Traveling the Road Together

On a weekly basis, I have the pleasure to not only take my own journey ... but to participate in many other people's journey through photography as well. The students of IFLC San Diego Photography Courses truly are an inspiration to me. Their thirst for knowledge, their desire to find their own vision, and their perseverance in making it all work together fuels my ambition to continually strive to better myself.

One of the more frequent questions I get from new students looking to embark on this journey is "What classes should I take?" I realize this question is backed by many different priorities from each individual perspective and so I try to weigh my response accordingly. You see, not every person has the same goal in mind, but, they do all have something in common ... wanting to learn how to be In Focus.

We have set up our courses to fit all kinds of needs, desires and time frames. We offer full four-session core courses, three-session specialty courses and one-day workshops to fit the various needs of our students. We have courses in basic mechanics, flash, composition, portraits, landscapes, and macro ... to name just a few. So, it's no wonder that some students don't know where to begin ... or even which road to travel next.

While we work hard to make each of our courses & workshops the best they can be, there are three courses that build a strong foundation for any photographer ... no matter what their goals or intentions are. In Focus I: Mastering the Mechanics, In Focus II: Composition and Flash Photography I offer students a well-rounded introduction into true In Focus photography. These three courses alone will give any photographer the tools at hand to create amazing images.

And it's in these tools ... or experiences ... that the journey becomes interesting. The more experiences we have ... the more options are born. The more options we have ... the more creative we can be. The more we push ourselves ... the more road we gain.

And luckily, for most of us ... we don't have to travel it alone.

It began as a simple photograph

The box of plants and flowers I was sitting next to just begged to be photographed. Hues of purple and green blowing gently in the breeze, blended into a sea of blur in my mind’s eye. Instantly I knew, close up and personal would be the way to go.

You see, that’s how it usually starts for me – a simple idea.





Out came my macro lens and as I tested several angles I began to fit each graphic element together like a well-designed puzzle. Once the pieces were in place, the feeling crept up on me.

The image at hand was too red for the breezy purple and green hues I was initially attracted to ...

... so I lowered my white balance to bring out the cooler side of my image.

However, I still wasn’t completely satisfied. So, I bumped up my contrast and saturation a bit for more definition and a slightly bolder punch of color … and my message was born.

The journey is the fun part -- manipulating internal camera controls, fine-tuning feeling into a two-dimensional image, creating a world that only exists to me … leaving a path of pride, filled with every choice I made.

What began as a simple photograph turned into so much more. And it wasn’t so much about the mastery of the internal controls I tweaked to get the image … but about the insistence I had in creating the message I envisioned.

What began as a simple photograph turned into a labor of love.

The Journey Begins

On the dawn of this new year (and decade), I am reflective where my life has been in the past 10 years and where it's leading me to in the coming years. I am not any different than anyone else ... the past 10 years have been filled with joy, sadness, accomplishments, failures, successes, loss, pride, fear, love and triumphs. In a nutshell, I think anyone of us can say the same. But, the difference lies in the roads we travel and how each journey transforms who we are.

There are many journeys I have embarked on over the years and many others I have completed, but for the sake of this blog ... it's my photographic journey that will be my focus.


Having been interested in photography my entire life, it was no stretch when my co-worker and friend announced she was going to take a photography class ... I was signing up with her. We chose a course through the Adult Education system and landed in a basic photography class with a teacher whose name neither of us could pronounce. Little did I know I would later have a lot of practice pronouncing this same name.

Rod Deutschmann spoke about photography with such passion and drive, it would have been impossible to not be affected. And affected I was ... at a time when I needed something to believe in, Rod handed me a 'you can do it' card and gave me permission to experiment, to fail and then to create ... three experiences I have grown to crave, for it is in these experiences that expressionism is born. And it is through expressionism that I have found a way to present myself to the world.

Thus began my journey with a wonderful man (whose name I still am not sure I'm pronouncing right), not just into photography ... but in exploring less-traveled pathways and uncovering opportunities just waiting to be taken.

And as I look ahead, I'm sure that the road will be filled with more joy, sadness, accomplishments, failures, successes, loss, pride, fear, love and triumphs ... as it always is. But, it is in this journey ... and who I will be traveling it with ... that will make all the difference in the world.