T oday was the last day of the seminar. It was kind of sad saying goodbye to all the amazing photographers I met here in Seattle, but I find solace knowing our paths will cross again because the industry is quite small and interconnected. Today was probably the best day of the seminar because it's when all the dots were connected and the proverbial "Ah Ha" moment occurred. The first two days were spent laying the foundation and today the walls and roof were completed...and the interior design? That's left up to me.
Today the Boutwell's and John Michael Cooper discussed everything ranging from workflow, album design, and Photoshop and I have to give Chenin major props for keeping the lectures on track and thoroughly fruitful. Everyone has been completely transparent and willing to answer every and any question and I encourage anyone reading this to immediately sign up for the next seminar because it was worth every penny--and oh the many pennies there were! ;)
One of the main differences in this workshop is that while we're given models to photograph, it's not necessarily to buttress our portfolios, but, rather, to apply what we learned and prove that the hours of planning and lecturing have not been in vain. So we were assigned 24 photo projects to shoot in two hours around Downtown Seattle. A little daunting, eh? And to make things better/worse (depending on one's perspective), the class was comprised of some out-of-control-amazing photographers, so everyone wanted to shine. Duh...who doesn't want to look good in front of my not-so-secret-crushes?!
I was paired with Kate, Jen, and our amazing model, Rena. We couldn't have dreamt for a more sweeter, kinder, and more courageous bride than Rena...she's the true reason our images/pre-visualizations came to fruition. At the end of a very long day yesterday, Kate, Jen and I sat together and chose images that aptly reflected our assignments and tentatively submitted our final cut. We were happy with our choices, but after viewing the images the other groups were producing, we knew the Boutwell's and Cooper's were going to have a tough time choosing a winner.
Flashforward: This morning.
Everyone sat in class and waited to see each other's work...I have to admit when our images were projected on the projector, my stomach somersaulted a few times because the class' body of collective work was pretty darn cool. I can't even begin to describe how wonderful everyone's images were! What a talented group of photographers! At the end, when Chenin was about to announce the winner, there was a collective pause of breath. When she announced that my team WON, I was beside myself with pride. We worked hard and to be noticed for our images was beyond rewarding.
I want to personally thank Chenin, Dalisa, Doug, and John (my kick-butt pool partner from this evening!) for all their hard work. I've been blessed to attend six or seven seminars over the past year and this has got to be one of the very best. Nothing was left unnoticed and no question unanswered. The seminar was a true reflection of who they are as photographers, but--more importantly--as people. They're nothing short of fabulous. From the bottom of my very deep heart, thank you.
Here are a few of my photos from our group submission
Assignment: Backlit
|
