Capturing the Essence of Glamping: A Photographer’s Weekend in West Wales

A cozy cream-colored yurt with a wooden deck, set in a lush green field in West Wales. The outdoor space features a metal hot tub, a fire pit, and a small seating area, surrounded by a backdrop of tall evergreen trees and an overcast sky. — Embrace the Space Yurt and Hot Tub

Escaping to Simplicity

The best way we’ve found to reconnect with nature and strip life back to its simplest pleasures is camping. But with the cold of February, Mr. G in tow, and our general aversion to freezing, the next best thing was glamping.

That’s how we ended up at Embrace the Space, a yurt nestled in the rolling hills of West Wales. With its wood-fired stove, insulated walls, and a proper bed, it had just enough comfort to make winter glamping enjoyable while still feeling close to the outdoors. This trip was part of our goal for 2025—to get outside for an adventure at least once a month. To take time to disconnect, slow down, and just be in nature.

We only had two nights, but it was enough to truly switch off. And, as always, I had my camera with me to capture that feeling.

Bacon Sandwiches – A Small Story in Photography

Two freshly made bacon sandwiches on a green chopping board inside a cozy yurt kitchen. The crispy bacon spills out from soft bread rolls, with a rustic background featuring a kettle, bottles, and a checkered tea towel. — The only Question is Red or Brown?

One of my goals this year is to improve my ability to tell stories through photography—not just capturing beautiful landscapes but documenting the simple, everyday moments that make up an experience.

And what better moment to capture than the most important part of any good glamping morning: the making of a bacon sandwich?

The challenge? Shooting it myself in a tiny kitchen with limited light and only a 50mm lens.

The low light was an easy fix—opening the kitchen door let in just enough natural light to shoot comfortably at ISO 200. The small space, however, required some creative problem-solving. I set up my camera on a little Joby tripod, wedging it into position against the wall and framing my shots using the Olympus OI.Share app, which let me control everything from my phone.

The real game-changer was using the app’s interval shooting mode, allowing me to capture a sequence of images without having to stop cooking. I set it to take a shot every four seconds, giving me just enough variation in each stage of the sandwich-making process. The final image? A well-earned shot of me, Millie, and Mr. G enjoying our bacon baps with a hot cup of coffee. (Brown sauce, obviously. No debate.)

This self-shooting exercise pushed me to think about composition and storytelling in a more intentional way. The freedom to focus on cooking while the camera worked in the background made the images feel more natural—something I want to lean into more in my photography.

The Details That Make a Place

If there’s one thing I always find myself drawn to in photography, it’s the small details—those little overlooked elements that give a place its character. At Embrace the Space, those details were everywhere.

Unlike many glamping sites, the wood-fired hot tub here wasn’t just a standard model—it was crafted from an agricultural water trough, set on perfectly cut moss-covered logs, and attached to a log burner with a heat-patinated stainless steel chimney. Functional, yes, but also beautifully thought-out. The way these raw materials had been repurposed told a story in itself.

Then there was the yurt’s chimney, piercing through the soft canvas walls. With only a 50mm lens, I had to compose the shot carefully to emphasize the contrast between the weathered fabric and the cold, industrial steel. A wider lens might have given me more options, but sometimes constraints make you more intentional about your composition.

Other details caught my eye in quieter moments. One morning, while Millie made coffee, I spotted the food waste caddy sitting in the kitchen trailer’s steamy window. The shades of green—of the caddy, the woods outside—worked in harmony, and the complementing geometry of the caddy and window made the shot. I knew even before pressing the shutter that this image would work best as a square crop in post-processing. Sometimes, it’s the details themselves that dictate how you compose an image, not the other way around.

Of course, noticing these details wasn’t just about photography—it was about slowing down. It’s easy to miss them when life moves too fast. But when you take the time to pause, to really see a place, that’s when you start to appreciate the textures, the craftsmanship, the small moments that make an experience unique.

Reflections – Capturing the Essence of a Weekend

Looking back at these two sets of images, I think they capture what this weekend was about. The act of making a bacon sandwich, the small details of a thoughtfully crafted space—both reflect our goal of stepping away from the rush of everyday life and finding joy in the simple things.

Had we stayed longer, I would have loved to photograph more—perhaps the hot tub at night, glowing in the cold air—but there’s something to be said for knowing when to put the camera down. Sometimes, the most important thing is just being present.

Photography as a Way to Slow Down

Slowing down changes how we see the world. It makes us more aware of the details, more thoughtful in the way we tell stories, and more intentional in what we choose to capture.

But sometimes, slowing down isn’t about photography at all. It’s about stepping away from the lens and simply enjoying the moment. That’s what we took away from Embrace the Space—a weekend of peace, a set of images that hold meaning, and the feeling of having truly unplugged.

And in the end, that’s what matters most.