Marfa Texas A Workshop Experience | Lifestyle Photographer

April 2017 I attended a workshop hosted by Clayton Austin (The Sparrow and the Crow). This is by far my most favorite workshop. It was unstructured and very much on a whim. I mean, we had a class or two but it was so laid back and not at all geared on how to run your business. Which is exactly what I had needed but didn’t realize. The workshop experience was more about discovering who you really are (underneath the pressures of life) as an artist. What defines who you are? The amount of likes on your Instagram posts? The number of publications you rack up? What measures your success? How often do we ask ourselves this? I mean, seriously…I find myself repeating this cycle ALL the time and it’s enough to put me on that crazy loop.

My favorite part about this gathering was the people and attendees that I crossed paths with. Not everyone was a wedding photographer. Heck there were some that weren’t even photographers. For some reason I was able to lighten up. I can’t explain it but when I’m around other wedding photographers I feel so out of place. Call it the introvert in me but I seriously want to stand in the corner of the room when I’m surrounded by so many photographers.

Clayton didn’t promise us a photoshoot but turns out we had an amazing and very lovely couple that volunteered. When couples attend a workshop together I think it’s always a bonus wouldn’t you say? I was able to capture a few portraits (despite being hungover from too much fun the first day–oops!). Here we have Andy and Elisabeth of Carretto Studio, a husband and wife team that specializes in wedding photography based in Salt Lake City.

We continued to explore Marfa and you know me…see random stranger/couple and I’m like… hey can I photograph you?  Sometimes I get a yes and sometimes I get a no. But it doesn’t hurt to ask and you never know who you will cross paths with.

Marfa Texas will forever have a piece of my heart. It was in Marfa that I realized I was not living life to my fullest potential,. That I was managing my business and allowing my energy and focus to be where it should have not been. Redirection was much needed. It was really scary having to admit that I didn’t know who I was outside of photography, outside of being a wife, being a mother. I was growing in my character and changing according to life’s events but I lost sight of the person I was deep inside. Well…as you can see, that’s the new chapter I’m living now! And it’s about to be a year since my time out in Texas. And I think that’s a fantastic reason to celebrate–hence the blog post feature! Someone bring out the bubbly. Cheers to living out the life you want for yourself and not what others expect of you!

Marfa I’ll be back! But no more pop up hail storms and random rabbits on the road please!