Forest and Falls Workshop in Tennessee

Last month I had an incredible experience. I went to Falls Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee to attend Forest and Falls workshop. And I made a little road trip adventure out of it. I stopped in Charlottesville, VA to visit a photographer friend of mine and in Asheville, where I got to taste so many delicious local craft beers and food. Yum! 
There were amazing photographers speaking at the workshop and I cannot even begin to tell you how much I learned. It was so much information in 4 days that my brain is still trying to soak it in and connect all the dots. I met a lot of wonderful people and shared with them this adventure that I'll never forget. I learned not only about photography and techniques, but about life itself.
I feel inspired, rejuvenated and alive!

Photographs taken on Canon AE-1 by Ryan Muirhead

The power of photography.

I'll start with these tree portraits of me. I had the honor of being photographed by Ryan Muirhead. An amazing talented film photographer with a huge heart and beautiful soul. Ryan was one of the speakers at Forest and Falls and he had a tremendous impact on me. He made me think about life in several deep and meaningful ways and I'll be forever grateful for that. When I got these 3 photos back from the lab, I thought 'wow, these are cool!' But then I took a moment and looked at them again. I rarely stare at pictures of myself for too long, but these made me stop, contemplate and see beyond a photograph. They represent who I am. None is more beautiful or powerful than the other. They all represent me. The real me. I see the positive and joyful Barbara, that believes in happiness and true love. The Barbara that laughs hard and cries laughing. The Barbara that likes to be quiet and listen to others. The Barbara that is open to new experiences, new people and the Universe. I see the vulnerable, sensitive and many times lost Barbara. I see the real and honest Barbara. The real me, no make-up, no fancy clothes or brushed hair.  I feel weird talking about me, but these images really had an impact on me and I wanted to try to share a little bit of what I felt.  

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Here are several photographs from that week. I feel like it is a big miscellaneous, but that's a bit how I felt with the whole experience. There was so much going on, so much happening all the time and I tried to do as much as I could. This is a mix of digital and film photos.