O Canada

I am in beautiful Shawnigan Lake, BC at the moment, attending Image Explorations 2009. First and foremost, I have to thank Don MacGregor and Rockie Lee for inviting me up here to the Great (not-so) White North. I worked with them at Texas School last spring in College Station, and we all just clicked. They are both incredible photographers, and wonderful men whom I feel truly blessed to call my friends.
All right, enough of the serious stuff. Simply stated, this is one incredibly beautiful part of God's Creation. You really have to try if you want to take a bad photo up here. I am working with Vicki and Jed Taufer this week. They are an amazing husband/wife team from Central Illinois. Check out their website at www.vgallery.com. Great people, great artists, great business leaders.
These weeks are always exhausting and refreshing at the same time, if you can believe that. I can't realy explain it. I am usually working as a 'wrangler', which is basically a glorified gopher. Wait, check that. It's not really glorified at all, just a gopher. Seriously though, we are here to assist the instructors and school staff to make sure the school goes as smoothly as possible. It's a lot of work, but totally worth it. We usually get a chance to get to know the instructors far better than most of the students, simply because we are working closely with them, scheduling photo sessions, taking care of paperwork, putting out general fires.
Although I hate being away from my family for days so long, I really cherish these opportunities to come to schools and learn ways to improve my craft, my business and myself. The tips and techniques I learn always make it worth the time. But, the relationships and true friendships I make and renew are really the best long-term benefits. This week has been no different. Check out my Facebook page for a few pics of some of the gang. Even as I have been trying to work on this post, I have had the chance to get to know some of the folks in my class, and reconnect with old friends from schools past. All this with loud party music blasting from the DJ at 'Hawaiian Luau Night'. Only crazy photographers would come all the way to Vancouver to have a chance to break out the leis and grass skirts! Needless to say, by this time of the night, most of the cameras have been put away, and the photos that are being taken now are mostly just used for blackmail.
Come to think of it, maybe I should get to work on Daniel's college fund...