Yesterday, I flew to St. Louis for my first ever course…of my own….at this year’s FotoChaos event. Was I scared? Absolutely. Did I have a few mini panic attacks? For sure. But did I survive? Yes. And did I enjoy it? Without a doubt!!!
Ryan Brown and his FotoChaos team were absolutely incredible. I cannot brag enough on the ENTIRE experience and the event itself. I was able to meet so many new and wonderful photographers. And it’s really awesome being able to share on this photo journey with new and talented faces.
I cannot believe how much has transpired in my life over the past year. On Kenna Klosterman’s twitter feed sometime in the spring of last year I saw a tweet about a casting call for creativeLIVE (a free online forum for creatives to learn). The winner of the casting call would teach their own course in Seattle! So, I created an audition video, was accepted as one of six to audition LIVE and flew to Las Vegas.
I couldn’t eat all day. I even got sick that morning and it’s taken me an entire year to admit that publicly. When I arrived, I found out that my outfit (which was an all white suit) completely blended in with the ALL white backdrop. So, I was asked to remove my jacket….which immediately sent me into panic mode because, “What if I started sweating?!” I stood in front of a panel of judges and began speaking. Those judges ONLY included Sue Bryce and George Varanakis…and the rest of the creativeLIVE team was there as well. Oh, and did I mention that Jasmine Star was the host? The room was full of visitors (like not enough room for people to sit)…..PLUS the event was LIVE so who knows how many tuned in.
Long story short, I made it through. And although I was an emotional mess, I learned. And I grew.
After the show ended, Sue Bryce complimented me on the strength of my portfolio and George Varanakis so graciously told me that I had potential and that he believed in me! He must have meant it too, because two days later he introduced me to Brandon Hedgpeth, marketing managerfor Black River Imaging.
Since WPPI last year, I’ve spoken at BRI’s booth for Imaging USA in Pheonix and again at WPPI in Las Vegas. I also auditioned and made the cut to speak at Photographer’s Ignite this year where I memorized and recited a 5-minute poem on branding!
It’s amazing where life will lead you if you let it. This is something that I’m TRULY working on this year. My goal for 2014 is to not only focus on challenging myself but also being true to myself and allowing life to lead me where it should.
So with that being said, overcome your fears! Put yourself out there…and believe that you can do it. Because you can.
