I first considered attending a Jose Villa Workshop last year but by the time I had analyzed the reasons for and against attending, the workshop was sold out. However, I continued to think about it and this year, when I received the announcement for the 2012 Mexico Workshop, I signed up. Yes it is an investment, and for me, it is certainly a big one considering the flight ticket but i think it was very necessary for me to attend. and I am glad I took the decision to attend.
Because of the flight ticket price, I decided to extend my stay in the United States for a little photo trip before and after the workshop. This time by myself also gave me the opportunity to take time thinking about how I want to build my photography business. I have been thinking about the information we received during that week and my notes and to-do list in my Moleskine notebook are quite impressive.
I also knew that my situation is a bit different from other attendees. Most of them are from the US but we had some from Australia and the UK. If I decide to stay full time in Tanzania and be a photographer there, there is no possibility to outsource, there are no decent labs to process films and print photos, there are no stylists and wedding planners (let me know if I am wrong) so I have to be imaginative on many aspects.
On Saturday 3 November, I flew from Los Angeles, CA to Guadalajara in Mexico. From there everything was taken care of: a shuttle was going to take me and other participants to the place were we would be staying for the next six days. The ride to the workshop location lasted about one hour and a half.
We arrived in one of the most beautiful places I have ever stayed at. The Hacienda El Carmen is a hacienda turned into a hotel. It is beautifully restored and decorated and each room is unique. It is full of antiques and nice decorative details. The food is also wonderful.
The workshop started on Sunday afternoon and ended on Thursday night. During all that time it was all about the 21 workshop attendees. We were taken care of, all of our questions answered, our concerns addressed and everyday we were spoiled by Jose Villa, the workshop instructors and the workshop sponsors.
During the workshop, we had lecture type group sessions where we could ask any questions, one-to-one sessions with most of the workshop instructors, photo sessions (both film and digital).
For me, the main purpose of my attendance to the workshop was to figure out whether photographing weddings and portraits is really something I want to continue doing. if so, whether I have been going in the right direction. I got many answers to my questions, reassurance about my insecurities, confirmations that I was doing (most of) things right, new ideas, encouragement to try new things. Finally I took time to think about what I wanted for me as a person, as an artist and as a business person and and I have left the workshop full of ideas, challenges and things to do.
An other important aspect of the workshop was the opportunity to meet new people: other photographers but also other artists, stylists, designers, magazine editors, make-up artist.
For the photo shoots we were lucky to work with beautiful models (Citro Modelos and Amy and Erich Mcvey). For the wedding shoots, the brides were wering Claire Pettibone gowns.
More links to the people who helped to make this workshop a wonderful experience:
Jose Villa working his magic...
