Humbled by Lighten Up and Shoot

I am sincerely humbled by Andy & Mikey of Lighten Up & Shoot's blog post today - see here. Ok, let's be honest - I am jumping up and down excited with glee too! It was watching Mikey & Andy's videos that inspired Susan Roderick and I to make our own. To think that a month ago Susan and I had never made a video in our lives, and now we're on Lighten Up & Shoot's blog - it's kind of unreal!  I couldn't have summed up what Susan and I are creating with our behind the LIVE community better than Andy:

"Their plan, bring to the world what happens when the creativeLive camera's are off! They get in a little further, more personal, more real and more...well fun! I really love the idea they have for so many reasons! I mean think about it people, they are in a position where they get to not only meet but interact with the best photographers/teachers on this planet! Instead of them being all selfish and keeping it to themselves, they share with the world! Now that's brilliant!" 

We have been blessed to be volunteer chat hosts at the coolest creative school EVER - creativeLIVE. As Andy says, we want to share our experiences with YOU - because that's what it's all about. When everyone shares, everyone wins. There are no losers in the creativeLIVE philosophy. Right? creativeLIVE co-founder Chase Jarvis is an open book with his blog and Chase Jarvis Live. I love the concept.


No time like the present to sign up for Lighten Up and Shoot's creativeLIVE workshop - July 29-31. It's FREE - and that's downright amazing. No doubt they will take us all on a wild ride, gringos-who-also-said-adios-to-the-Man-and-live-in-Columbia style!

In the meantime, Lighten Up and Shoot are touring the world teaching workshops - check out the schedule here. But the beauty of Mikey & Andy is that they bring FREE photography education to each and every one of you in the comfort of your own home. They have hilarious and yet incredibly educational videos on YouTube with hours of content about not just lighting, but so much more. I dig their style, and that's an understatement! Kindred spirits? Creo que si!

Check these gringos out on www.lightenupandshoot.com! Subscribe to their YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/mikeyorange?blend=2&ob=1!

creativeLIVE karma

Hi, my name is Kenna and I am a creativeLIVE addict. If founder Craig Swanson at creativeLIVE says jump, I say "how high"? Perhaps I wouldn't jump off a bridge if Craig suggested it, but these days I find myself willing to do most anything for creativeLIVE. Name my first baby boy Craig Chase Klosterman?? hmmm - not sure about that one either...

I ask myself, why am I such a groupie that I preach and tweet, tweet and preach about creativeLIVE all day long? Well, because my life is all about the interconnected cycle of giving, receiving, giving, receiving. That's kinda how the world works in my humble opinion. creativeLIVE karma - yes, that's it. As Craig says, I'm a true believer.

creativeLIVE gives me and the world free creative education, and we all receive it with gratitude, pass it on to others around us, make the world a better place using the tools we have learned. Try it on for size - pay it forward by turning friends and colleagues on to creativeLIVE, and see how it changes their lives like it has yours and mine. CL founders Chase Jarvis and Craig Swanson believe in the democratization of creative education - and they are walking the walk, not just talking the talk. My fellow partner-in-crime-chat-hostess Susan Roderick and I are stunned every single day with how much we have learned from our involvement in creativeLIVE over the past year - for free. Wow - were we ever in the right place at the right time to have become volunteer chat hosts at CL? Thank you Universe!

The list of upcoming FREE photography workshops in 2011 is not just impressive, it's downright crazy talk! Vincent Laforet and Jasmine Star are BOTH back in the CL house after stellar weekend workshops in 2010. And the workshop announcements have only just begun. Meanwhile - there are a ton of other exciting weekly classes in addition to these weekend workshops - can you say John Greengo? And I'm not just talking about classes on photography, but courses exploring many more avenues of the creative life. Plus, the archive of classes that can be purchased for ridiculously low prices is long and growing.

Here's a brief summary of what creativeLIVE has announced so far for the weekend workshop series:

March 4-6: HDDSLR - Moving from Still to Video with Vincent Laforet

Creative Live Promo from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.


March 18-20: Posing and Lighting with Bambi Cantrell



April 9-10: Building Your Wedding Photography Business with Jasmine Star



May 13-15: Food & Culture Photography with Penny De Los Santos



July 29-31: Street Photography with Mikey & Andy of Lighten Up and Shoot


But wait, there's bound to be much much more. Are you ready? I am!

Alright Craig - what do you have for us next? And what can WE (the interwebs) do in return for that juicy creativeLIVE sharing-of-goodness karma next? 

Social art is good for the world

As I listen to Chase Jarvis give his keynote at PDN PhotoPlus Expo, I am inspired over and over. The energy is palpable even though I'm watching by myself in my pajamas over tea. As I read the twitter feed and see Chase ask questions from other folks around the world who are also glued to their screens, I feel connected. This is a beautiful thing. I am humbled and thrilled that my life path has twisted and turned so many times and brought me to my now, this moment. As Zack Arias says, it took him 15 years but he is finally in his element, finally where he is meant to be. Ditto. That's me. I feel like I'm part of a rebel club. "The career paths that we have been taught to follow no longer exist." Thank you for this reconfirmation in my choices. I am finally allowing myself to build my photography business, build my art, and share those pieces of me with the world. And they are not just pieces of me, because what I do is a collaboration. I too believe that is what it's all about - the sharing. As Chase says, it just feels good - "Being creative makes this world a better place."

Global warming, yes. But Chase notes that our global creativity is also plummeting, creating a different kind of crisis. So what do we do? Chase led a conversation with artists who also are breaking the mold: Jasmine Star, Joey Lawrence, Zack Arias, Rob Haggart, Vincent Laforet. Get better! Thank you each for sharing your struggles and hard work. I'm signing up to be fearless about putting myself out there, because leaping over those fears again and again is what got all of these artists to where they are today and where they are going tomorrow.

I will say it over and over, but I am so thrilled that I was in the right place at the right time and have the rare opportunity to be a chat host for Craig Swanson and Chase Jarvis' live worldwide creative classroom - creativeLIVE. Thank you Craig. Thank you Chase.

Democratization of creativity - it starts with you and me and the artist in everyone. Keep it going - get backwards, break the rules, flip whatever "IT" is on its head, wake up every morning and not just follow, but create your new path for the day. What are you sharing today?



Chase says "what is social art? i can't say exactly what it is, but i know it when i see it." Well, when i saw this video about photographer/social change artist JR, I can't think of any greater definition of social art. And what JR is creating and sharing is truly good for the world, one smile at a time.