new experiences...

i have been loving my online forum of ladies from evolve and explore (the online workshops i participated in last year) but have been searching for local opportunities to meet with or work with other photographers in the area. anyway, one late night while doing some online surfing, i discovered a bunch of local meet up groups and one of them was a photography meet up group. i decided to fill out the application and see if i would be accepted. a few weeks later, i got an e-mail saying i had been accepted and last night i attended my first meet up. the topic was "external flashes". i really am very much into natural light photography, but thought that sometimes you get into a situation and a little flash can really save you if you know how to use it correctly. so grams watched the munchkin and i drove out to euless...calling her when i got there to let her know it was legit (i know, paranoid, but you never know). there were about 10 people there and it was at one of the participants home studio. everyone was so nice and there are all different experience levels, so that's nice. i really did learn so much and actually have a little itch to get an external flash to play with...
at the end of the session, the man that did the presentation, an experienced photographer asked if anyone would be interested in coming along on a shoot to see the flashes in action and help. of course, i jumped on that. i have actually contacted a few local photographers in the area seeking out this type of experience and have never gotten any sort of response...that really surprised me...i mean, who doesn't want a free set of hands. i'm not sure, maybe it is more trouble than i am aware of, but was dissapointed anyway. so when ray asked it really just made me so happy to know there are people out there that are willing to share their knoweldge with others or even just offer the opportunity to be a fly on the wall and learn something. i am so excited about this new group and am hoping to learn so much and make some new friends. it really is a wonderful experience to be in a group of people that share the same passion. i love photography. right now it is a hobby...i don't know if it will ever be more than that, but i know i love it and want to learn as much as i can!