Posts Tagged ‘Speaking’

July 7th, 2009

CONFIDENCE: A Photography Workshop for Women in Washington DC!

Wow, we are back and settling into the comforts of our own home after being gone for two weeks, and I find myself wondering if all last week was a dream. Our project with Sony was the most AMAZING experience ever. So many new ideas and directions opened up from last week. The impossible seems more possible than ever!

Thank you for all your prayers and well wishes. I’m so glad you liked the Behind the Scene photos. Didn’t Brian do an AWESOME job with those! (He is the very best, out-of-control supportive husband ever.)

I also can’t tell you how many times I closed my eyes and visualized all the ladies we’ve met and have yet to meet from our workshops and speaking engagements. Every time I felt nervous or unsure, I pictured all your beautiful faces and reminded myself of who we were doing this for–the powerful impact it would have.

And we’re bringing all this power and inspiration to Washington DC!!! On September 19th and 20th 2009, we will be holding our Photography Workshop for Women, and we are going to have an AMAZING weekend together.

Photography Workshop for Women in Washington DC w/Me Ra Koh

On top of this, I made an executive decision to call this workshop we do the “CONFIDENCE” workshop. :) What do you think? Calling this a “beginner” workshop has never fit the bill b/c we have all levels of knowledge and experience attend. Yet, when I look over the feedback our past workshop attendees leave, I feel like the consistent thread is women walk away from the weekend feeling confident in how to use their cameras, but more importantly, in themselves. And this factor alone is why Brian and I love doing the workshop over and over again.

And guess what? As many of you know, it’s a bit expensive to find accommodations for a workshop in the DC area, especially the Dupont Circle. But we looked and looked to find a place that met was convenient for all of you to get too and was within our workshop budget so we wouldn’t have to raise the registration price. We ended up finding the hip, chic Hotel Madera. Turns out the event planner there emailed Genie back saying she was a fan of our photography and would LOVE to help host this workshop! So she’s giving all of us incredible discounts on the hotel rooms, see below for the details! And she’s giving us great discounts on the meeting space and lunches so we can keep within our workshop budget. Isn’t that AWESOME! DC is welcoming the workshop with open arms on so many levels! We can’t wait to come!

So who is going to join us! We are limited to twenty spots! Early Bird Registration opens TODAY! CLICK HERE to get yourself signed up!

Ladies, we are going to be READY for an AWESOME year of photography ALL levels, each and every one, are welcome! The topic details are below! But first, to give you a window into what our workshops look like, check out the trailer here by clicking the PLAY arrow button!

Early Bird Registration STARTS TODAY and last TWO WEEKS!

FAQ: (if we don’t answer your specific question here, email Genie direct at genie@merakoh.com)

Question: What is the Early Bird Registration?

Answer: If you register between today and July 24th (that’s a little over two weeks), you get to pay the Early Bird fee of $799 instead of $999! Pretty great savings for all of you who jump on board fast! After July 24th, the registration goes back up to the normal price of $999. To take advantage of the Early Bird Registration, REGISTER HERE!!!

WHEN? September 19th and 20th 2009, All Day Saturday and Sunday

WHERE? We will be nestled in Washington, DC’s suave Dupont Circle neighborhood. Hotel Madera is the BEAUTIFUL luxury boutique hotel for our workshop Location!! We are going to use this elegant, boutique hotel as our creative space to learn, grow, be inspired, be pampered and create!

Me Ra Koh Photography Workshop for Women Coming to Washington DC

ACCOMMODATIONS? The Hotel Madera has done an incredible thing and offered all of you the nightly rate of $119 per night instead of $159! Just let them know that you’d like one of the rooms in the Me Ra Koh Photography CONFIDENCE WKSHP block, and you’ll be set! In the past, a lot of women have introduced themselves to each other via email and ended up sharing rooms to cut costs. When we are 4-5 weeks out, Genie will send all of you each other’s emails so you can start talking (if you haven’t already found a way to do it by that point :) ). Click here for more info on their beautiful rooms!

MEALS:

LUNCHES: Both lunches on Saturday and Sunday will be catered for us. If you are a vegetarian or have any food allergies, be sure to email us so we can accommodate you. No problems, we are happy too! (genie@merakoh.com)

SATURDAY DINNER: This dinner is optional for our attendees, but we would love to have you join us! You are invited to a group dinner at a local restaurant within walking distance of the hotel. Details to follow upon registration.

GIFTS TO YOU FROM OUR SPONSORS!

We have wonderful, fantastic sponsors that are excited to support this event!

Pictage will be giving ever attendee a complimentary 1 year Pictage Lite subscription!

Pixel 2 Canvas will have beautiful canvas door prizes for us and a special treat for each and every attendee!

Shoot Dot Edit will have a special “Post Processing” treat for every attendee!

