squam at home- intuitive lens workshop!

i’m so happy to share this super exciting news with you ~ my dear pal and photographer extraordinaire thea coughlin is offering her first ever online workshop!  together with the lovely folks from squam art workshops, (who i worked with for pages &paint) thea has put together a photography course that YOU can be a part of no matter where in the world you might live.  total magic.  it’s all starting in january of 2013, but registration is filling up fast as we speak!  there is a cap on the number of students for the class, so don’t delay if you are interested as you don’t want to miss out.  it’s a wonderful way to “go” to a squam art workshop from the comfort of your own home!  how cool is that!? january is the perfect time to dive into something new, be creative and treat yourself, don’t you think?  

are you someone who, like me, LOVES taking pictures but doesn’t really have any idea how to do it “right”?  as in, i don’t know what shutter speeds, apertures or any of the numbers on my camera mean.  yes, i did take photography in college, back in the days when there were darkrooms and we developed the photos...  geeze... nowadays, there are these "new fangled" digital cameras, and yes i have one too, and i don’t know about you, but i sure wish i knew more about how to use it on settings other than auto. (ahem)

if you are nodding along with me, go ahead and press play on this FANTASTIC video below!  you’ll meet thea and see for yourself what she’s going to offer in her course called intuitive lens~   

Intuitive Lens with Thea Coughlin from Squam on Vimeo.

i also wanted to share my own personal experience with thea, as a friend and photographer, just in case you need more convincing ;) !  

we first met a few years back when i reluctantly and nervously hired her to take some head shots. i say reluctantly only because i am someone who doesn’t love getting her picture taken, in fact, i really didn’t want to do it AT ALL, but i desperately needed some professional photos taken.  i looked online and somehow came across her photos and  they immediately  spoke to me. so, one afternoon, without really thinking about what i was doing i wrote her an email asking her to come to do a photo session with me. gulp. she responded right away and came to my apartment to spend the day just a few weeks later.  it was quite honestly one of the best days!  right away she was bubbly, kind, comforting and before you knew it she was snapping pictures left and right of this “new” gal who liked, dare i say, loved having her picture taken.  we had a blast.  a few weeks later we connected again at squam.  we spent a long afternoon chatting on the dock about plans and dreams for our creative futures.  luckily for me, one of the things she told me she wanted to do was to continue to shoot artist and creative types.  little did i know, that a few weeks later i’d be offered a book deal and need a photographer, specifically one named thea.  we’ve collaborated on many projects ever since, and most recently on my own online workshop.  thea shot all of the photographs for the course, hundreds of them, and i know they really brought my work and lessons to life.  

below is what i wrote at the end of pages & paint to my students as a thank you to thea, and i wanted to share it with you here too~ 

Thea shot all the beautiful photographs that you enjoyed over the course of the last few weeks.  Oh yes, there were a few of my measly instagrams mixed in, but Thea’s were the ones that you were all oohing and ahhhing over and gushing to me about.  I knew that her “eye candy” was JUST the thing I needed to make this class come to life.  And boy, she really did just that.  Furthermore, she is just pure magic, I don’t know how else to put it.  Thea swept right into my studio, gear and all, and in just a few hours she was able to capture every blurry little idea I had in my mind’s eye, except she did it in fun, bright, FULL, and glorious color.  Yet, at the same time, her photos are so soft and understated, and just down right exquisite.  I honestly opened the files she sent after the shoot and gasped out loud. I mean, I know I was there, right there in the same room with her as she was doing her thing in my studio, but I truly don’t know how she does it. Thea has the rare ability to find the most important, yet overlooked little details of everyday life, and with her camera, she then gathers them, just as gracefully and artfully as she would wildflowers in a field.  I will be forever grateful for these bouquets of pictures she beautifully arranged for me.  

Thea, you have this special way of seeing right to my heart.  With your photographs, you help me connect more deeply to my work, my space, and to the true me, all in your gentle way that I am constantly in awe of.  It’s as if you are reading my mind when we are together, snapping the shot I have in my head but can’t quite express. You are that friend who says just what I need to hear, when I need to hear it, not only with your words, but with your art.  I thank you for all of your hard work, your vision and for being such a dear friend, I am oh-so-lucky to have you in my life. Once again, I thankful and honored to have you by my side for an important project; I wouldn’t want it any other way. 

if this course is speaking to your heart, even in a tiny whisper,  i truly encourage you to sign up and go for it.  you will have an amazing experience with my friend thea, you will learn so much, not only about your camera but also about your creative self.  i for one cannot wait until january!  hope to see you in class!  

xo *s