Long Week

Well it has been a while since I have been here to visit. And you all thought I was on vacation. Little did you know. Away on a trip like this, the laundry needs to be done, the groceries need to be brought in, the oil changed in the car, the car washed, etc. etc. That took up Sunday, except for a little diversion to the Guadalupe Cafe for brunch.

Right now I am back in the laundry room washing so I can pack later tonight and head to Phoenix tomorrow after class to meet my lovely bride.

The Santa Fe Workshops class has been amazing and a real workout. It started with a session going late into the night Sunday and has started every day at 8:30, gone until 2 or 2:30 then photo assignments and back for evening sessions. The only evening with nothing on the plate was Tuesday. Today, Friday, we have another evening session with non-competitive (yea right!) slide shows between the five different classes currently going on. How non-competitive? Well the expectation has been set that we will "kick their ass".

The pictures I have submitted have been some good some bad. The class has participants from Germany, France, and South Africa. To say nothing of the big hitters. One guy was a fashion photographer in New York and did LandsEnd catalogs. The French guy specializes in equine photography. There was a woman from Spokane who got the altitude sickness and had to head home. Dan Hoffman from Wisconsin shoots for boat company ads. Etc., etc., etc. I am clearly the rookie but for the most part have held my own.

To top it off the instructor is Patrick Donahue of Corbis. He has an incredible amount of knowledge and understanding of the stock photography market and is very generous with his time. In addition he is a darn nice guy. I would take another class from him in a heartbeat!

So what was our only night off? Fat Tuesday of course! After a relaxing dinner at The Shedd (chicken enchilada, beef burrito, red & green chile sauces and margharitas) I started to walk back to the car. Yes, even here in Santa Fe they celebrate Mardi Gras. So I followed along for a bit. About 20 to 30 folks in various stages of public drunkenness going from bar to bar with music. Check some of them out.

Well I will sign our for now. I am back on the grid. I will head out in the morning. Weather report/forecast -

SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT
UNTIL 5 AM MST SATURDAY
Wswabq

Urgent - Winter Weather Message... Corrected National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 245 PM MST Fri Feb 23 2007... Snow And Blowing Snow Advisory For The Northern Mountains Above 7500 Tonight...A Late Winter Storm Moving Across Northern New Mexico And Southern Colorado Will Generate Snow And Strong Winds In The Northern New Mexico Mountains Overnight. Northwest Mountains Including Jemez-Sangre De Cristo Mountains- Including The Cities Of... Chama/Los Alamos... Red River/Taos/Santa Fe 245 PM MST Fri Feb 23 2007

WooHoo! Could be an exciting drive.