Chicago with Me Ra and Brian

Wow!  What a weekend it has been.  I had the chance to come to Chicago for a wonderful workshop with Me Ra and Brian of Me Ra Koh Photography. (Thank you Kelly!!!)  I was told before I attended this workshop that it was more than just a photography workshp and whoever said that was absolutely right!!  I learned more about myself this weekend than I learned about the technical workings of my camera (although I did learn a ton about the technical side of things).  It really got me thinking of why I am on this journey as a photographer and what that means for my future.  So, enough of the deep stuff, let’s see some pictures, right?

We had live models come in yesterday.  We were in the beautiful Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue.  Outside the doors of the place where we met was a beautiful courtyard.  We assumed that we would be using this natural lit room next to the courtyard for our pictures.  Well, the weather of Chicago did not cooperate with us and there was not enough light in that room for the shoot.  (Although I am wondering if Me Ra knew this would be the case all along.)  To say that the room we ended up in was a challenge would be a true understatement.  I believe Me Ra is going to post a picture of the room on her blog.  I will link over to it when she does.  It was just awful!  I thought, ‘How are we ever going to get any good shots of these beautiful babies when all we had to work with was regular incandescent light?’  I gained so much from this experience and I didn’t even realize it until today.  We shared our favorite two images from the shoot and it was amazing to see all of the beautiful shots captured in that less-than-ideal room.  Here are the two shots I shared with the group.

Really I could go on and on about how wonderful this weekend was.  I really can’t thank Kelly enough for nominating me and for Me Ra and Brian for allowing me the opportunity to come.  It was life-changing and I will forever be grateful to them.