Spring break this year ended up as somewhat of a road trip (when isn't our life some sort of road trip?).
For the first half of the week, I dropped the kids off in Richmond with their grandparents and continued on to Kayla Coleman's photography retreat in Castle Hayne, NC.
Every year, I try to attend at least one in-person photography workshop and this one did not disappoint. Luckily, all the participants were really great people (which makes a difference), though, as often happens, I was one of the older people there (here's too connecting with the younger generation!).
I approach my professional photography work from a photojournalistic/storytelling perspective, whereas Kayla's photos have an elegant, fine-arts look to them and it felt good to open myself creatively to a different perspective regarding couples' and wedding photography. Kayla is an amazing teacher and I learned so much (most of which I still have to implement - updates to Darcy Troutman Photography coming soon!).
We stayed at this bizarre "artists' retreat" in the woods called Walkeworld (check out the airbnb listing here), which I found FASCINATING and would love to return to one day.
Dogs roam the knick-knack filled property (much loved dogs). As one fellow workshop attendee phrased it, "this house makes me want to buy a ton of junk and fill my own home with stuff."
We photographed a styled shoot with professional models, which is new to me - it felt glamorous to try out poses and directions on these crazy beautiful (yet still kind and cool) people. I especially liked that the couple was "real" (married with a dog).
All in all, a great beginning to a great week. More photos on spring break, part II to follow soon . . .
Obligatory selfie (basically I'm using text to create space between my photo and their photos, for personal insecurity reasons).
I loved how these dogs slept everywhere on the property.
Some sort of art occupied every wall (even ceilings).
The yard (yards?) had a junkyard meets Disneyworld sort of vibe. If Captain Fantastic (from my favorite movie) was a real person, he would probably live here.
Did I mention the dogs?
So sad T missed out on the nerf gun sculpture. (Maybe I'll make one of these in a few years).
Several cars were scattered throughout the property. The nicer ones had covered parking.
I should probably edit out the cords, but I love how he's carrying the bouquet.
This is what happens when you put 9 photographers in the same space.
An incredible sunset. An incredible model. An incredible workshop.
