I recently attended the Out of Chicago Photography Conference in Death Valley. It was incredibly fun and rewarding and filled with new relationships and photography adventures. While I do my best to work through my thoughts before going on any kind of trip, this one was an interesting one to navigate mentally.
On a typical photo trip, I’m solo most of the time so I knew heading into a conference with 100+ other people would be much different that what I’m used to. I’m also a pretty social person but I was expecting that being in the field with more than 1 other person might be a little challenging. Some other possible challenges were: sticking to a schedule, not being able to choose locations or instructors and being with people I didn’t know. Here are some thoughts I CHOSE to think:
- Meeting new people will be rewarding as I’m naturally curious and look forward to new connections.
- There are more than enough subjects in the field for everyone, including me, to make photographs of what we are interested in. Death Valley is an awesome location!
- I can quiet my mind and be creative no matter how many people are around me.
- I’ve been to Death Valley before and am open to seeing the same locations with a new perspective, no matter what time of day it is.
- ALL the invited instructors are amazing and, if I’m open, I can learn from any of them that lead my group.
Thinking all of this kept my mind free of distractions (including complaining) and helped me to keep my curiosity for new experiences in my photography. Overall it was an amazing conference and I believe I came away with some new work I’m proud of. I even had a chance to experiment with some black & white photography (more on that to come). The good news is that I can now apply this thinking to all kinds of adventures I might have in the future!
An interesting perspective on the workshop. I do respect your views and find them valid. I did attend an Out of Chicago conference in September 2020. It was a scaled down workshop. I did meet a lot of wonderful photographers and instructors. Will I attend another one, maybe. I much rather a small group (6-8).
Thanks for reading:). I do think a conference is much different than dedicated workshop. I think I prefer smaller numbers but getting to know so many new people was great!
It wa fun meeting you! I want to see what twilight on the dunes looks like.
It was a blast meeting YOU Cole! I’ll join you on the dunes for twilight anytime. It can be truly magical!
Great image of the Pearl. My angle and composition is quite different from your view.
Hey Randy! I’d love to see it! My email is brie@creativemindscoach if you’d like to share:)