When I was first starting out as a photographer there was so much that I needed to learn and I figured the best person to learn from was from a photographer that presented workshops. I figured they just had to be full of knowledge, inspiring and ready to pass that information along to me. I found a workshop that was being presented locally, registered and was full of expectations about what I would be learning. The day of the workshop finally arrived I showed up early, found a seat and settled in for a day of learning. What followed next was anything but inspiring, the instructor was late, unprepared and worst of all boring. I thought the day would never end. I arrived excited and motivated to learn and I left feeling uninspired and frustrated.

Money and time down the drain. I'll never forget how disappointed I was and how reluctant I was to sign up for another workshop. I remember thinking; I don't know how to prepare and present a workshop, but I was sure there had to be a better way than what I just experienced. Little did I know but my turn was coming when a couple years later my boss asked me to train the new special events photographers. I thought, "Here's my chance." I know how it feels to show up excited and leave disappointed and I vowed to make sure my training session was different. It worked so well my boss gave me the opportunity to train the group of special events photographers and a second part of my career was born: training and facilitating. How exciting. 

I've been training for over thirty years and before every workshop I remind myself that being able to conduct a workshop is a privilege and it is something that I take seriously.

When photographers decided to attend a workshop they have expectations of what they would like to learn. They don't want to feel that their time has been wasted or that they didn't learn anything new. I decided along time ago that my workshops would be more of a Learn-shop, Inspire-shop and Share-shop than a workshop. I think Nikonian photographers attend learn-shops to learn something new, solve problems, be inspired to make creative images and share their successes and ideas with other photographers. My workshops are designed to provide a mix of content, motivation, hands-on experience and group interaction. 

I’m more of a facilitator than I am a trainer. To facilitate means to “make easy” and that is my goal when presenting a webinar or Nikonians Academy Workshop; take the complexity out of digital photography while adding learning, creativity and enjoyment into the process.

Face it, adults don’t like participating in things that aren’t fun and enjoyable. I believe in engaging participants in the learning process and exposing them to new and insightful ideas so that the time you spend behind the camera is focused on making creative images. You won’t have to spend it wondering or worrying about the technical aspect or if your images will turn out. 

Photography to me is a Creative Art form and my purpose in facilitating your program is to assist you in expressing yourself creatively.

Attend a webinar or workshop and get ready to share something, learn something and be inspired by something. 

Click here to see what some of my workshop participants are saying.