So it’s been a few weeks since I did the infamous Foundation Workshop. I have been wanting to write about this experience, but I hadn’t really been able to put down in words how I felt, but I feel ready now. Before I begin, Brett Butterstein you were right. This experience did change my life.

Foundation wasn’t a place to go find the magic settings that most of my idols use when shooting a wedding. I met so many of the photographers that I follow and love their work. It also wasn’t a workshop on how to run your business. In truth, foundation is a place to discover yourself in many different ways. I began to understand what made me tick when holding a camera. I hadn’t accepted the fact that I was a photographer. For some reason this tiny bit inside of me still saw me as the once baseball player who never played in high school, but had dreams to one day make it to the big leagues. It was so many years ago, but it was blocking the simple truth in who I had become over the years without even realizing it. I went from a kid with a camera to a man with a vision. Foundation allowed me to see that vision and understand why I photograph the way that I do. It was engrained deep inside of me and my core values (family) have driven me to where I am today. I am attracted to situations were love is present. It doesn’t always have to be a wedding, or a family shoot. Sometimes, it can be in the most random of places. In particular, my assignment put me in a place where I felt at peace and I think it was largely in part to the people that were there and how I saw them interact with each other and their horses. They didn’t see the horses as pets or money making vessels. Instead they treated them like family. It is simply a way of life for the folks out there.

Going into foundation I was content with with my work because I always knew that I was giving every shoot 110%, but I always felt something was missing. What was I missing? I would ask myself that question everyday. I have all the gear I need, cool business cards and a nice website. Then it hit me. I was missing the basic fundamentals of being a photojournalist. The basic essentials being my foundation. In truth I was never missing them, I just didn’t know I had them all along.

This workshop is designed in a way to push you past your limits. Way out of your comfort zones. The beauty of it was that we’re not alone along the way. We all struggled with our assignments because our goal was to document what we see in the best way possible. To my teammates, thank you. I learned tons from each and everyone of you. To my instructors, I am thankful and grateful to all of the lessons that you taught me in all aspects from photography to life in general.

Foundation helped me reaffirm several things that I already knew. Two of them being, I have faith in God and I love my family more than any words can express. That being said, I learned something very important about small towns that appear to have nothing in them. It only appears to be nothing because thats how we perceive them. However, once you open your eyes you realize that the little town which you saw as desolate and bare was actually an oasis of pureness. So in conclusion, to the people of Glen Rose thank you for being so genuine and loving. Here are two images that in my opinion embody the assignment I was lucky to get.

For more information on Foundation Workshops please visit their website at fworkshop.com/‎.

I end this with a quote that I generated from what I learned.

“Follow the light, but embrace the darkness” – Randy Borges