Appreciating the Opportunities

Millbrook Ridge, Mohonk Preserve

I’ve had a fairly hectic schedule since I returned from Utah last week, and it looks like it will stay the same for a few weeks more. I thoroughly enjoyed the photo workshop I conducted at the Mohonk Preserve this weekend, which is always the case when you have a bunch of students that are waiting for you at 5am with cameras and tripods ready. Though the forecast had been questionable all week, we were fortunate to have a fantastic day with an amazing sunrise.

I’m away this memorial day weekend at the Paradise City Arts Festival in Northampton MA. This art show is rated #3 in the nation for 2011 by American Style Magazine, and it certainly draws a diverse group of artists from around the country. This is my second time doing the festival, so I’m excited about going back to see old customers and share my work from the past year.

Arches National Park, UT

Finally one day after I return from Massachusetts I’m off to Lake Placid in the Adirondacks to lead a 4-day workshop in the High Peaks. I’m really excited about this workshop since I love this part of New York, and if offers a tremendous opportunities for landscape and nature photography. I will try and keep you updated on our day to day activities and provide some behind the scenes info as well.

The Lightroom 3 Masterclass webinar started this past Tuesday and runs for 3 more weeks and 5 more sessions, so you still have time to register and catch the remaining material live. You also have access to all of the recorded webinars in case you miss a class or start late.

Finally I’ve also been commissioned to work on a photo project at Rockefeller State Park in Westchester County, so I will talk more about that and share some of the images in the near future. I don’t see myself sleeping past 4am anytime in the near future!

Rockefeller State Park, NY

To say I am busy is an understatement, yet I am deeply grateful for the opportunities I have to do what I love to do. I’m equally motivated to inspire you to think carefully about what matters to you in your life, and whether you’re giving those areas the attention they need and deserve. We can not be creative and inspired  to express ourselves in a “bubble” that we create when we finally take the camera out of the bag. For me it is a holistic outlook that incorporates all aspects of my life, and only then do I feel I can start to really approach meaningful work.

Nonetheless I work hard every day at this, both with and without the camera. My yoga practice contributes to my vision in ways I still don’t understand, but when I am calm and focused in nature, I make better images. I’ll have more to say on this in the future, but for now just remember that every moment you can spend  doing what you love is something that enriches your everyday life, and those close to you benefit from that as well.