It’s 8 am and I’m drinking whisky in Amsterdam.
Ok, technically it’s 2 am cos I’m still on Montreal time so I can still call this a nightcap, right? Not sure all the European commuters having breakfast in the KLM lounge would believe that reasoning but hey… cheers!
I’m on my way to the UK for a 9-day visit that will include two workshops, nine (count ’em!) family shoots and 3 or 4 concerts depending on whether my Trivium pass is approved. But I have nine hours to kill in Amsterdam first! I guess I could take advantage of some of what the ‘Dam has to offer (museums and galleries obviously) but I haven’t slept for almost 24 hours so I’m just gonna chill in the lounge, listen to the new Møl (I reviewed it here), Wonder Years, Isaac Gracie and Underoath albums, and catch up on some reading. That makes me sound more cultured than I am. My reading mostly involves Rolling Stone and random photography websites.
Weirdly, after so much back n forth since moving to Canada, this may be my last trip to the UK for a few months. 90% of my weddings this year are close to Montreal, which is great, but I still wanna do a few UK weddings every year if I can. I get to catch up with friends, visit my mom, stock up on M&S tea bags and Percy Pigs, have some decent fish & chips and enjoy some real country pubs. Canada doesn’t really do pubs. Certainly not good ones.
I’m looking forward to these next 9 days but I’m also eager to get home for a while. I have a wedding in Mexico coming up but apart from that, and a mystery plan that Evelyne has up her sleeve for my birthday, I’ll be close to home for most of the year now. And I have plans.
For a while now I’ve been keen to explore a new side to my photography, shooting editorial portraits and maybe more commercial work. It’s not a million miles away from the music portraits I do but I wanna push it further and develop my skills on the lighting side. It’s certainly something I think I could be good at and I’m keen to see where it takes me. As I’m travelling less in 2018, hopefully, I’ll have time to pursue this new direction, complete with a new website, and develop some new photographic skills.
The sun is shining in Amsterdam. I’m ready for Spring.
When I left Montreal it was raining and there’s snow forecast this weekend. Prince was correct. Speaking of Prince, and that song, have you heard Meshell Ndegeocello’s cover version? If you don’t cry, you may be dead already!
Anyways….. who’s coming to Rock Your Shot? Gonna be so good! Looking forward to catching up with people. And the weather is meant to be great! It’s 75% sold out but that means there are still tickets. You’ll kick yourself if you don’t join us!
It’s always humbling being asked to speak alongside photographers who are raising the bar in wedding photography. I’ll try not to embarrass myself. I’ve made the decision not to do any more group workshops of my own moving forward. I’ll still do Online Mentoring and One-To-One Workshops and I’ll speak at workshops when invited but probably no more group workshops of my own. I’ve done so many now. And it was really nice to be mentioned in Alan Law‘s recent interview. Alan is doing great things in wedding photography in the UK and has found his niche in the reportage area that he’s so great at. See below…
So I’ll leave you with some things to check out. Some you may love. Some you probably won’t. Thanks for reading. Sorry if I rambled. I’m tired. And still drinking whisky.