Dane Sanders, author of Fast Track Photographer, is going to give every woman an audio copy of his book!

And Adobe will have the door prizes of Lightroom 2.0 for us!

Isn’t that great ladies! Not only do we get to have a wonderful weekend together, but we get to give you surprises too! Not to mention our Me Ra Koh surprises–of course, I always have those up my sleeve! What’s a girl’s weekend away without gifts! :)

WORKSHOP TOPICS:

DAY ONE TOPICS:

True to this workshop, time tested (and approved :) ), we are excited to start the day with understanding the mechanics of your camera and learning about indoor lighting so you can capture shots of your loved ones in difficult lighting. The second half of the day will be hands on practice as we process a FULL morning.

DAY TWO TOPICS:

Day Two will pick up where we left off. We’re going to continue to demystify tough lighting and camera settings. We’ll also walk you through our Post Process steps as we demonstrate lightroom, turning images to black and white, editing, what’s the difference between a JPG and RAW image, etc. Depending on the groups interest, we’ll talk about the in’s and out’s of starting your own side business too. (But this depends on the needs of the group.) We’re also going to cover the question of what to do with your images? Are stock photography options available to you, what is the bottom line of blogging, and where should you have your work printed and why?

The BEST part that everyone always loves the most is the models! We’ll also have models join us (both adults and kids), so you can practice EVERY THING we’ve been teaching you. And true to our workshops, we’ll sprinkle our time with creative exercises and inspiration that make our weekend so special.

By the end of our weekend, you will be filled up, refreshed, inspired, and possibly shooting in Manuel like it’s nobody’s business. (I promise, this is way easier then people make it sound, but one step at a time.)

PAYMENT OPTIONS and REFUNDS POLICY: See the Registration Page for all these good details!

WHAT DO PAST ATTENDEES SAY ABOUT THIS WORKSHOP?

To hear what the Seattle Workshop Attendees said about our most recent workshop, check out this fun blog post and read their wonderful comments!

Here’s some more feedback!

Jen from Seattle, WA wrote; I know how these workshops can change your life…it did mine! MeRa and Brian were my inspiration…Thank you … you all are doing such greatness in this world!

Jeramy (husband of a wife who attended twice) from CA wrote; if you are reading this post and and are on the fence about going to this workshop…or wondering if it’s really worth it….let me just tell you about my experience. my beautiful bride went to the Sonoma workshop last year with me ra and brian…and it changed her life. like so many women, she struggles with self-doubt and insecurities…coupled with strong passions and desires to create things of great worth. the magic of this workshop will help you see that YOU ARE special and can do anything it is that you want to do, if you just set your mind to it. there is limitless potential in you all…and if you have ever wondered how to get it out….sign up for this workshop and you’ll see. you will never be the same again.

Marianne from Seattle, WA wrote;
This was the BEST day I’ve had in a long time…it was so nice to wade through and be challenged, laugh along the way, conquer a fear, and leave wanting more. What a day! I can’t thank you enough!

Kari from Seattle wrote; Me Ra takes the camera apart and puts it back together in a way that actually makes sense! Prepare to laugh, learn, and walk away inspired!

Julie from Seattle, WA wrote; As a past workshop attendee…It WILL change your life and how you see yourself.

Allison from Virginia wrote; I can tell you with total honesty that this will be a life changing time for you all. Just soak it all in and throw yourselves in wholeheartedly and you will come away with SO MUCH!!

QUESTIONS?

Feel free to email Genie (genie@merakoh.com) for any and all questions. Genie keeps me up to date on all questions as we travel for wedding season. She is truly my “little Genie”! If you need help with booking your hotel, understanding the area, flights, payment options, shoot her an email!

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Click HERE to register today and make YOUR DAY or her DAY!!

We’ll see you in Washington DC!!! xoxoxo, Me Ra

p.s. On Thursday, we start a NEW photo contest! It’s going to be a fun one!!

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Our Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series is continuing to grow, faster than we know what to do with! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese and (They are BACK IN STOCK!! Yeah!!), our 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the titles of your choice!

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June 24th, 2009

Headed to Pictage Headquarters Today!

This morning we packed the kids up, kissed Prince Phillip–the cat and Rosie–our Golden Retriever, gave the house sitters the keys, and headed to the airport. We are en route to begin a two week journey with the kids. Part of the trip is for business and part for pleasure, and a BIG part is going down to a small town in Southern CA for a big, secret Sony project that is going to be amazing.

But today it starts with Pictage headquarters.

Pictage is the online, pro lab we use for all our prints. The company has a new CEO, Jim Collins, and the word on the street is that he is awesome.

He took his new position when we were in Thailand, and so some of you have probably already met him. If you have, what did you think?

