Do you suffer from wanderlust like I do? Wanderlust is defined as the strong desire to travel. I suffer from it frequently so the past few days I've been making some 2018 travel plans.

My wanderlust started to kick in after I attended a dog photography workshop in 2016. The workshops I've attended were learning workshops held in amazing locations. There was a lot of classroom work where I had the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest dog photographers in the business.  We also photographed lots of dogs in beautiful settings. Attending them renewed my desire to travel.

So, how could I combine my love of dogs, photography and travel? What I loved most about the workshops I attended was photographing the dogs and seeing what the other photographers did. What ideas did they have about where to put the dog? Where did they position themselves? What lens did they use? What's their favorite photoshop tip? All of it was fascinating to me.

One of the greatest things that has come out of my attending those workshops are the relationships I've made with other dog photographers. Many of them have become friends. I joked with one of them, Tara Lausch who lives in Delaware that I saw her more times in 2017 than I saw my sister. (We live 2,000 miles apart.)

My love of dogs, photography and travel is how Retreats by BARKography came to be and the inaugural event Retreats by BARKography - SoCal happened in November 2017. 

Why did I choose southern California for my first retreat? It's my favorite place in the world. I lived in Corona del Mar (Crown of the Sea) from 2004 - 2007. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world to me and the weather is pretty fabulous year round too.

My familiarity with the area and great weather made southern California a perfect choice for the first retreat. The three attendees and I photographed 7 dogs over the course of 4 days. We walked the 6 blocks along palm tree filled streets to the beach every day. We discovered Sejuiced, a super-food juice bar that had the most amazing bowls. I'd go back to CdM just to go there! We relaxed. We chatted and yes we drank wine. The proceeds from the dog photography sessions were donated to a local dog rescue, Lovebugs Rescue.

I had the time of my life and I think Tara, Audrey and Danyel did too. Here are more images I took in California:

Feed your wanderlust.

The next retreat is planned for August 2018 in Banff in the Canadian Rockies. In July 2015 I visited Banff for the first time and since the day I left, I've wanted to return.  I don't have the words to describe how beautiful it is. Retreats by BARKography Banff is happening. Will you be there?