My peeps

In what was my first non-electronic communication with a photographer whose work I admire (to put it mildly) and whom I met through this odd thing called blogging, I had the pleasure of talking on the phone this afternoon with Amy Stein, who, when I e-mailed her with a question about photography last week (as I’ve done before) suggested that it would be easier just to talk than to e-mail. After a few days of phone tag, we finally connected, just as S. was due to stop by after a long day at a writers’ workshop he was leading, and I kept him waiting for forty-five minutes while I was on the phone. (I mean, S. is great and all, but I wasn’t about to put off a chance to talk with Amy Stein.)

The question was regarding when and whether to apply to Review Santa Fe, given my perpetual sense that I’m trying to run before I can walk. The answer, in the end, was yes. But the most compelling reason for me was the relationships Amy made with other photographers while she was there. As someone trying to go this without the context of a formal education, the more of a sense of community I can build for myself, the better. Showing your work to other photographers is nice, but it’s more than that: It’s having people to turn to when you have questions; being able to help those same people in turn; and learning from their work (how they edit their images, how they arrange them and present them).

Blogging has given me a taste of that community—well, maybe somewhere in size between the free taste on a pink plastic spoon you get at Baskin-Robbins and a single scoop on a sugar cone. (Mint chocolate chip.) The very fact that I was talking with Amy, and planning to get together next month when she’s out in L.A., is testament of that. I’ve e-mailed Susana Raab more than once and been met with nothing but generosity and honest advice (plus, she put up with my fawning over the fact that she’s friends with Simon Roberts, whom she met at, yep, Review Santa Fe). Andrew Hetherington, too—about as open and honest as you can get. Armando Bellmas, the kindest guy in the world—plus, his enthusiasm for photography is like a drug: addictive. And I consider Ben Huff and Shawn Gust true friends. These are people I know only because of blogging, and that sense of community I have with them is, for me at least, real. But still, I’d love to be able to sit and talk with these people—and with other photographers—and that’s what something like Review Santa Fe can offer. No, it’s not the only way to meet up with great photographers—and it’s really tough to get in, so this may all be just be a bunch of talk. But applying is worth my time. And if I get in, all the better.

P.S. Thanks, Amy!