Jim has set aside two hours to sit and meet with me and Brian, AND the Pictage crew finally gets to meet our kids face to face. I’m excited to hear what Jim is planning with the company. We owe a lot to Pictage and the former VP, Jeff Jochum. Those two forces combined helped get us on the map in the wedding world of speaking and tradeshow conferences. If anything Pictage is about community. If you’ve never been to a Partner Con (Pictage conference), you MUST go! I think the next one is going to happen in New Orleans this November! If 10,000 photographers at WPPI stresses you out, Partnercon is the next best thing. Smaller classes, lots of one on one connections with the speakers, great networking–Partnercon rocks.

You can also check out Pictage’s blog by CLICKING HERE! They have fun and informative podcast interviews with industry photographers. They also have a new service called Pictage Lite. If your photography business is in the beginning stages, and you don’t need something as robust as all the Pictage services, you can try Pictage Lite. (And our 2009 workshop attendees will get the first year free as a gift from Pictage!)

Tonight we’re going to head over to Disneyland to see the fireworks! Kids have never been to Disneyland. We’re excited about that. You should hear Blaze talk a million miles an hour regarding the “happiest place on earth”!

We also have meetings this week with entertainment agents, product licensing companies and more! Then we head to the big Sony project. (oooh, the anticipation of being able to tell you all the news is killing me!)

But in the midst of it all, we haven’t forgot about Virginia’s slideshow! Stay tuned, it’s ALMOST DONE!! YEAH!!! And I know I keep saying it, but the DC workshop details are almost there! The kids are so excited to see the White House! And we’re so excited to meet all of you!

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Want to learn more about Aperture and Shutter Speed? Check out our DVD series! The Refuse to Say Cheese DVD series are now AWARD WINNING! Read the press release HERE ! If you haven’t ordered your own copy yet, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese and , and our 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the titles of your choice!

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February 19th, 2009

Top Eleven Highlights to WPPI 2009!

The TOP ELEVEN Highlights to WPPI 2009!

1. Reunion Time!

We’ve gone to WPPI for the last three years, and every year it feels like a bigger and better reunion with friends you only see once a year. My dear friend, Sara France, and the awesome Robert Evans, hosted the best Photography Mentor/GOBee Bag party yet! It was Sunday night, and the BEST way to kick of the whole tradeshow week! Thanks you two for all the hard work that goes into throwing such a great party! And thanks for making it open to so many people. The heart of you two is always wanting to invite people in, and it’s a very cool thing! Check out Robert’s Photography Mentor site and Sara’s NEW, AWESOME blog!

2. Master Class Blast!

Our Master Class on Photo Coaching was a BLAST! Bronson took a ton of images that I haven’t even had a chance to look at, but I’ll post some up soon. We had a full class, and the energy in the room was awesome! Thanks to every one who signed up for our Master Class. It was a honor to spend those hours with you! So many of you approached us over the next two days and thanked us for the class. Your feedback meant the world! Thank you!! I also have to do a special SHOUT OUT to Roxie at Pixel 2 Canvas! She and Curt made these AMAZING canvases of our work and a HUGE, beautiful banner outside our door.

The whole thing looked amazing! Roxie, send me our photo so I can post it up here! Thank you to Pixel 2 Canvas from the bottom of our heart! (And thanks to the lovely ladies who helped in the background! You three were dolls!)

3. Stealing the Mic!

Tuesday afternoon, Brian and I did a talk at the Pictage booth with Denis Reggie.

For those of you who don’t know, Denis Reggie has been a hero to us since we first took his workshop in the early days (amazing workshop for wedding photographers). To be invited to speak with Denis was a wonderful honor. (but I soon realized that I had to GRAB the microphone from the man to get a word in edge wise! :) ) Thanks to Mike in Hawaii from Mango Tree Photography for capturing this great image!

4. Heartfelt Dinner

Later that night we had a special dinner with a handful of Pictage leaders. Half way through the dinner, I convinced Mike Colon to switch places with me at the table so I could get to know Joe Buissink better. Joe’s work astounds me and Brian. His images leave us breathless. But his passion for photography is what moves me the most. I lucked out b/c Mike switched places, and I had the most wonderful, heartfelt conversation with Joe. We talked about all the things that are closest to my heart when it comes to being an artist; how do we build more confidence, how does our pain in life affect our art, and a few other wonderful conversations that I’ll share at our Discovery Workshop. Joe, thank you for sharing your heart. My time with you was a definite, unexpected highlight to our week!

