Hosted at INARA · Val De Vie · Paarl
Gardens of INARA
The Art of Photography Workshop
Thursday 22 · Friday 23 October 2026
Two days in the award winning gardens at INARA, photographing flowers, nature and texture as the inspiration for paintings of your own, under the guidance and mentorship of Martin and Samantha Lee Osner.
Reserve your placeLimited to ten guests
Two mentors, ten guests, over the shoulder for both full days.
Learn to design a photograph, not simply compose one.
Go home with a finished artwork of your own.
The workshop experience
Two of South Africa’s most respected photographic artists, for two full days
INARA has secured the services of Martin and Samantha Lee Osner for two full days at the Manor House. It is rare to have both of them in one room, and rarer still with only ten guests.
Guests spend part of each day out in the gardens, learning to design a photograph rather than simply compose one, and to work with the light as it falls. From there the group moves inside to the studio.
Photo Alchemy is the name Martin and Samantha Lee give to what happens next. A guest’s own photograph is worked by hand with acrylic and watercolour, oil overlays and washes, collage and image transfer, until it stops being a print and becomes a painting. The camera comes back in whenever it is useful.
Guests leave with a finished artwork of their own, ready to display proudly at home or to give as a gift.
Photography holds on to what is real. Paint and canvas, worked by hand, carry it further. That is where the work becomes your own.
Waterlilies on the pond at INARA, worked into a soft painterly study.
The setting
A garden built for looking at closely
INARA sits at Val De Vie in the Cape Winelands, a quiet sanctuary with award winning gardens, a floral circle, a herb garden, a veggie patch and the vines beyond. It is a garden full of shape, colour and soft, moving light, and it rewards the photographer who slows down and looks properly.
The film
See what awaits you
What is taught
Three things you will take away from the gardens
One
Designing a photograph
Not simply composing one. Learning to see shape, rhythm and arrangement before the shutter goes anywhere near your finger.
Two
Working with the light
The gardens change hour by hour. You learn to read the light as it falls, and to wait for it rather than fight it.
Three
Photographing for a painting
A photograph made with paint in mind is a different photograph. This is where the two days start to join up.
Photo Alchemy
Where a photograph stops being a print
Your own photograph is worked by hand until it becomes a painting. The camera comes back in whenever it is useful.
Before · the photograph
After · the artwork
What you will work with
Acrylic and watercolour · Oil overlays and washes · Collage · Image transfer
The work
Where the two days lead
King protea, watercolour over photograph
Scabious, soft watercolour
Yellow proteas, oils over photograph
What you take home
A finished artwork of your own
Not notes, not a folder of files to deal with later. You leave with a piece of work you made across the two days, ready to display proudly at home or to give as a gift.
Frames are available to purchase on the day, in a choice of finishes, so the work can go up on a wall rather than into a drawer.
Framing available on the day.
Who it is for
Photographers who want their work to become art, and artists who want to bring a camera into what they already do.
You do not need to be advanced at either. If you enjoy both and have always felt the two belong together, this is where they meet.
Your mentors
Two mentors, ten guests, both days
Martin Osner
Photographic artist and teacher
Martin Osner has spent more than three decades teaching photography, and founded his first photography college in the early nineties. His work hangs in private and corporate collections around the world. Every technique taught on these two days is one he developed himself.
Samantha Lee Osner
Artist and teacher
Samantha Lee Osner is an exhibiting artist in her own right, working photography together with watercolour, metallic leaf and mixed media. She moved out of commercial photography into fine art in 2016 and now exhibits and teaches alongside her father. Her work is quiet and pared back, in her own words most powerful when it whispers rather than shouts.
La Vie Est Belle · Samantha Lee Osner
The detail
Everything you need to know
Dates
Thursday 22 and Friday 23 October 2026
Two full days
Times
10am to 4pm
Both days
Where
INARA Manor House
Val De Vie, Paarl
Fee
R14 500 per person
Places
Limited to ten guests
Two mentors throughout
Led by
Martin Osner
Samantha Lee Osner
What is included
- Two full days of tuition with both Martin and Samantha Lee Osner
- Welcome drink on arrival
- Light lunches on both days
- Tea, coffee and refreshments throughout
- Closing wine and canapés
What to bring, and what is extra
- Your camera. A DSLR or mirrorless is preferred, though the workshop can be done with a good quality phone camera
- Art materials. Bring your own, or order a starter pack ahead of time. Contact us for details
- Frames. Available to purchase on the day, in a choice of finishes
- Accommodation. Limited accommodation is available at INARA, and we can assist with options in the area
Booking
Reserve your place
Ten guests, two mentors, two days in the gardens at INARA. Complete the booking form and we will confirm your place within 48 hours.
Reserve your placeNo payment is taken on the form. Your booking is provisional until confirmed, and we will be in touch with everything you need to know.
Questions before you book? Email events@inarasanctuary.com
www.inarasanctuary.com