What can I say about The Portrait Masters it was an incredible experience!!! Four days of world renowned photographers lecturing on their journey as photographers and more importantly their journey as people. Platon moved me to tears; Joyce Tenneson is challenging me to do more personal projects; Richard Wood, oh my gosh the creativity that he has is mind blowing… Parker Pfister took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions, such a talent!! Felix, the other Richard, Zack and Lola were incredible as well!! And then there was our host Sue Bryce –I would have to write a whole another blog post about this lady!! She is my mentor and an incredible business woman, but Sue Bryce, the human, shines so bright you need protective eyewear!! I thank her for her beautiful candor at her farewell Portrait Masters speech; she keeps it real and propels me to LEVEL UP in my craft!!! Not only did the conference have these amazing speakers, the ballroom was filled with 25 shooting bays with models (see my two shooting bay images ) the bays were draped with Oliphant Backdrops (one day I WILL own one of these backdrops!!) there was ton of gear there to look at and purchase… AND …the fellow photographers!! What a beautiful community of people!! I miss it already– but already dreaming about next year!!
One of my favorite quotes from Platon: “I have failed more than the younger generation has even tried.” My friends whether you are a photographer or not, this quote is for you. It is okay to fail. Failing is where you learn, where you grow and where the strength of your success is BORN. Be brave and put yourself/your work out there. The world needs YOU!! So, with that– I submitted 15 images into the Portrait Masters this time around (compared to my first submission of 5). These images are judged by 5 of these world renowned photographers and there were nearly 7,000 images submitted. I feel very happy about these images — but I am ready to grow, I am ready to fail and I am ready for a Silver, or maybe even a Gold : )