5. Brian doing the River Dance!

Pictage hosted a HUGE party at Studio 54 (or 59?) late Tuesday night. I pretty much walked in and in 15 minutes had to turn around and walk out. It was the craziest experience b/c I felt so dizzy inside the club (and I wasn’t drinking :) ). I think my Audio Deficit Disorder played into it b/c my equilibrium was thrown completely off that we had to head out. The moment we walked out the door, and the music was gone, I had my sense of balance back. So Me Ra learned something new. She can’t hang out in loud, and I mean SUPER loud, dance clubs. :) Since the night was young, Brian and I joined up with Airika and Gerald Pope and Katie and Chris Torres and found ourselves at the Nine Fine Irishmen pub where they had a Irish band performing. Brian, being an expert River Dancer (as many of you have come to realize, Brian is an expert on just about every thing), did his river dance with Chris! That was a definite HIGHLIGHT for me. ;)

6. Jeramy and Sharon Showed UP!

Right before WPPI, Jeramy (our token male commenter :) ), emailed us and said he and Sharon were coming to WPPI for the first day! Brian and I were so excited to see them! But we didn’t get done with our speaking sessions and appointments until almost 9:30pm. When we got up to our room that night, we called Jeramy and Sharon. They had changed into their PJ’s and opened a bottle of wine. We asked them if they were up to meeting us for dessert, and so awesome, they totally ditched the bottle of wine and had dessert with us! I laughed so hard that night I almost wet my pants! Thanks you two for coming out! We are so glad we got some time with you both!

7. Workshop Ladies Going for It!

Brian and I also ran into a handful of ladies from our San Diego workshop! These beautiful ladies all came to WPPI together and were having a BLAST! Some of them showed me their photography since they did our workshop, and I was speechless. Totally speechless! I’m so proud of you ladies! And way to go! WPPI is such a great thing for your business! I can’t wait to hear stories of how the week impacted all of YOU!

8. Hearing the NEW news!

We spent a few hours with the awesome founders behind Shoot Dot Edit, the BEST post process company ever! And ladies (and gents!), I’m excited to say that I got the newest scoop that you are going to LOVE! Shoot Dot Edit is now accepting a la carte orders! This means you don’t have to upload a wedding to have them color process your images! You can send them a 100 images from a Portrait Shoot, have them all color balanced, and only pay around $22! It’s INSANE!!! How can you beat that price! And I’m telling you, these guys care about your images as much as you do! We are proof of it! Yeah for the new A La Carte MENU!!! Check it out portrait ladies!

9. All Frozen Pea Jokes

…from my twitter and facebook status! Oh boy, Brian has such a great attitude! :)

10. Family!

We literally ended our time with seeing family! And that was the BEST way to end a great week! Brian’s sister, brother in law, and our niece live in Vegas b/c they are key players to the creative choreography in Le Reve, the Cirque Du Soleil show at the Wynn. Before we headed to the airport yesterday, we got to spend some precious hours with them. Not enough time, not enough. But it was such a wonderful, rich way to end our time! love you guys!

11. Coming Home Means…

We have two days and then we leave for TWO MONTHS to Thailand! Can you believe it?!! We leave with the kids on Saturday to start our adventure of Jungle School in Thailand! Ooooh, we are going to have fun on this blog over the next several weeks!

Honest to goodness, I think this was the best WPPI we’ve ever been too! Every year it gets better and better! Next year, you must be there! Big thanks to Bill, Skip, Shawna and all the those behind the scenes!!

p.s. I didn’t have as much time to follow your comments on the last couple posts. But I’m glad you all had fun with Brian’s “snip-snip” post. That was the talk of the show! :) And we’re all super excited about how the tuition and new Focus Groups meets your needs even more for the Discovery Workshop! Thanks for all the blog comments!

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WIN A SONY CAMERA!! It’s a NATIONWIDE CONTEST that Woman’s World and Sony are sponsoring with us! For details, CLICK HERE!

Register for our Upcoming Discovery Workshop! Ladies Only! :) CLICK HERE to get your spot!

For fun photo exercises, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese and (They are BACK IN STOCK!! Yeah!!), our 101 Kits for starting or expanding a in , click on the words of your choice!

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February 2nd, 2009

Setting the Timer for One Minute: A Breakable Bridge!

Sometime in December, Brian woke up one morning and said, “I want us try something different today. Let’s start teaching the kids how to hear from God.”

He gathered us in the living room and pulled out his cell phone. Brian asked us if there were people each of us wanted to pray for as a family. We all had a few people on our hearts, even the kids, so Brian wrote all their names down in a new journal. He looked at the kids and said, “Okay, we’re going to try something different. We’re going to take one person or family at a time, and we’re going to set the timer on my cell phone for one minute. For one minute, I want us all to be quiet and see if God gives us pictures, words or senses for any of these people. We’ll wait for one minute for each person, so you kids don’t feel like it’s going to last forever. God speaks to me and your mom so we can encourage others, and I think He has a lot He wants to say to you kids too.” Pascaline and Blaze’s eyes were big.

Can I say that ever since Brian started this exercise in our family, every thing has changed. We do this a couple times a week. Our journal is already filling up with dozens of pictures and words for people. The kids have had ideas to mail a certain card or gift to another kid they know. And sometimes they have pictures that blow our mind. It’s been an amazing adventure.

