I was sitting at home last night trying to reflect on the whirlwind of the past three days at WPPI- mingling with and learning from photographers from all over the world. It’s always a bit overwhelming being at WPPI… but this year was overwhelming in the best way. I always learn so much from attending the convention- this year the most important lesson was to fully embrace who I am in order to create better work. This may seem obvious to some, but it’s something I have struggled with over the past year because I feel myself changing and growing everyday and didn’t know how much to allow that to seep out into my work. It’s also scary to put myself completely out there- it’s an incredibly vulnerable place to be…
Knowing who I am is important to me. Knowing who I want to be is also important. I’m constantly striving to grow and adapt and improve so that the former becomes the latter- and that constant drive for personal growth is what truly inspires me on a daily basis in all aspects of my life. My experience during these past few days at WPPI have truly helped me to more fully embrace that philosophy and not only allow, but encourage it to spill over into my work. I have learned to embrace the change in myself that I feel daily and let that manifest visually in my photographs… and I feel very good about that.
To all the photographers I was able to reconnect with and meet over the past three days: This year at WPPI was phenomenal for me because of you. I am coming home this year feeling extra lucky that I am part of such a great industry where socializing with one another is such a fun, interesting, educational and inspiring experience! That is pretty unique to our industry, and my gratitude for that grows everyday. At the risk of sounding sappy, if I was given the opportunity to talk to you for even a few minutes in Vegas, you helped to shape my experience there and for that I am grateful because it was exceptionally positive. For those of you I spent more time with, I am especially grateful for you for the conversation, the insight, the inspiration, and most importantly the friendship. I look forward to these relationships continuing to build over the next weeks, months and years.
I cannot wait for next year to do it all over again!
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Note: I will be traveling for the next week and will have limited Internet and email access. I so appreciate your patience in waiting for a response should you try to contact me while I am away! 🙂
