I’m writing about Barkelona an out of this world dog photography workshop I was lucky enough to attend in April 2016 for 4 glorious days. I wish it would’ve lasted longer. Recently someone asked me what my favorite part of the trip was and I answered the photo shoots. Thinking back, my answer should have been: the whole trip.

I struggle to find the right words to describe the experience. It was just that: an experience. It was Memorable. Amazing. Challenging. Wonderful.

When it was over, leaving was hard.  However I feel so fortunate because in the moments of being there, I was really there.  I soaked in each moment, realizing how special it was.  I remember on my last night, standing alone overlooking the pool and thinking how blessed I am to have just had this experience. The experience meeting other like-minded crazy dog people. We are all equally crazy about photography and wanting to learn and soak it all up too. I made some amazing bonds with the wonderful people who were there and my world became a lot richer because of them. Here is the beginning of my story:

I arrived in Barcelona (albeit without my checked luggage) on a Tuesday morning. I explored the city until Thursday at 6pm when I left for the workshop. I met up with many of the workshop participants in Barcelona so many of us had a chance to get to know each other prior to the workshop starting.

On Thursday evening, the 12 of us loaded down with our camera gear and all of our luggage (with the exception of my luggage which was apparently floating around London (!) and Barcelona) and headed to Casa Felix the villa that would house all of us during the workshop. Luckily I had all of my camera equipment so even though I didn't have my luggage, all was okay. I’ve included a link to the gallery of the house but the photos don’t do it justice. I loved this house and my room with its huge windows and super comfy bed. I slept better there than I’ve slept in a really long time. 

On Friday morning (day 1), I awoke to find Connie a chef originally from England in the kitchen making us breakfast. I should’ve done a better job of photographing the food she made for us. It was all wonderful. After breakfast, we were rewarded with an inspirational talk from Kaylee Greer. She asked us questions like: who are you as an artist? One of my favorite quotes she shared is “Be Fearless in the Pursuit of What Sets your Soul on Fire.” She is an amazing woman full of inspiration and love for what she does and it exudes from her. Dog photography is part of her soul and it’s obvious. To be around her felt like being in the presence of greatness. Her company is Dog Breath Photography.  You should check our her work. She is a genius AND I GOT TO MEET HER!

Our next session was about lighting with Charlotte Reeves. Charlotte is based out of Brisbane Australia and gave us a ton of tips for shooting in various types of lighting conditions some of which I got to try for the first time on this trip.  She also talked about photography theory. Learning from her was a dream come true. It is wonderful to meet an artist whose work will take my breath away. That is Charlotte.

Nicole of Nicole Begley Photography has a wonderful combination of photography skills, photography knowledge and business acumen. The amount of back office business information she shared with us was invaluable.

We also met a local dog trainer, Ingrid and her two dogs Blat and Etna.  They stayed in the house with us and Ingrid coordinated all of the dogs that we’d be photographing over the next 4 days.

The village of Olivella and the quaint town of Sitges Spain were both wonderful settings for photography.