Audrey does Memphis
[Note: I started this post before my post about Audrey and Intelly. I'm not intentionally trying to look like Audrey Woulard's stalker.]
I’m really behind in my RSS feeds so I’m just now getting around to a blog post Audrey Woulard wrote on the 2nd of August. She describes her experience speaking at the PPA conference in Memphis in late July. I think this post of hers is my favorite and there are a few lines in the entry that sum up what I think many people just don’t get.
“Messageboards are great for chit chat amongst those that do what you do and for new ideas… but it is a WHOLE different world in photography outside the internet…”
This is so true and was only pounded home even more after the Special Kids Photography of America workshop on Monday. Physically being around other creative people who share a passion with you and encourage and inspire you to be your best is amazing. Everyone you come in contact with in photography isn’t necessarily creative or even has a passion for the art. You can see this in their work. (Oddly, I haven’t seen this in my involvement with music or the fine arts — is it the lure of potential money and the digital era making people think this is all simply a paycheck?) But those that truly have the art inside of them? You can feel it just by being around them. And that energy is almost always positive and, if you’re lucky, it inspires you and drives you to be better as an artist.
Sitting in front of your computer monitor is no substitute for the palpable energy you get from being around other creative human beings. Sitting in front of your computer monitor is no substitute for the wealth of knowledge you get by actually being around other people who love what they do.
Now take Audrey’s words to heart and go outside and spend time with people. Didn’t your mother tell you that it’s not healthy to play on the computer all day?!
