Staying Inspired

Staying inspired is not always easy especially on the weeks when it seems all those great surprises in your in box last month seem to have stopped, and the voice in your head starts taking you down the path of doubts.  Living in LA provides me with so many great venues to avoid going into the slumps and when in La I usually keep some sort of event on my calendar at all times. Many times when I found my self in a moment of discouragement, I  have gone to a lecture at the Annenburg Space of Photography and leave full of inspiration and determination  Trust me, this really works. Pushing through the hard times can be tough, so I know if I have something on the calendar, even if  I drag myself there, I always feel better when I leave. It gives me a break from sitting at my computer and  I meet and network with amazing people. Best of all, most of these events are free, or very close to it. LA Photographer’s you really should be taking advantage of these fantastic venues. If you are not from LA or a photographer, there are many events in your back yard or area of interest and I encourage you to seek them out, put some on your calendar and test my theory on how to stay inspired.

Below is a list of the venues I check regularly;

Annenburg Space forPhotography –http://www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org/

One of the most prestigious and beautiful venues for photography exhibits and lectures. They run a themed exhibit for 3-6 months at a time and have one of the photographers come speak every Thursday during the length of that exhibit. The lectures are free and they validate parking which will only cost you $1. I have met some of the most respected photographers in the world, including the photo editors from National Geographic. LA photographers you should be taking advantage of this.

The G2 Gallery – http://www.theg2gallery.com/

The G2 Gallery, located in Venice Beach show cases some of the most celebrated nature and wildlife photographers along with some local LA photographers. The gallery is a non profit gallery and proceeds are donated back to environmental causes.  They have great events and openings for only $5. I have been able to socialize with Art wolf,  Marc Lavine, Laurie Marker and several others.

Photo Expo West – http://sandiegophotoexpo.com/

Photo Expo West comes to San Diego every Novemeber. It is like a 2 day mini summit with  all the gear you can imagine and four main stages with top speakers. Some of the past speakers included Art Morris, Eddie Tapp, George Lepp, Hanson Fong,  Douglas Kirkland, Tony corbel and many more. It’s a great place to network and hang out with your friends from Canon, NIK and the likes. Last year the entrance to hear all these great photographers was only $10

Photo LA –http://www.photola.com/

Photo LA is a three day show at the Santa Monica Airport every January, show casing  over 50 photography galleries. This is a great event to network and get inspired. General admission is only $20

The Sierra Camera Club – http://angeles.sierraclub.org/camera/

The Los Angels sierra camera club meets the 2^nd tues of every month and I have seen some presentations by top photographers. Nick Brant, who rarely speaks in public gave a presentation there last year. I have also seen other great photographers there such as  Robert Glenn Ketchum  and Steve Sieren, and it is free!

Don’t forget you local camera stores. In LA we have two of the biggest stores, Calumet and Sammy’s that have a long list of classes and events, all which are very reasonable

Sammy’s Camera http://www.samys.com/index/page/static/subpage/classes_and_events

Calumet – http://www.calumetphotographic.com/events/index.html

This is also where I shamelessly plug my event, A photographer’s journey through Africa. An inspirational and informative seminar on June 4^th.  http://bit.ly/erL5eQ

I also attend events at the adventures club.

The adventures club – http://www.adventurersclub.org/

This is an all male club, but they now graciously have ladies nights and I have had the pleaser of  meeting some of the great explorer’s of this amazing planet. May 12^th, Laurie Marker, the founder of the Cheetah reserve in Namibia (Cheetah Conservation Fund, www.cheetah.org), will be the quest speaker. This is another great place to network and get inspired.

Comments are open, hope you will join in the discussion.