I’m back after a whirlwind weekend with Keith Carter and a rather rainy visit to the Big Apple. Made a lot of new friends at Woodstock and got to see a few in New York as well. I’m tired but happy. Learned a ton of stuff, not only from Keith but also from my fellow classmates.

The most important things I learned in his workshop were (a) believe in yourself and your work and (b) always be working on a specific project. As Keith said over and over, come up with a project you can realistically work on over two to three years. Then pick a name for it, buy a box and fill it up with photographs. Then edit, edit, edit. Then edit some more until it’s a unified body of work. And as you’re working on it, show it to people. Get feedback any way you can. Go to a portfolio review and get your work seen. If your parents or your significant other hates it, it means you’re probably going in the right direction. Don’t play it safe with your art. Push the envelope. Be subversive. Hold strong convictions and opinions. Try alternative processes. But, most importantly, have fun with your art ‘cause if it ain’t fun, it’s ain’t worth doing.

Keith’s a hoot as well: a wickedly funny, sassy, opinionated yet unpretentious regular guy who makes some of the most mystical, whimsical and haunting work you’ve ever seen. If you ever get to take only one photography workshop in your life, take his. I’m happy to be a part of his “tribe” and to call him not only a mentor but a friend as well.

Didn’t shoot as much as I would have liked. It rained on and off most of the weekend in Woodstock and almost all day Monday in New York due to the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry sweeping up the east coast. Finally cleared up late Monday afternoon so I was able to get in a little shooting through Tuesday morning before heading back to LaGuardia for my flight back home.

Roadside Pachyderm is currently hanging in the Dangenart Photography Juried Exhibition, running through June 30 at the Dangenart Gallery in beautiful Nashville, Tennessee.

In addition, Balancing Act has been chosen by juror Hal Gould, founder of the Colorado Photographic Art Center and director of Denver’s Camera Obscura Gallery, to be part of the Louisville (Colorado) Art Association’s 16th Annual National/Regional Juried Photography Show. The exhibition runs from June 30 to July 8, 2007. There will be a reception and awards ceremony June 30 from 7 to 9 pm at the Louisville Center for the Arts, 801 Grant Street, Louisville, Colorado.