The other day, Blaze, who is only four years old, had a picture for me. And when he explained the picture to me, I felt like it was not only for me but so many people right now. So without wanting to offend anyone, I thought I’d share it today.

When the timer went off, Blaze piped up and said “Mama, I had a big picture and it wasn’t about Batman Lego’s!” (up until this point, Blaze had a sense that we should give every person Batman Lego’s. ;) )

“Mama, there was a wide sea that stretched so far, farther than I could see. Across the sea stretched a breakable bridge. You were on the bridge mom and holding on tight because the bridge was so breakable. Then sharks started jumping out of the water, trying to bite you and eat up the bridge and you! Just when you thought the bridge would break, God’s hands swooped down, surrounded you, and led you across the bridge. The breakable bridge broke apart behind each step you took, but God led you all the way across. You were never hurt. The sharks never bit you. The breakable bridge never broke on you.”

You can imagine that I sat there literally stunned. God was speaking to my heart right through my four year old.

I had to share this one with you b/c in the last couple weeks I’ve received several emails and had several phone calls with photographers, newbies and pros, who feel like their bridge is breaking from underneath them. Economic times make the bridge feel more unstable than ever. And I’m sure we could all list a handful of sharks that feel like they are waiting for us to fail and fall into the water.

And yet, I do believe that God is in the midst of all this. Blaze is right. God is reaching His hand out to us and covering us, leading us, helping us to the other side. He has not forgotten you or me. If you feel like you are barely keeping your footing on that breakable bridge today, I pray you would feel His peace surround you. His hand guide you. And your hope refreshed, that yes, you will make it to the other side.

On a side note, I want to wish my wonderful, amazing husband a happy birthday. Brian’s birthday was on Saturday this last weekend, and we didn’t really get to celebrate him b/c I was sick from all the immunization shots. If you have a minute, will you wish him a happy birthday too? This one man has ushered so much healing and restoration into my life. And to watch him teach our kids how to listen to God…how does a wife express how much something like that means? Words cannot express how much my heart celebrates Brian.

Happy Birthday honey. I love you with all my heart.

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November 21st, 2008

Team Shooting Today for Misty and Jujuan!

Two of our dearest friends are getting married today! Brian and I want to send them a BIG congrats on our blog!!!

Misty and Jajuan, we LOVE YOU!!!

We will be team shooting their wedding with Yuriy and Julia today. I’m so excited because we rarely get to shoot together. Usually Brian and I are shooting in one place, and Yuriy and Julia are somewhere else. But not today! Today we get to work with our Amazing Associates! We’re going to shoot the Getting Ready Photos and the Bride and Groom shots all together. Then Brian and I will hand the rest of the day off to Yuriy and Julia so we can pick up the kids and guests at the wedding ceremony and reception. This is one celebration we want to party at! :)

Misty and I met ten years ago! My mom introduced us, and the rest is history. Misty has this amazing gift of encouragement. If you are ever feeling down on yourself, have coffee with Misty. She’ll bring your spirits back up in no time! Back in the book days, Misty would come with me to my speaking engagements/book tours and help run the book table and administration details for me. Her belief in me was and is an incredible gift.

Now she is running her own photography business. Check out her blog!

But Jajuan…I met Jajuan 20 years ago! He would come over and play with my little brothers. And my favorite story about Jajuan is that my mom would tell him he had to go home because it was dinner time. So Jajuan would say goodbye, and my mom would close the door. But then (sometimes a couple hours later), one of us would walk by the front door and notice someone standing outside through the stained glass window. It would be Jajuan! Just standing there this whole time, waiting for us to finish dinner so he could keep playing with my brothers. Hilarious!

Now he’s this 6’4 man who my kids often use as a point of reference when they’re trying to figure out how tall something is. “Is it taller than Mr. Jajuan?” they ask. If not, it must not be that tall. Shoot, Jajuan has to duck his head when he walks in the front door! (Yes, he has played semi pro basketball.)

Yuriy did a great job on these engagement photos. To see them all, check out Yuriy’s blog!

Misty and Jajuan, we will see you in a few hours! We love you so much! Yeah!! It’s YOUR wedding day today!!

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Upcoming Workshops UPDATE!

SEATTLE-I thought we had one space left before, but we had two and someone grabbed it, so now we really do have ONE spot left for the Seattle December Workshop!! Who is the lucky lady that is going to get the last spot?! Register for the workshop and give yourself the perfect Christmas gift! Click HERE to register!

ATLANTA-Start 2009 with a weekend of inspiration! If you live on the East Coast and want an inspiring type of Christmas gift for your loved one, send her to Atlanta! The dates are January 16th and 17th! Register here !!

For fun photo exercises, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese (see the downloadable version that is now available if you live outside the US!), our 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the words of your choice! To read a great review done on our DVDs, click here!

