We've got a great new blog! It will be a great new place to see what we're up to and to view our latest work. Plus, if you're a client, it will be the place to go to view your images and navigate to your online galleries. Plus it just looks so much better!
Change your bookmarks to: www.davewatkinsphotography.com/blog
Leave a comment there and tell us what you think!
So as Val and I are prone to do sometimes, we decided to take a spur of moment trip to Chicago yesterday. But it wasn't just for no good reason, we went to see Yervant and Joe Buissink's wedding photography workshop. We had already seen both of them at WPPI in March, but we decided that you can't get too much information or inspiration when it comes to what we do. Joe is an especially influential artist for me right now. His work is amazing, but for me it's really his passion, the things that motivate him, and the way that he thinks about the world that I can easily identify with and really inspire me.
It was also great to hang out with some other photographers from around the midwest as well. We caught up with some people we had met in Vegas and with a few of our Madison photographer friends as well. Plus, I won a copy of Aperture 2.0! Woo Hoo! I'm installing as I type and I can't wait to put it to use!
Our first wedding of the season is Thursday, and I can't wait to get out there and shoot!
Part of the day we spent time shooting a model bride in the lobby area of the gorgeous Chicago Hilton.
Something I know I need to do more of this year is shoot for myself. I don't take enough time to do that, and I always reminded of it's value when I do. It's amazing how the experience of photographing changes when the pressures of the wedding day are absent. It allows my mind to work a little more freely I guess.
That's the experience I had recently at THE Wedding Workshop that Pierre and I taught. We spent some time in the afternoon shooting on location with our students and it was so nice to simply be creative. Even better than that though was letting the students "into my viewfinder" a little and talking with them about the shots and photography in general. I was really happy with lots of my photos, and others I know could have been easily improved, but either way the experience was great.
Special thanks again to our models Ashley, Zach, Oliver and Erica!
Here's a few of my favorites! Enjoy!
This one is my favorite!
It has definitely been a hectic and busy few days. As soon as we returned from WPPI in Las Vegas we began finalizing plans for THE Wedding Workshop, which was held this past Saturday and Sunday. What an awesome experience that was! This was the first time Pierre or I had put together an educational event of this magnitude, so there were admittedly some kinks in the system and gaps in our planning. I want to thank all of our students for being such a great group to work with. There was a wide range of skill and experience levels, and it was really nice to see the exchanging of ideas and motivation. I wish I would have had more time to talk with each of you, but just because the workshop is over doesn’t mean I’m not available. Shoot me an email and we can grab a cup of coffee sometime!
I want to send a special thank you to Valerie and Pierre’s wife Anna. Anna put on a wonderful party at their studio Saturday night - it was so nice to have some good food and drink and just chat with everyone. Valerie has some very unique skills when it comes to putting together organizational materials and evaluations. I guess that’s the teacher side of her coming out. She did a great job putting together the packets of materials and designing the workshop evaluation form. More than that though she was a great help for me completely behind the scenes. I had never taught anything like this workshop before, so she provided insightful advice and perspective that was invaluable in so many ways. Thank you Val!
Thanks also to our models Ashley, Zach, Oliver and Erica. They braved the windy March conditions for our benefit and did such a great job! Thanks guys!
The workshop was a wonderful experience for me, but it was also exhausting! I imagined Monday being a blissful day of movies, blankets, and possibly frozen pizza, but at the last minute I decided to surprise Valerie with a quick trip to Chicago to see Mitche Graf speak. He’s a bit of a superstar in the photographic industry, speaking all over the world about photography marketing. Not exactly a romantic Chicago getaway, but she REALLY wanted to go, but I had told her before that we wouldn’t be able too.
It was a great time and we learned A LOT! We even stayed after the seminar to have a drink with him before driving back to Madison! Thanks Mitche!
