I didn’t know what to expect. Heck, part of me didn’t even want to do it.

I was going completely out of my comfort zone. I was going alone into not only a cabin with three room mates that I had never met… but into a whole camp with 400+ photographers running around.  Other than at weddings, I basically avoid situations like this unless I have my best friend or brother with me.

Stepping on to that dirty, rocky path to get to the check in line, my heart raced. Would people like me? Would anyone recognize me? Will my room mates like me? Will I like them? Should I prepare myself to just go to classes and then to sit in solitude in my cabin?  Does my dog miss me? Does my cat even notice I am gone?

I was greeted by internet buddies the second they saw me (Thanks, Dave!), and then kept finding more and more familiar faces. Ok… calm starts to set it.  I’m warming up a bit. It just might be ok!

A moment of fear that stuck out was the good 20 minutes I sat at Cabin 202 by myself. While I had chatted here and there with my roommates before – I had no idea how they were in person. Maybe I am just fun on the internet?  Did I bring too many bags and it’s going to bug them? Oh God what is going to happen when I need to curl my ten pounds of hair and take up the bathroom?  Anxieties overwhelming and then I heard the voices chatting letting me know that they had arrived. And that’s when I met my new soul sista Sarah Maren, and the wonderful Bardots. They greeted me with hugs and immediately my fears fell away. They give hugs. Clearly, they are my kind of people.

5 days later, and I feel so immensely proud of myself. Are the people I wish I had talked to more? Yes. Do I wish I had taken more photos? Yes. Do I wish I had opened myself up more to making more friends? Oh definitely.

However, I did walk away with a new view point on my work. I decided to show the images that spoke to my heart when attending a class of Jenny Jimenez. I always have had this insecurity that the work that speaks from my heart and that I love wasn’t being received how I wanted it to be received. That it wasn’t loved the way I loved it.  Without going into tons of detail about her class, I walked away with confidence about my vision and finally seeing that people were seeing what I was trying to project.

I walked away with friends that I never thought I could make. I took from this experience that I am capable of walking up to people and asking about their lives and getting to know them. The world doesn’t crumble.  I made blogging buddy friends. Wedding referral buddies. Disneyland party time buddies.

Walking into this Field Trip, I felt alone and pretty damn scared. I sometimes still feel the same way, but now there’s a lot more hope in my eyes for connections and my work. It’s going up from here, and I feel it with every threat of my being.

Regrets? Frolicking in a field and rolling my ankle. Also, I didn’t get to meet a llama due to rolling my ankle in the 2nd night which make hiking sort of a terrible idea.  High lights? My bad table dancing, new best friends forever, hanging out with the cat at the market, tons of hugs, and finding myself just a bit more as an artist. I feel like the highlights definitely outweighed the regrets.

Here’s some pretty pictures from the trip. A mixture of film, iphone, and my DSLR.  Enjoy. And thank you to Sarah Maren for snapping the two photos of me in my lovely hat on my camera.

 TMAXX 100 film 35mm at Photo Field Trip in Santa Barbara by Heather Elizabeth Photographyheather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip1heather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip4heather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip5Documentary photography by Heather ELizabeth Photography TMAXX 100TMAXX 100 film 35mm at Photo Field Trip in Santa Barbara by Heather Elizabeth PhotographyPortra 400 documentary photography of Photo Field Trip 2015 by heather elizabeth photography heather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip14heather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip12heather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip13Lisa Bardot of the goodness at photo field trip by heather elizabeth photography. heather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip6heather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip17400H porta portrait of lisa bardot of the goodness at photo field trip by heather elizabeth photographyheather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip18TMAXX 100 film 35mm at Photo Field Trip in Santa Barbara by Heather Elizabeth Photography100 TMAXX 35mm of the sweet cat that lives at El Capitan Canyon at Photo Field trip by heather elizabeth photographyheather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip21heather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip22Heather Elizabeth at photo field trip by sarah maren photographyheather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip23heather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip24el capitan beach at photo field trip by heather elizabeth photographyJeff Newsom at photo field trip by heather elizabeth photographyCreative portrait at photo field trip 2015 by heather elizabeth photographyheather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip28heather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip29heather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip30sara bryne at photo field trip by heather elizabeth photograpysara bryne of sara and dylan photography by heather elizabeth at photo field tripheather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip33caroline ghetes, sara bryne james bitz and  Benjamin Chernivsky at photo field trip 2015 by heather elizabeth photographymegan saul at photo field trip by heather elizabeth photographyheather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip36heather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip37heather-elizabeth-santa-barbara-fieldtrip38

