Hello! It has been a couple months since I participated in the “10 on the 10” blog circle. As some of you may know, over the summer I herniated a disc in my lower back so significantly that I was in bed for several weeks and required surgery. It was certainly NOT the way I planned on spending the better part of the summer, and honestly, I am still in the recovery process over 3 months later. It has very much impacted my ability to pick up the camera and take photos, in turn this has been really draining on me emotionally, but that is all a much longer blog post… so for now, I will report that happily in the last week I have kicked the cane to the curb which has freed up an extra hand to start shooting again. I am thrilled to be able to shoot again, even if it is still not quite in the way I was shooting before.
Long prior to this injury, I was so excited to hear that a large photography conference, Click Away, was being held in Seattle during the fall. After my surgery, I had to cancel several of my plans but this was one thing I didn’t want to miss. I was definitely not at 100% but I was so happy to be able to participate and attend. So, this month I thought I would share a few of my favorites from this three day conference…but I am going to warn you now, there are more than 10. I think I can get a pass considering I missed two months prior to this, right?
Click Away is a conference that includes both amazing speakers and hands-on photography classes. I was so inspired by the speakers during the session, and left feeling motivated and enlightened not just as a photographer but as a human being. Included in the mid-range ticket were three of the shooting classes, and I spaced mine out to be each of the three days. Friday we had nice weather and our class was held in the post-alley of Pike Place Market with the incredible family documentary photographers Jessica Thomason and Lacey Monroe. If you have followed along with our Everyday Extraordinary Sessions, you know that documentary style photography (and video!) is something near and dear to my heart, so I loved watching them work and picking up some tips and tricks during the class. 
Saturday was a total Seattle style wash-out. The poor weather combined with my general physical condition due to my injury, I decided to change up my classes at the last minute – opting to take a class indoors at the hotel rather than along the waterfront. I am so glad I did! I ended up photographing a friend and fellow photographer, Larissa Klein, whom I helped get in contact with the photographer leading the class, Anna Larson to be a model along with her two girls… because EVERY mama deserves to be in photos with their babies! It was a really great class (and in the penthouse suite of the Westin Hotel!) and, while I feel like as a photographer I have a pretty good grasp of light, this was a really eye-opening class to me. I loved the way she showed us how to manipulate the light to change the feeling of the photo. Also, another perk of the conference was that Canon had a full room of lenses available to borrow for the day – and on this particular day I had borrowed an extra wide fish-eye lens, which is just FUN! 
The last day of the conference was dry, and I had what I think ended up being my favorite class at the Seattle Center, by Lissa Chandler. She had three different models for the class, all dressed up in the sweetest vintage dresses. I also happened to be borrowing a tilt-shift lens for this class, which just gives a sliver of a focal area, and leaves the rest beautifully blurred…and well, I think I now know what I want Santa to bring me this year. 
All in all, it felt good to be using the camera again, although I will admit, I felt a little rusty. I am hopeful that as my body continues to heal, and as I continue to shoot I will feel better about the finished product again. I am also able to finally spend short periods of time in front of the computer again, which means I can finally get caught up on some editing and even perhaps some blogging! Hallelujah! Now, I would love for you to continue on through the blog circle and see what the other gals have to share this month! Next up is Aimee!