Do you remember the post about Sequoia? Well, the whole reason I was out there was to attend a workshop. I am a member of the Beloved Collective, which is a group of a few hundred photographers exploring this new genre of experiential photography focused on couples in love. This workshop in L.A. was organized by the incredible Jesh de Rox who has spent the last four years of his life developing this genre.
This workshop was simply life changing. We covered everything from how to meet with a couple and explain what it is that we do to digging deep and finding yourself as an artist to discovering what we're afraid of to using our technical knowledge to further our artistic vision. It was simply amazing. I was constantly laughing or crying and looking into the core of myself. I cannot believe that it was already a whole month ago.
For those of you in our industry who have never worked with Jesh: you need to. He is an amazing, open, genuine, and caring person... and he knows how to bring those things out in you and help you bring it out in other people. Through this aspect alone, he will make you a better photographer and a better business person.
If I had to sum up everything I learned those few days in LA in one sentence, it would be: "At the bottom of everything, we are all the same and we are all beautiful." Sure, we hide it and go through life radiating things other than beauty from time to time, but if given the right space to let love shine out, everyone can be beautiful. At the end of the day, it's our job to create the space for that love to shine out and to use it to show people how beautiful they really are.
And because every post needs a picture... here is a shot from the little concert that Jesh gave one night. You can find some of his music
here.
Thanks also to the incredible folks who presented along with Jesh:
Amina Moreau of
Stillmotion - Her talk on using technical knowledge to convey emotion and mood was mind blowing.
Samm Blake - She spoke about working through resistance and finding yourself as an artist. She also gave us several challenges to help us work out what the heck it is we
Jesse and Whitney Chamberlain of
Our Labor of Love - These super-creative folks talked about building your brand and building a community.
Freydon Rassouli - He was a guest speaker - a painter. He talked about chaos and creativity and how to overcome the blocks that come to you. And he looks like Super Mario. Bonus!
Tamara Gold - She's a makeup artist and talked about finding yourself and following the opportunities that fall into your path. Her passion was simply breathtaking.
