This past month I had the privilege to travel to Minneapolis and Chicago, back to back, to teach 20 students about photography, with a range from working with hair/makeup/models and finding inspiration, to working with lights and editing a masterpiece. In Minneapolis I co-taught with the ever so talented Peter Jamus, and in Chicago I went solo!
I have always had a hard time with leaving friends and places I find interesting, and this trip left no exceptions! It was such an honor to meet all of these eager individuals and learn about their styles; the fact that they all found it valuable to drop money and time to learn from me was truly humbling. Here I want to share some of their work and 5 of my favorite moments from the workshops; my images from these two workshops can be found at the bottom of the post. For anyone interested in my upcoming workshops or 1-on-1 mentoring, you can check those out at: Workshops or Mentoring
The Chicago Crew! Left: Chicago students, model Berkeley Clayborne & I, Right: Model Berkeley Clayborne & I
Behind the scenes setup of the set in Minneapolis; HUGE thanks to Marla Klein and David Kasyanyuk for helping Peter & I late into the night!
Favorite Moment # 1
Its always the best thing as a teacher to have enthusiastic students; the eagerness to learn and grow makes sharing what I love easier and more fun! During both workshops every single student had an eagerness to be present, making both days of the workshop much more exciting. One of my favorite moments of the workshop in Chicago actually happened after the weekend had ended; I got an email from one of my students Wes with a link to a whole short video he'd made during the workshop. The fact that he was so excited to attend that he took the time to make a video was definitely highlight for me! You can check it out below:
Favorite Moment #2
When deciding how to end a workshop, it can be difficult to choose between just working till the end and saying goodbye or trying to close with some sort of celebratory farewell; fortunately in Minneapolis we had a beautiful camera bag from the kind guys over at Vanguard to give away to a student. After doing a classic hat drawing and making everyone drumroll, the recipient was chosen and it was a young girl named Jessica Heller! Seeing the excitement on her face, and knowing that this valuable piece of equipment would be able to help her as she chases her dreams made me incredibly joyful! Giving things away just feels great!
Jessica Heller and her new Vanguard Camera Bag!
Favorite Moment #3
Early on in the Chicago workshop, I could tell that one of my students came from a different background; it was obvious because he had a very heavy foreign accent! I love other cultures and so at the earliest opportunity I started asking him about where he came from and how he had discovered my workshop; it turns out he had started following me a few years earlier all the way from BRAZIL and was only in the U.S. for 6 months! In an effort to learn English he moved to Tennessee to get first hand experience. And then, all the way from Tennessee he took a bus to Chicago just to attend my workshop! Hearing that truly made me appreciate and realize the impact my art could have on others, and it made me truly grateful to be traveling and teaching, despite the hard work and exhausting hours that can be involved!
Favorite Moment #4 (Tingles)
My next favorite moment was an unexpected time of reflection and deep conversation that occurred unexpectedly at the end of the Minneapolis workshop. As I mentioned before I have trouble saying goodbye, and so as the workshop came to a close Peter and I opened up some conversation about the students' future goals and endeavors and things like that. Well, about an hour and a half later past the "end" of the workshop, there we were still talking about life and the "deep" stuff! It was a truly beautiful bonding moment for me, to get to know even more about my students than we already knew, and in the end it all boiled down to #Tingles.
The goofy and full of #Tingles Minneapolis group!
Favorite Moment #5
I believe that no matter how long I end up teaching workshops (hopefully forever!), my favorite part will always be meeting each individual and seeing how they are challenged and pushed to create during my time with them, and even after! Nothing brings more value to my life than being able to pour out my love, knowledge and passion to other unique and vibrant people. I am truly grateful for each person that took the time to learn from me and I wish them each long lasting success, growth, and joy for their lives.
With that being said, I have included a collection of photographs from each workshop below, with students credited below each photo. Be sure to check out these artists work, I was blown away at the talent that each of these artists displayed! I have also included a list of the amazing talents that contributed their talents to each workshop including models, hair and makeup artists, and designers.
Minneapolis Students:
Models: Elle Williams, Karrah Kobus, and Alesya Zubik
Hair/MUA: Mark Navarro
Chicago Students:
Models: Berkeley Clayborne, Holly Henry, Raegan Bird, Colton Witt
Hair: Jamie Sterle
Makeup: Ella Sven
Dress: Alicia Akers of Alexandria Olivia
My Images:
Model: Elle Williams
View on Flickr
By the way, if you're interested in what gear I typically use, be sure to check out my new GEAR PAGE in affiliation with B&H photo, which includes my reviews of the gear I use. You can click each item to shop directly at B&H and by purchasing items through my page you'll be supporting my future endeavors by sending a cut my way! B&H has always been my source for more affordable products, I'm thankful that a company so supportive of the arts exists!