Hey folks! I am so excited to leave for WPPI tomorrow! I have been actively doing photography since I was in high school and on through to today, but this past year I have learned more about photography than I ever could of imagined! From all the shoot outs with friends, the Dane Sanders Workshop, online communities like [B] School and to the extensive library of books I have read, I keep learning how to become a better photographer. And WPPI is going to be the mother-load of learning. So many of my friends tell me that it takes a year to process everything I learn. So excited!!!

Yesterday I was talking to one of my TA’s and he couldn’t believe my commitment to read two photo or business books a month. He couldn’t fathom being that passionate about something that he would want to read stacks of books on the subject from cover to cover. At first I thought it was sad that this kid doesn’t like to read, but I think it points to how so much of our youth has no idea what they are passionate about. They just are going with the flow of high school and haven’t really discovered what makes them unique and what they can individually offer to the world. Hopefully he can figure it out and become a life time learner of his greatest passions.

As a photo teacher, I have the huge benefit of sharing my greatest passion with my students and waking up a passion in them. I truly have the best job in the world! I give students tangible skills that they will actually use for the rest of their life, and ones that are freaking fun, cool and express who they are. I actually ran into a former student in downtown Fullerton last night, (which made me feel really old), and I was so excited when he told me that he was still taking photo classes and walked away saying that  my class was one of his favorite classes in high school.

So as I head off to WPPI, I hope I can offer something to the photo community as well as learn tons to help me with my photography business and learn great stuff to give back to my students.

Every post is always better when it includes a photo, so here is an example I made of a project my kids just finished yesterday.