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October 22nd, 2008

Why Do This?

Someone in the comments yesterday said, “How is this (asking us what our questions are) going to help you with your feeling overwhelmed?” Great question! Answer is…

When we’ve been on the road a lot with shoots and speaking, I know that when I come home I need to reconnect myself to the things I value and love. I make my Purple Kale drink. :) I snuggle with the kids. I pretend like I know how to walk our dog. I write. I watch movies with Brian in front of the fire. I go to the gym. And I wonder how my blog readers are doing.

With being gone so much these last few months, I feel to distant from all of you. I want to know what your thinking about, how life is going, how your photography adventures are unfolding, what is stumping you, what is frustrating you, and especially, what glass ceilings you’ve broken through. These are the things I love to hear about when we connect on the blog. Your brave experiences are the reason behind my “why” for doing this blog.

So thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your questions yesterday, all your emails. I LOVED hearing where you are at, what your struggling through, what we can discuss. I love knowing we can start having conversations that may change things around. This is thrilling for me.

Keep your questions coming! We are going to do Photography Q&A Segments on the blog over the next few weeks and start tackling your questions. I’ve even made a category for just these posts. Ask anything. Don’t worry about sounding to beginner or silly. We all start somewhere, and I’m so excited you’ve started!

Check back this afternoon for the first question(s) we tackle together!

Talk soon! Me Ra

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October 1st, 2008

Let’s Talk about James Nachtwey Too!

Have you heard of the Ted Talks? If not, let’s start there. I think they say it best on their site;

“TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

The TED Conference, held annually in the spring, is the heart of TED. More than a thousand people now attend, the event sells out a year in advance, and the content has expanded to include science, business, the arts and the global issues facing our world. Over four days, 50 speakers each take an 18-minute slot, and there are many shorter pieces of content, including music, performance and comedy. There are no breakout groups. Everyone shares the same experience. It shouldn’t work, but it does. It works because all of knowledge is connected. Every so often it makes sense to emerge from the trenches we dig for a living, and ascend to a 30,000-foot view, where we see, to our astonishment, an intricately interconnected whole.”

Out of all 50 speakers, only three are picked as the winners. The three winners are given a grant of $100,000 to help make their “One Wish to Change the World” come true.

James Nachtwey is one of the most amazing war photographers of our time.

He also became one of the three TED winners. Read this quick bio for more info on him. His “one wish to change the world” was this;

“I’m working on a story that the world needs to know about. I wish for you to help me break it, in a way that provides spectacular proof of the power of news photography in the digital age.”

From what I understand, no one knows what this story is about. The unveiling of this story and his images happens globally this Friday, October 3rd! This is an event photographers and non-photographers have been sitting on the edge of their chair to see.

If you’d like to see his moving Ted talk go to this link. I highly encourage you to see this clip, but keep in mind, it’s not for children. His war images are to disturbing for my little ones to see. Just an fyi for you.

James Nachtwey is a man that deserves talking about. Tell me what you think after you’ve watched his talk. It shook my inner most being to listen to his talk and see his images.

Set your calendar and mark your this page to see the unveiling on Friday!

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September 15th, 2008

Is My Normalcy Your Insanity or Vice Versa? :)

It has been a crazy 10 days, but I love it ALL. Some of my friends think our life is insane. But I remember Roger, our counselor, telling me years ago. “Me Ra, you are just who you are. Your normalcy will often be people’s insanity. What’s important is that you know who you are, how you function and what brings you fulfillment.”

For example…

A week ago today, I was speaking at the More than Emotion event.

Tuesday and Wednesday, Brian and I spoke at Partnercon in LA.

Thursday I was back in Seattle. The kids and I ripped into the Sonlight Curriculum boxes and started homeschool!

Friday we did homeschool for four hours. Then Brian did a dad’s night with the kids while I went to Seattle.

For my grandma’s 78th birthday, I took her to see Phantom of the Opera (AMAZING!).

We also had dinner, stayed at my favorite spot, Inn at the Market, and then talked and giggled until 2am.

I love my grandma.

Saturday, my grandma and I walked around Pike Place Market,

had lunch and then picked up my brother’s girlfriend and drove to Edmonds.

Rachel, my brother’s beautiful and sweet girlfriend, and I had an early dinner.

I got home at 6pm on Saturday, Brian and the kids piled into the car. We went to church.

Sunday we gardened, went swimming and had a fun candlelight dinner on the deck with the kids.

Monday morning, hit the gym at 6:30am, breakfast for the kids, shower, and start work by 9am.

Tuesday, we start a new week of homeschool!

And so it goes and goes.

It’s busy around here, and yes, I do need a ton of structure to keep my sanity. But I ove structure, and I LOVE our life.

