Recently Matt and I have been traveling and spending time with so many of our amazingly talented friends (new and old). We have tried to make it a point to surround ourselves with people who are excited about facing challenges and living their dreams. There are so many opportunities that await us if we only keep an open mind and stay out of our comfort zone. One of the most exciting experiences for us was in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago where we joined 14,000 other photographers for the world’s largest wedding and portrait photography trade show, WPPI. It was awesome. One of our favorite partners, Pictage, who provide our online gallery service was organizing a small event called “Lens and Learn” involving a few of the country’s most well known wedding photographers (all of whom we admire and look up to). Our wonderful friend, Kenny Kim, invited us to come along and we will be forever thankful. The event was an experience we won’t forget and will always be inspired by. For a whole day, we joined the other photographers in teaching a group of kids from the Las Vegas Boys and Girls Clubs about photography. We spent time talking and goofing around with the kids before we broke into groups so that a few of the photographers could share their own personal stories of why they chose their career and the ins and outs of shooting a camera, composing an image, etc. The kids were encouraged to ask questions and one of my favorites was from a little guy who said in disbelief.. “So people can actually make money taking pictures?!” At that moment I realized just how powerful the day was for those kids. Some of them may have never been inspired to learn about photography or any other art form before that day. Afterward, we all went to a nearby Preserve for an organized photo scavenger hunt. The day was so fun for us.
Jim Collins, the CEO of Pictage, was the visionary for the project and after hearing him share his heart for why he wanted to do the event, we totally felt a connection to what he was saying. He knows that he has the ability to help people and he has a passion for it and isn’t afraid to get out and work hard to accomplish his goals. The success of the day put a huge smile on his face that made me so happy and so thankful to be there. Fortunately, Ron Dawson, was there to capture footage and interview some of the photographers. It is a beautiful production.
So all of this being said, Matt and I want to send a huge thank you to Kenny Kim (w/o him we wouldn’t have had the opportunity), Pictage, Jim Collins, all of the kids from the Boys and Girls Club, Canon (who donated the cameras for the scavenger hunt, and all of the other photographers and people that came out to help. We were inspired and motivated to get up and live our dreams, help people and most importantly not let anything hold us back from being ourselves. We feel so proud and so blessed to be a part of this community.
Enjoy the video!

Lens & Learn – Inspiring Kids Through Photography from Ron Dawson on Vimeo.

Pictage brought out some of the top photographers in the country to teach kids at the Boys & Girls Club of Las Vegas about photography. Co-sponsored by Canon USA.

Directed & edited by Ron Dawson
http://daredreamer.net
Shot with Canon EOS 7D & DP Slider

Photographers involved:
Mike Colón
Zach & Jody Gray
Will Jacks
Kenny Kim
Mike Larson
Justin & Mary Marantz
Chelsea Nicole
Shawn Reeder
Ray Santana
Matt & Stevi Savage
René Tate

Event documentary photographers:
Joe Buissink
Monty Jessop

So, that leaves me with a great reason to post a few more pictures from my trip last year to India. This country is beautiful and the faces of these people below remind me of how humbled I was to visit their homes and churches, knowing that it meant the world to them that we were there. Happiness is not found in the things we own, but in the ways we connect with the Lord and the people around us. 

This week Matt and I are excited to work on designing another sample album, introducing new prices for our wedding clients, and shooting a few projects for Intelligentsia Coffee. We will be in the office so if you need to place any print orders before Christmas, now is the time to do it!

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