wow! i am just speechless right now! i cannot express how blessed & grateful i am to have attended Me Ra Koh’s Confidence Workshop this past weekend. the workshop was held at the beautiful Shorebreak Hotel in Huntington Beach. we were literally right across the street from the beach, so that was amazing!
on friday night, we welcome had a meet & greet at Roxanne Benton’s house (owner of Pixel2Canvas). it was so great to meet all of these amazing women and finally put faces to all of the e-mails that had been going back & forth over the last few months. by the end of saturday’s session, i already felt empowered & incredibly more confident. when we entered the room on sunday morning, Me Ra asked us to do a quick writing exercise about the biggest shift we had seen in the last 24 hrs. this is what i wrote…
for me, this has been an unbelievable experience in a very short amount of time. i feel so much more confident with my camera & the settings already! the teaching approach used this weekend was perfect for me, because i am such a hands-on learner. i have learned so many invaluable tools, hints, etc. and met so many great women that i look forward to continuing to learn from. however, i think the biggest shift for me was that this dream, this intangible idea of something that i want to do & be, now doesn’t seem so intangible. for the first time, it feels real. i can do this. i can be a photographer. and, better yet, i can incorporate it with my love and passion for people, writing and storytelling. i have found a voice for my creativity.
i had such a great time working with the moms yesterday & even though i’m not a mom yet, i hope to be one someday very soon. and i think this will only strengthen my – art & craft. but to be given the honor & privilege to be let into someone else’s life in such an intimate way is the cheap jerseys China most amazing gift. i believe that i am someone that can be trusted with this gift. i am an artist.
by the end of sunday, i was even more ecstatic! i called a couple of people i knew, including a friend that had just had a baby, and started scheduling some portrait sessions for when i returned. i can’t really explain in words what backup this shift was that happened to me last weekend. as much Tilt as i tried to capture the thoughts and emotions i experienced, i really think it can all be summed up in one word: HOPE. i have a renewed sense of hope in my passions and dreams & even myself.
i can’t thank Me Ra and Brian enough for pouring themselves into us over the last few days. my first solo photo shoot is this thursday! more to come…
jess