. We continued our journey with the basic concept of Theatre of Oppressed and meeting the blue colour, and its photographical use in Cyanotype, creating our first sun-prints. From the colour of the sky it was just a short step to the realm of imagination: The Nonexistent Animal Drawing Technique. Using our imaginary animals gave us the main characters for the small group performances in shadow theatre. We designed and created our match box pinhole cameras, and started to use them in our surrounding environment, capturing the most beautiful views what was worth to get up that day. Daily routine was the „Service and Care” session (each day we contributed to the success of the week, volunteering in different areas such as preparing materials for the sessions, offering activities for the whole group, or „Self care” which was dedicated to help our private processes, reflections) and „Reflection groups” summarizing our daily experiences.

To extend the experience our tai-chi master had a lesson for the group. The movements and breathing exercises were helping to open up our imagination for the last steps in therapeutic photography. Tai chi surrounded by nature and autumn sun was something special. It helped us look inside ourselves and open our mind to continue working in the group.

In addition to many workshops, we had time to relax. Some of us were visiting the local clay workshops while others chose to have a relaxing time in the nearby thermal bath. We played in a experiential educational game “The day of the Triffids” ending with a calming star gazing. It was a beautiful moment that will stay in our memory forever. A kind of magic.

Through our week we had the chance to meet and understand elements of SSCA and its extensions which can be used in our everyday work: elements of Context, Process, Phenomenological and Intuitive analysis, and the specialities in photographical products.

This was the last exchange in Via-Me. Thanks to everyone who made this time creative and inspiring.