I love my life. (Amy or Jamie, did you ever think I’d say that? :) )

I love the craziness and the fast pace. I love the moments we breathe deep as a family while planting our winter seeds in the garden or harvesting our cherry tomatoes. I love the laziness of sitting by the pool and catching up with friends or swimming like a dolphin with my kids. And I love the privilege of travel and being able to meet, teach, photograph and speak to so many of you.

Part of the territory with this kind of craziness in life is to feel spread thin at times. Or feel like I could do things so much better whether it be personally or with work. Sometimes I feel like I’m failing because everything around me is moving fast. This is why my garden is so important. This is why homeschooling with Brian and the kids keep me grounded. This is why green drinks with purple kale are a necessity after I get home from a trip.

Should I slow down? Sometimes yes, other times no. I have people to keep me in check when it comes to that question.

The bigger issue I face is to not buy into the lie that life is meant to be perfect–if I just work hard enough at it. Anyone relate? :)

Here’s the saving grace of it all…when you juggle a lot, perfection doesn’t get invited over for dinner as often. No room at the table. :)

At night I feel a deep peace inside my spirit, and I know that as long as that peace is strong and present…we are in the right place. BUT, I have to be careful not to compare my life to others. The moment I start to compare, weeds sprout everywhere and choke out all peace.

But what about you? Do you feel like your normalcy is other people’s insanity? If yes, is this okay with you? Do you have a peace at night too? Or do you feel like something needs to change in your life?

If no, is this okay with you? Do you feel content at the end of the day? Or do you find yourself yearning for something more?

It’s so important to check in with ourselves and know that our life, however chaotic, crazy, insane, calm, quiet, or even routine…whatever side of the spectrum…we know this is where we are supposed to be until our next step is revealed. Only then can we stand tall in our own normalcy.

Does that make any sense? Talk to me.

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FYI, our Annual Martini Garden Party is this Wed. at our place. You coming? :) Email us if you are! mera@merakoh.com

For fun photo exercises, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese , our 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the words of your choice! We just had a great review done on our DVDs, read about it here!

The Chicago Workshop is sold out. But the Seattle December Workshop is now open for registration! Click HERE to register!

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September 11th, 2008

Top Ten Moments from Pictage Partner Conference!

I can’t believe I haven’t blogged this week! I have to thank all of you for being so good to me b/c life got to crazy to blog. Is it really almost Friday?!

The TOP TEN Moments from the crazy, full week at Pictage’s Partner Conference were;

1. The beautiful night we had at the Women’s Only speaking event!

2. Watching Brian dance at the Pool Party to Sweet Home Alabama. I still can’t believe he didn’t do a cannonball into the pool. He was so close!

3. Seeing Dane sign his book for people. What a great feeling that moment is for a writer!

4. Finding a guitar in LA (read below for the story on this).

5. Crying with Carlos Baez (again!). Carlos in one of my favorite people in the industry. You must hear him speak someday if you haven’t already.

6. Having lunch with Jessica Claire as she candidly but seriously challenges me and Brian to go for it even more with our business and dreams.

7. Listening to one of my favorite photographers speak, Joe Buissink. What an amazing man and artist. Prepare yourself, his images are amazing!

8. Meeting lots of new friends, like Grace!

9. Waiting for Brian to show up with our presentation as I stall for almost fifteen minutes in front of our audience. Oh yeah, that was awesome. Thanks honey! Read the story below. :)

and #10, the most MEMORABLE moment at Partnercon was when my mouth dropped open as…

10. Brian did a hilarious spontaneous impersonation of Denis Reggie that Ron taped…that is going to bite us for sure! (Denis, you know we love you and owe pretty much every thing to you!)

Cliff Notes…

Monday night was the More than Emotion , all women’s speaking engagement. I’ve wanted to do this for two years, and it finally happened this year. Wow, it was amazing! Can I tell you the stories behind this night? They are kind of long, so if you want to read it all scroll down and read below the bar where it says “Full Length Notes”.

The next day Brian and I presented together on a new term we’ve made up called, Photo Coaching (It’s all about how to help your clients relax in front of the camera). Brian was a little nervous before the session. And we made a bunch of changes right before we started. He told me he’d meet me at the room we were speaking in, but after I had introduced myself, done ALL our giveaways, there was still no sign of Brian. I almost thought he ditched me! But then he came through the door, and I asked the whole audience to stand up and cheer for him. So funny!

We got great feedback from everyone. So many people said we were like a stand up comedy routine, and if you’ve seen Brian and I teach together before, you know we had a serious blast! Lots of women were wishing they knew about the women’s event the night before, and they all heard there was lots of crying. I’m glad we left them laughing by Tuesday afternoon. :) Have to keep the balance, right! If you want to join Brian and I before 2008 ends, we have a few spots left in our Seattle Workshop!

Did we meet this last week in LA? If so, please stay in touch! Become a Facebook friend or comment on the blog or feel free to email us at mera@merakoh.com. We also took our picture with a bunch of you. Email us the link to your blog where we can find it or email us the image. We would love to have a copy too!

