If you happen to be reading this journal, you'll probably already know that my social media has become much more focused on educational events lately. That's by intent tho. For a while now, Briana and I have been building something together, and as the in-person education world has steadily recovered from all the nonsense surrounding 2020, it has become clear that this is where a tremendous amount of our energy belongs.
It's funny how these things are. There were years where travel, workshops, conferences, and meeting photographers face to face felt like such a normal part of life that I never gave it much thought. Then it all disappeared almost overnight (hooray COVID), and for a while nobody really knew what the future of in-person education was going to look like now. Looking back, it almost feels like a strange detour in an otherwise continuous path. Now, after several years of rebuilding, it finally feels like we're back to creating experiences instead of simply hoping we'd eventually be able to create them again. You know, like, for real. The general hesitation across the globe seems 99% gone.
I'm genuinely excited about what we're putting together. Not because I think every workshop needs to be bigger or louder than the last one, but because I think we've become much more intentional about what we're actually trying to teach. Less spectacle. Less "watch me do a cool shoot." More understanding. More communication. More helping photographers understand why decisions are made instead of just copying them. Lighting. Posing. Styling. Working with another human being in front of your camera. Solving problems. Thinking like an artist instead of collecting endless stacks of frames on your drives.
Some of these events will be sorta-kinda-traditional workshops. Others will be much smaller, almost laboratory environments where everyone collaborates instead of simply observing. There are luxury retreats taking shape as well, which feel less like conventions and more like temporary creative communities. Different goals. Different pacing. Different conversations. I'm finding myself increasingly drawn toward smaller groups where meaningful discussion can actually happen instead of trying to entertain a crowd.
What's important to me, though, is that none of this means I've drifted away from making artwork. The education only has value because the artwork continues no? I still need to experiment. I still need to fail. I still need to chase ideas that don't make commercial sense simply because they're worth exploring. If that part ever stopped, I think the teaching would slowly lose its appeal, its legitimacy. I don't have much interest in becoming someone who teaches yesterday's ideas while no longer creating today's, if that makes sense?
And hell, I love this too much to not do it.
So while you may see more announcements, more travel dates, more behind-the-scenes photos, and more educational content than in recent years, don't mistake that for a change in priorities. The work is still the foundation. It always will be. Education is simply another way of sharing the same obsession.
If you're following along from the outside, I'd encourage you to subscribe to my website and keep an eye on my social media, because that's where most of the announcements will live. And of course, follow Briana as well. This isn't just me adding another instructor to the schedule. It's a genuine partnership, and I think what we're create together is stronger than what either of us would be building alone.
There's a lot coming through the remainder of this year and well into 2027. Purposeful and powerful retreats. Creative Labs. Workshops centered on lighting comprehension, posing, communication, and a few other ideas we're still quietly refining behind the scenes. Some of them will probably evolve before anyone ever sees them. That's part of the process too.
After everything the photography community has navigated over the past several years, it finally feels like we're spending less time recovering and more time imagining what's next.