2009 Roots Workshop

Imagine my surprise last week when I opened a mass email from my online studio management system ShootQ only to find my own face staring back at me (see above). ShootQ is partnering with the Roots Workshop to give one lucky student a $500 discount on this summer's tution, and six free months of ShootQ. As you may remember, the Roots Workshop is the "see-changing" week-long photojournalism workshop I attended last summer on Cape Cod.

A tidbit of my testimonial was featured in ShootQ's email about their current contest. My full testimonial is this: "My Roots experience was so pivotal in my life and powerful in my profession that I've yet to find the words to write about it. Suffice to say, I have yet to recover and I think that is a wonderful thing! My days covering a student actress at the theater and my nights spent alongside some of the nation's finest wedding photographers peering at a projection screen and into our hearts and creative souls was see-changing and not an image I take goes by when I do not reflect on my time and tutoring there. To be able to take an entire week doing what you love most to truly focus on developing your eye, your artistry and yourself (not just as a photographer but as a person) is a true treat! To do it alongside others who are on a similar exhausting yet exhilarating path of self-discovery, all while being supported by those in the industry you most respect, makes it all the sweeter."

So there!

As I understand it, there are still several spots remaining for the second annual Roots Workshop which is just five weeks away. Based on the feedback from those of us who had the pleasure of attending last year, some very cool improvements to the week's schedule have been made for this year's attendees, and I encourage anyone who wants to strengthen their visual storytelling skills to strongly consider going (and of course entering the ShootQ/Roots contest). It is an experience that will change you as a photographer, and as a person.

I've actually yet to blog thoroughly about my Root's experience. I went to the workshop just one week before our massive move to Portland and in the chaos that followed of shooting, skiing, dodgeballing and eating out far too often, I've neglected to post about my powerful experience at the workshop, where I followed a truly talented student-actress from Ohio University starring on the stage at the summer Monomoy Theater in Chatham. I saw many similarities between myself and Casiha, as both of us found ourselves on the Cape that summer out of pure devotion to our craft and our honest commitment to be not the best in the world at our art, but our best.

You can see the culmination of my coverage below, or by clicking here. And do contact me at sam@samanthawarrenweddings.com if you're considering Roots and would like a final push of encouragement. I am so happy that my review of my time there has helped contribute to several of my Maine photographer friends deciding to go next month! You are going to love it!