What Photo Field Trip Looks Like | Bay Area Photographer

This past weekend I attended Photo Field Trip, a quasi sleep-away camp for photographers in the mountains above Santa Barbara.  It was one of those events that was better experienced than described in words.  Even before Field Trip, we didn’t really know what to expect.  It was much different than any other workshop/photography event I’ve ever been to.  It was more of a community collaboration than it was a workshop and better than anything I’ve attended by far.  We camped among new friends, friends we’ve only known online, and well-known photographers we’ve admired from afar who were sitting next to us at picnic tables eating sandwiches and chips and drinking lemonade.  Because of the record rain that fell steadily almost the entire weekend, we huddled into tents and yurts and cabins to learn from and inspire one another.  Inspiration.  That pretty much sums up Field Trip for me.

Here’s a peek into What Photo Field Trip Looked like.  (Since it was so wet, my phone served as my camera almost the entire weekend. )

Kicking off the event was children’s book author, Dallas Clayton whose inspirational talk was worth the tuition and the rain and the effort alone.

The very first morning I walked down to the beach to watch the Polar Bear plunge into the Pacific.  The record storm waves took out the entire group, many of whom crawled out with bloody knees.  Needless to say, the following morning’s Plunge was relocated to the swimming pool.

We spent all weekend in rain boots and ponchos slopping through the mud from tent to tent.  So blessed to have ended up in a cabin with 4 solid walls and a bathroom!

Instructors like Brooke Schwab inspired us to be true to our unique selves.

To watch Sean Flanigan shoot (in the constant rainfall) and edit was amazing.

The nicest guy I met all weekend was Paul Octavious whose 30th birthday was celebrated first with the presentation of a medal.  And then all 300+ of us received our own personalized medal (you can see everyone with their medals around their necks).  Followed by a parade around the campsite in honor of Paul.  

One of my favorite classes was taught by the incredibly talented film photographer, Jill Thomas.  She was as genuine and open and gracious in person as I imagined.

Loved this panel discussion with Max Wanger, Brooke Schwab, Paul Octavious, Sidney Morgan, and Logan Cole.

We stopped into Lazers and Blazers for a few minutes before collapsing into our beds on the very last night.

The sun came out to bid us farewell the morning that we left so the big camera finally appeared for a few shots at the beach.

Thank you, Whitney, Justin, & Jessica.  for a pathway-altering experience.  You took a spark of inspiration and  turned it into Photo Field Trip.  I look forward to next year!

Please continue through our circle this month for a peek into real life with the beautiful Kelsey Gerhard who I was excited to finally meet in the flesh at Field Trip.