This last weekend I spoke at the Awaken Workshop for Wedding and Portrait Photographers at the Gladstone Hotel in Toronto. For me it was an incredible experience sharing and learning. I really enjoyed the social meet and greet put on by
Finao Albums held at the Cream Tangerine on Queen St West. Amid the happy throng of photogs, were some incredible samples of what can be done with books and albums and I must say I was pretty impressed. I also got a better chance to hook up with some great photographers and chat about business and life. Some of my friends and clients are often amazed when I tell them how we photographers like to get together and socialize. The thing is we don't really see each other as competition , but more as colleagues. Dave of
Dave and Charlotte spoke on that during his opening remarks in his presentation. We have more to gain by helping one another and by giving referrals to others than we can imagine. Kudos to Andrew and Emilie of
Sorlie Arts for the awesome same day videos they produced of the workshops on each day. Loved the shot of
Bcap stirring his coffee. :) Bryan and I spoke on "The Lie of Busy" which we know we will be repeating at some point based on the feedback we got. We addressed the common problem for photographers of letting the business take over life and how we can become a slave to the tyranny of the urgent. We know that in preparing our topic we became even more aware of the need for balance in our own lives. Other speakers included
Taylor Jackson,
Rebecca Wood, Amina and Justin of
Still Motion and the lovely and talented Charlotte of
Rainbow Eleven and also of course of Dave and Charlotte. I should mention also that I really enjoyed the accommodations and food provided by the Gladstone Hotel. Truly a boutique style hotel at the far side of Queen St West. -Historical with a funky twist. I am glad for the experience of this last weekend and now to sort out my goals list. RN