Me Ra Koh Confidence Workshop: Washington, D.C.

A couple of weekends ago I had the pleasure of attending an amazing women’s photography workshop by day and visiting Betsy, Loren, Ethan and Brooke by night.  It was such an incredible time – even the trip home!

For those of you who don’t know about Me Ra Koh, you need to check out her blog!  Me Ra and her awesome husband Brian do stunning work that will leave you smitten and speechless.  Being quite a fan myself, I was so, SO excited to get to participate in their (appropriately named) Confidence Workshop for women in D.C..  It was great to get to meet them, learn from them, hear their stories, and laugh and cry with the other amazing women who traveled from near and far for this experience of a lifetime!

Here’s Me Ra demonstrating for us with some kids.  Watching her engage the models was a valuable lesson by itself!

Here’s Brian talking to us about light metering.  There were some fun demonstration photos involved. :)

We ladies had plenty of opportunities to try out what we had learned!  Kudos to the models who cheerfully endured swarms of women wielding lenses!

Let me say that my dad was the best!

He was already in D.C. visiting Betsy, Loren and the kids, and offered to stay a few more days to chauffeur me downtown and back Saturday and Sunday.  Thank you, Dad (and thank you Mom for doing without him for a few more days)!

The first day, our models were beautiful mothers and their beautiful babies.  Here are a few of my favorite shots.

I just loved how this baby squealed when her mom came in for another kiss!!

The second day, three wonderful families let us crowd around them with our cameras.

Of course, this trip was all the more exciting due to the most recent addition to our family!  Welcome to the world Brooke!  Each evening after the workshop, I was so pumped that I couldn’t help but take some pictures of my precious new niece Brooke and adorable nephew Ethan.  These kids have my heart!  Betsy and Loren, I just don’t know how you two handle this much cuteness on a regular basis.

Here’s Brooke dreaming sweetly…

and Ethan playing with dad.

He was all about these new boots.

It was so hard to leave!

When I thought the trip was almost over and couldn’t get any better, I had this heart-melting experience in the Washington airport on the way home.  Having just returned to the gate after getting some food, I noticed a mother with her two children waiting eagerly for dad to get off the plane (I later learned he was returning from Iraq).  Sure enough, he came walking through the gate, dressed in uniform and locking eyes immediately with his wife.  The family came together in a powerful moment that hit me so hard, I nearly started crying as their energy spread from where they stood and held each other to everyone who was blessed to catch a glimpse of them.  When I showed this next photo to J.P., we were struck by the strength and sacrifices made by military families.  Monica, thank you so much!  Here they are.

Finally, I made it home to my beloved husband who encourages me in so many ways.  Without a doubt, I left the Confidence Workshop with increased knowledge, vision and excitement, and J.P. has done nothing but help to keep the passion going!