The Eternity of a Moment

A few weeks ago I attended a workshop with documentary photographer, Raul Touzon. According to his bio, he is a photographer who specializes in making images that convey 'the eternity of a moment' (don't you love that?). The Austin workshop was very last minute due to a travel mix-up, and those of us who were able to attend now realize how lucky we are.

Raul teaches as he was taught - thorough and with intense discipline. We quickly realized the ball was in our court, he wasn't going to chase any of us down to make us learn. We would get from the workshop exactly what we put in. Not everyone thrives in an environment like that and it was a tough few days for some of the attendees.

As you can imagine, I took a LOT of photos. The one above is my favorite for a number of reasons. I remember the moment I clicked the shutter, before I even checked the viewfinder, I knew it was going to be different. This was IT. I don't know how to explain it, but there's as much of me in that photo as there is of my subject.

The biggest takeaway - get out of your comfort zone. Whether you find a mentor to push you to the next level or manage to get there on your own, you HAVE to keep moving or you'll stay right where you are.