An awesome thunderstorm with insane lightning, client meetings, a walk to the bookstore, the record store, and the smoothie shop.  This is what my Tuesday morning was made of — and it was perfect.  Damien Jurado’s new record, Saint Bartlett, was released today and I got to the record store as soon as it opened.   I’ve been buying Damien’s albums since 1999 and every time I play one, it takes me straight back to the day I bought it.  That’s why I still buy my records from the physical record store — I just love the way that buying a tangible record creates an experience, and can therefore reconnect you with a point in time over and over again. And no matter how amazing technology is (I really do love it) … I won’t give-up my real, physical records or books until I’m absolutely forced to do it.  Just sayin’.

Speaking of books, today I also bought Stieg Larsson’s final novel, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.  Have you read his books?  I love them.  If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know I try to read a book each week.  I think I might finish this one in a single day though.

I hope you all have awesome Tuesdays, friends :)  And if you don’t know Damien Jurado, please check him out.  He’s so talented and his music is so moving.

Is it possible to cram too much goodness into a single week?  My week in Seattle was one of the most ideal weeks of my life … crammed with goodness, overflowing and awesome.  For three full days — with 19 other talented photographers –  I got to experience Jesh de Rox’s Life As An Artform workshop.  This workshop isn’t about your camera or the technical aspects of photography, but rather about truly experiencing life and photography … bringing the artistry of our work into the rest of our lives.  I won’t write much about it because if you are a photographer and one day get to experience this crazy three day ride (which you should) — I don’t want you to have preconceived notions.  Because this workshop was, at its root, about breaking down our preconceived notions … the ways in which we label things and live on the periphery of true experience.

I left the workshop with beautiful new friends and new tools for how to fully experience my art and my life.  It’s so liberating to rip-off labels we have placed on people and situations.  Labels have a shelf life … as Jesh explained so well.  When people in our lives change, often for the better, it’s only scary and disappointing because we have already labeled them to be a certain somebody.  If we can constantly remove labels and experience people anew with each interaction … we’ll most likely be happier and more free.

Below are some highlights from those 3 days … my new friend Johanna, my favorite musician Damien Jurado (he played a surprise intimate set and then we each got to photograph him alone for a bit), some frames from the experiential photography exercises, and Jesh playing his awesome music.