Throughout the year I teach courses and workshops to photographers who want to take beautiful photos of their families, travels, and the great outdoors.  My love of photography began in my high school dark room over two decades ago and I am so grateful that I have come full circle and now get to teach others all about the incredible art of photography. Helping my students create their own cherished memories is one of my greatest joys.

Photography was my hobby before it was my business and I still love nothing more than getting lost behind my camera.  Lost you say?  Sometimes quite literally (I get distracted and my family leaves me behind) and other times metaphorically (the busyness of everyday life fades away as I focus on the scene in front of me).

Last weekend we headed out early on Saturday morning to see the tulips at Dow’s lake.  My husband corralled the boys while I got lost behind my camera photographing the beautiful colours and petals.  Periodically I would look up and find myself surprised that I was surrounded by people or by how far I had moved down the path.  The experience got me thinking about what photography has brought to my life and how it’s often about more than the photos.

I have a love / hate relationship with meditating.  I love the calm and sense of being grounded but I struggle with the daily practice.  Photography has in many ways become my daily meditation as I lose myself in the details of my life and the world around me.  When I’m anxious or upset I find that taking time to pay attention to the world around me helps me to re-focus.

I am by nature a cautious person but when I’m behind my camera I’m more willing to visit new places or put myself in new situations that I may have otherwise avoided.  When we travel I often find myself discovering hidden gems that I may have otherwise passed by.  With my camera in hand I pay closer attention to my environment and what’s happening around me and while the photos I take are beautiful I find the process of discovery a lot more fun than the end result.  

One of the most challenging lessons for my students to embrace is the concept of 80/20: 80% of the time let your life unfold around you as your photograph it and only make requests of others 20% of the time.  Traditional portraiture has played, and still plays, an important role in our childhoods and sense of family, which can make it hard to stand back and photograph life as it unfolds rather than a staged version of what’s happening.  I have learned more about my own family and children (and myself) by following them around with my camera: what interests them, how they react to situations, and the quirks and routines of our daily life that I might have otherwise missed.

I would love to have you join my last five week long photography course before the Fall.  This class is a fun and supportive learning environment for parents who want to photograph their families, travellers who want to photograph their adventures, hobbyists who want to photograph their creations, retirees who want to learn (or re-learn) the art of photography, and even small business owners who’d like to take better photos of their passion to share with their clients and potential clients.

 

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