One thing that I’ve learned over the years is that I’ll never figure everything out.  Change is at the heart of the nature of life: Business, art, style and fashion are always evolving.

That’s why I feel so strongly about the importance of photography education to professional growth and learning.  So I regularly attend workshops, conferences, webinars and other events to inspire me and help me to evolve.

I’m extremely fortunate to be friends with a lot of very fine photographers.  A few weeks ago, 19 of us got together in the Hamptons for a home-brewed workshop and week of fellowship and fun.  It was one of the most valuable learning experiences of my career.  Since we each chose a topic to present on, we decided to call it the Pot Luck Pow Wow 🙂  I was the only Pittsburgh wedding photographer there – we had folks from overseas, Ohio, California, New York, Boston, Chicago, Montgomery and Austin.  Everyone left their egos at home and openly shared their experience, knowledge and skills.

Although I took my professional gear, I ended up taking photos with my iPhone.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Mark Janzen held class outside between the pool and the tennis court:

Mike Garrard traveled across the Atlantic Ocean from the UK to be at the Pow Wow.  He brought his mad ping pong skills with him:

When you get a bunch of photographers together you’ve got to expect a certain amount of geeking out!  I saw the image that Ed Atrero and Julie Lowry were working on and it was really cool:

Genevieve and James Nisly are a dynamic photography team from Ohio.  I was so glad to have had the opportunity to get to know them better:

Steve Koo reprises his role from the original Karate Kid:

Me and my dear friend and running buddy, Julie Lowry:

See, it wasn’t all fun and games – we got a lot of learning done:

I’m still dreaming about the dutch apple pies that Caroline made:


Aga talks about connecting with clients:

I love the beach in all weather conditions:

Gulnara, Nadine and Candice on a windy evening at the beach:

Thanks friends!