If you missed our Photo Coaching talk, good news! The talk we did was a condensed version of what we’ll be doing for WPPI as a Master Class in February 2009! Mark your calendar because we’ll have even more time to entertain and laugh with you!

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Full Length Notes… :)

But here is the scoop with what happened for the ladies event…

I had been praying for this night for a few weeks, and every time I prayed I would start crying. I couldn’t escape this impression on my heart that some of the women coming had a lot of pain and heaviness in their heart. I cried the whole way to the airport and all the way through security. It was as if God was breaking my heart for each woman coming Monday night.

I also felt like I wanted to have someone play the guitar at the end and sing over the women. It was abstract in my mind, but I wanted to end the night with women being able to “just be” and this guitar/singer sing healing type melodies over the women. But I don’t sing, and I don’t have a guitar. So I put out the word and made a couple calls. This friend knew someone, who knew someone, who knew someone that played the guitar and sang. Turns out she was unable to make it because of late notice.

But she knew someone who knew someone. I called that woman, and she wanted to do it but was sick. Everyone was super kind to me on the phone for not knowing me from anywhere. And the last call had kindness that blew me away. This woman, that I have never met or know from anyone, tells me she can’t do it b/c she’s sick but I can use her guitar if I don’t mind picking it up.

Well I don’t really know LA at all. I’m thinking she could be forty minutes away from where we are. We are actually on the 405 at this point and headed to the conference. Turns out she is only TWO exits away. In five minutes I am picking up a guitar from her! What are the odds! We head to the conference, I hand the guitar to Garrett (our dear friend who is co owner of Shoot Dot Edit and turns out to be an amazing musician). I ask him to come and play at the end, singing healing songs over the women. He looks at me like I’m crazy and says “Sure Me Ra. I’ll try it. Sounds good.” I love Garrett!

Twenty four women show up that night which is great for the last minute marketing we did. We all laughed, shared our experiences, I talked about different aspects of feminine wisdom, and there was an incredible safety in the room. At the end, I had Garrett join us and he played the guitar singing the most beautiful healing songs. The women let me pray over them, and we all felt like we had taken an amazing journey together. It was an incredible night.

I’m thinking we’ll be doing this again. Maybe in Vegas in February at WPPI 09? :) Give me a shout if you think women need to gather together more often at these photography conferences!

The funniest part to me was how many men asked if they could stay and listen too. The men were all so kind about it. It kind of reminds me of the dynamic of how women go to the bathroom together and men wondering what they’re talking about…

Thanks to all the men that supported me doing this event like, my sweetie Brian, Robert and the Photography Mentor Team, Garrett and Jared for helping me find that guitar! You guys are all amazing! Thank you!

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August 28th, 2008

San Diego Ladies, THANK YOU!!!!

Brian and I got the most wonderful gift in the mail.

The San Diego workshop ladies, sent us a package with page upon page of thank you’s and feedback from our time together this last May.

Wow, this was so unexpected. Brian and I were overwhelmed to read some of the things you wrote. Thank you so much for sharing from your heart and letting Brian and I know how much the workshop not only impacted your love for photography but your own inner wells of creativity, femininity, and healing. Brian and I were speechless as we read all your beautiful comments.

And on top of all this, the San Diego ladies sent us a beautiful necklace. Well, they sent me the necklace–not Brian. :) And I LOVE it!!

One of the mommy models in our workshop has her own jewelry business and made this herself. So beautiful. The necklace says “San Diego” through and through. This is a photo of her and her daughters. The amazing Carey of Barefoot Memories caught this beautiful shot.

Every time we teach a workshop, Brian and I feel so blessed to make new lifetime friends. We see lives change, healing ushered, and creativity infused. The weekends together are truly divine times. Thank you for affirming this in all that you wrote to us. Seeing your names took me back down memory lane!

(all these San Diego workshop photos are from Carey’s fantastic blog!)

All this talk makes me excited for the Chicago and Seattle workshops. Who will we meet? What challenges will these women face? What freedom will they find? What things will we laugh about and cry about? I can’t wait. Brian is especially excited about the crying part! :)

Last thing, if you haven’t been able to register for the Truth or Dare 1 day conference, the registration is running! I’m going to end the whole day with a special event for women only. It’s called “More than Emotion: The Undercurrents of Feminine Wisdom”. Click the title to read all the details around this special session that is so close to my heart.

The whole day is crazy cheap! $39 per person. AND everyone gets a free PDF copy of Fast Track Photographer by Dane Sanders. Insane, huh!! Come join us! It’s going to be crazy fun!

Also, if you are interested in more details on the Seattle December Workshop, click here. For the next couple weeks, we are offering the Early Bird Discount. See all the good stuff by clicking away!

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