OK....I Was Wrong!

Having just returned from a wonderful workshop experience I have to say my comments earlier about the cost of such an excursion were wrong. Not only will my photography benefit from this experience but my life as well.
I had my doubts when I signed up for the Santa Fe class. Would it be worth the time and money? How would my work compare to that of my peers? It was my first workshop and so I had many unanswered questions about the experience as a whole. I was fortunate enough when I first arrived to read a small book of essays by Brooks Jensen entitled "Letting Go of the Camera". One of the essays was about workshops and what to expect from them as well as how to approach the experience as a new participant. After reading it I knew I had some decisions to make about how I was going to handle a new situation.
One of the first things I had to do was decide how I was going to deal with the idea of being in a class with so many creative people who shared my interest in photography and who probably were much better at their craft than I was. I guess I could have tried to be competitive, but life has taught there are always going to be those who have achieved a higher level of expertise than me no matter what the endeavor. Okay then...maybe I'll just be a fly on the wall and soak up all I can by osmosis....wrong! You can't do that with folks who are engaging and intelligent. They just naturally draw you in their direction and feed your hunger for 'connections' with real people. Finally I decided maybe it would be wise just to 'go with the flow' and let events take their natural course.
The truth is once you decide it isn't a competitive situation the rules are already set for you. It's going to be fun, exciting, educational, interesting, exasperating, tiring, and on and on and on....in other words exactly what I had hoped for. And you're going to end up engaged in the situation as a whole experience....one that filters through you and can change you at the core if you trust it and let it happen.
Who would want it any other way?
I can't remember the last time I woke up anxious to face the new day with the enthusiasm I felt during my stay in Santa Fe. I think the experience may have even rolled back a few years! To be able to carve out a few days in such a creative and enjoyable atmosphere is like cool rain on your face. You just want to stand in the open with your arms out-stretched and your face toward the heavens and say "Hit me with your best shot!"
Did I mention the people I met there? :-)
To Edie, Erin, Jennifer, Dawn, and John I say thank you....thank you for your kindness, your warmth, your knowledge, your humor, your patience, your unselfish nature,....and most of all thank you for just being you.
My life is richer for having met you.
How much is that worth?