Photo Workshop

I just finished a week of co-teaching a workshop here at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove. Guy Magallanes http://www.guymagallanes.com/ and I did our second annual Watercolor/Photography workshop. It runs for five intensive days and evenings and covers the whole workflow from seeing an image... to recording it with a camera ...to painting it... to recording the painting... and, publishing the painting. Whew!

Guy and I were exhausted by the end of the week, but the participants were very happy with what they learned and produced. This year we added the challenge of creating a self-published coffee table book of images from each member of the workshop, with poetry, by the end of of the week. They did it! No one was more surprised than the participants.

I really like this work! It seemed as if there wasn't a minute that I wasn't working with a group or individual who wanted coaching. Daniel Dixon came by on Monday evening and told the story of growing up with his famous artist parents...one, Dorothea Lange, the photographer and the other, Maynard Dixon, the painter. Daniel is a writer, story-teller and musician. He is a smart and giving person whom everyone came to adore.

Kevin Woodson also stopped by Monday and did a demonstration of his watercolor method. He held the crowd in absolute rapture as he talked and painted at the same time. He completed a painting of a very complex bouquet of poppies in about 45 minutes and never stopped talking the whole time.

Jack Wasserbach, a Carmel photographer, came in on Wednesday to show his work from Big Sur. He also divulged that he is slowly losing his eyesight because of problems with detached retina. He is slowly going blind, but he is so experienced with a camera that he can still work and plans to go on even if he loses his sight. He was very moving and inspirational.

Dixie Dixon was in the workshop as a participant, but she switched roles on Thursday night and brought some of her rock band musicians along for an impromptu concert by the fire. She did some country swing, some jazz, and some rock. It was a cool clear evening, but we had a roaring fire in the fire pit and watch the sunset over the Pacific as we sang along. Dixie has a CD which will be released this Thursday. I have an advanced copy and it's wonderful!

It was a special workshop and it took me four days to recover from the effort. I'd do it again in a flash!