A Retreat that changed something in me
“If I could make just one person happy.
Or touch just one heart with a single image — then my job is done.”
That’s what I said to Wouter in the car as we drove to the retreat.
He smiled and said,
“Just be creative. Be yourself. I know you can do this.”
No pressure, right?
I remember arriving with no expectations — just curiosity.
Eyes and heart wide open.
I watched. I listened. I let the silence between words speak to me.
I slipped gently into the rhythm of the place — not as an observer, but as part of the pulse.
I wanted to document this experience the way you photograph a memory while on holiday —
unplanned, free, guided only by what feels right.
No pressure to perform, no need to prove.
Just me, my camera, and the simple joy of being present.
Somewhere in those quiet moments, creativity returned.
It didn’t rush in — it breathed back to life.
And I realized how much I had missed that.
How deeply I needed it.
On the final evening, I shared a slideshow with moments from the past few days.
I watched as tears rolled down faces, as silence filled the room in the most beautiful way.
In that moment, surrounded by love and gratitude, I knew what fuels me.
I knew what my purpose is.
I want to touch hearts.
I want people to feel seen.
To feel safe.
To feel how unique they are.
That’s what nourishes my soul.
That’s why I do what I do.
Glimpses of the Retreat
These images are fragments of something sacred —
moments that can’t be repeated, but can be felt again.
I’m keeping the most intimate scenes close to my heart,
but I hope what I share here gives you a sense of the magic that unfolded in those days.
Words that stayed with me
After the retreat, I received a message that left me in tears.
It’s one of those pieces of feedback you hold onto —
the kind that reminds you you’re walking in the right direction.
“I don’t know how she does it.
But Selina somehow managed to capture the most intimate, raw, and powerful moments of the Second Harvest Retreat, without ever interrupting the flow.
One minute you’re lost in a conversation, moved by someone’s words, touched to the core. The next, there’s a photo that feels exactly like that moment did.
That’s Selina’s gift. She doesn’t just photograph what’s happening — she captures what it feels like to be there.
The nervous laughter. The silent tears. The softness in someone’s eyes when they finally let their guard down.
She freezes it, not to make it pretty, but to make it real. So that when you look back at her photos, you’re not just seeing it. You’re back there. You remember the air. The people. The shift that happened inside of you.
And what I love most: she doesn’t force herself into the space.
She’s warm, fun, easy to talk to, but she disappears when it matters. No flashes. No fuss.
No pressure. Just this quiet presence who sees everything without needing attention.
Selina, thank you from the bottom of my heart —
For seeing what many would miss.
For capturing the retreat in its most human, honest form.
And for giving me, all of us, the gift of remembering what it felt like to be there.
You didn’t just take photos.
You gave us time capsules of truth.”
— Pieter
Gratitude
Thank you, Richard and Devon (https://www.secondharvest.co/), for holding this space —
for reminding me that I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.
On my path.
And thank you, Wouter (@omans_videography),
for your trust, your calm presence,
and for always believing in me, even when I doubt myself.
I’m endlessly grateful that our paths crossed —
and that we keep creating together.