 

Share this story

COMMENTS Expand -
  1. tqinethota says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    how to make easy money legitimate ways make extra money work from home make money fast make money at home legit ways to make money online how do youtubers make money make money how to make money online diy crafts that make money http://www.bioxplorer.ru/ – make money
  2. jugoxthota says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    how did george soros make his money how did george soros make his money make money how to make money with youtube how to make money how to make extra money from home how does robinhood make money work from home how to make money on the side ways to make money online http://www.thismanagement.ru/ – make money
  3. Allonsona says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    https://cbdoilwalmart.com/ cbd cream https://cbdoilwalmart.com/ – cbd cream buy hemp oil
  4. ishnlthota says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    make money taking surveys make money from home work from home how to make money selling drugs best way to make money online how to make money online fast homemade items that make money make money legit ways to make money online how to make money on instagram https://make-money-blogs.com/# – make money
  5. yluddthota says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    best way to make money how did mark cuban make his money work from home how much money does pewdiepie make how to make money from home quick ways to make money how to make money from home make money how to make more money how to make money on the internet https://make-money-blogs.com/# – make money
  6. lqoyxthota says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    how to make more money how did george soros make his money work from home make money now make money taking surveys how much money does pewdiepie make make money online surveys work from home easy way to make money ways to make money online https://make-money-blogs.com/# – work from home
  7. kebbvthota says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    quick and easy personal loans online how quick does sallie mae report loans paid off quick loans quick and easy loans online how quick does sallie mae report loans paid off quick installment loans online online quick cash loans quick loans loans quick cash loans quick https://paydailoanz.com/# – quick loans
  8. dqorothota says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    quick and loans odds to win 2017 quick loan home loans quick loan quick cash loans incorp huntington park ca quick credit loans quick cash online loans fast quick loans online quick loans quick payday loans two notch rd quick loans deposit same day
  9. dkhklthota says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    why does my viagra sometimes not work stepmom gives stepson viagra how long does viagra last how long does viagra last reddit viagra viagra shelf life potency ingredient in viagra female viagra natural equivalent to viagra viagra jerk off multiple cumshots https://viagrnetwork.com/# – viagra 100mg http://unifa.ac.id/detailpost/mahasiswa-kkn-e-xiii-unifa-diberi-pembekalan-pembuatan-website-desa http://manalifeguide.com/2018/07/11/hello-world/?unapproved=346145&moderation-hash=035107e40c710d475c46be6cd4d6bf79#comment-346145 http://wws.bufetedelgadolamet.com/index.php/blog/item/13-ojo-con-los-premios-de-la-loteria-nacional https://www.lokhoff.nl/blog/zwemmer-jeroen-vraagt-hulp-donateurs/?unapproved=3768&moderation-hash=c23267834229764294b7ad6aeb8d5be6#comment-3768 http://reestr.by/vse.html?sobi2Task=sobi2Details&catid=111&sobi2Id=9332
  10. Dekiodip says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    п»їbuy viagra uk http://alexa24ph.com – buy viagra can you buy viagra vietnam
  11. Robertswome says:
    Your comment is awaiting moderation. This is a preview; your comment will be visible after it has been approved.
    very nice site cheap cialis viagra and cialis for sale viagra coupon
  12. STOP BEING SO TALENTED! I. CAN. NOT!
    Also,I adore you and you are really the only person in the world I ever want to share a “loft bed” with.
    XOXOXOXOXO!

ADD A COMMENT

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *