It took me couple of days to recover after a very intensive time in Austin, Texas where the annual FW9 was held. Normally Dallas is the hosting city for this prime event but the 9th edition was moved to Austin due to the hectic week before the Superbowl that was held in Dallas which was won by The Packers from Greenbay. The foundation workshop is one of the finest and best workshops for wedding photojournalists in the world. Very experienced and achieved photojournalists serve in this time to teach almost on a 101 base the very essence that drives them. Personal idols/examples whom I’ve been following for a long time had been part of the coaches who were involved like Ben Chrisman, Huy Nguyen, Brett Butterstein and Tyler Wirken. One would think, no chance to miss this. Go for it!

Suffering from fear of flying brought me to a major decision in my life. Am I going to allow my fear to rob me of  this golden opportunity or is there an alternative? Being tipped by my sister-in-law I decide to go for a Mind Tuning session to see if they can help me off this fear. However, the session was booked out after I got my visa for the States which was an incredible story in itself. Somebody dropped out and it seemed like evrything just fell in place and I’ve done the training and exercises. Now, only still flying to see if it really helped.

Our car broke down on the day that I was about to leave. Was a little bit more nervous but flying went well to Atlanta. On the way to Austin we experienced an hour of heavy turbulence but I was so tired that I couldn’t care less what would happened.

Sunday afternoon the whole group started off with a lunch at Rudy’s and meat was the thing. Lots of meat! The atmosphere was for me beyond comprehension and during that first lunch I was blown away by the energy and enthusiasm that I saw around me. Electrifying!!! Then we had a couple of sessions by Tyler Wirken and Brooks Wittington PJ101 and after that Brett Butterstein talked about common mistakes. Lots of fun and laughter and my journey was already complete but this was only the beginning of a change of heart, thus a BIG one.

Two days followed of shooting an assignment and critics. The assignments were perfectly selected for each individual and that was a challenge. Due to the uniqueness of this Workshop I wont tell much about the assignment but the wonderful thing was that in two days time there came a change in my heart. Photojournalists don’t only use their eyes but their hearts. I became aware of the guts it take to photograph a war, a dying young mother, a one leg and one arm father living between railway lines to provide for and protect his family.

Critics went until 2:30 or later at night and it was a sleep deprived workshop but who wants to sleep if you have 20 of the worlds best wedding photojournalists in one hotel to your disposal for any questions. The whole experience was fun and this group (60 with staff and volunteers) blended very well together. There was just so much fun going on and also tears that made the bonding only stronger. Five teams of 6 participants and 4-5 coaches per team. That’s pretty intense!

After my first day which was a disaster the coaches gave me advice and the bottom line was something in my heart needed to change. Got some tips on how to tackle that the next day and behold the results were totally different and the assignment was even more fun. The first day Jennifer Domenick, Erin Chrisman and Kate Mefford came along to help which was just fabulous and the second day Ben Chrisman who taught me valuable principles on lightning visited me. Then I first went for a Mexican lunch to get some fresh air and get my mind straightened out and then went back to try out the new Ben Chrisman lightning! People who know me for a longer time might know that Ben is somebody that I admires.

It was very satisfying seeing the results of the things that Ben taught me. The rest of the time we spent preparing slideshow and discuss technical issues and camera handling. Thursday evening we went downtown Austin for the farewell dinner and the party afterwards.

Every participant’s slideshow was shown and there was a lot of WOW’s and I was impressed with the work of Sarah Kang, Cliff Brunk, Dexter Lo and more…

What I’ve learned cannot be expressed in terms of money because my heart changed. John Maxwell said, “Change does not happen automatically” and that was very true for me. Through this whole process I got rid of my fear of flying, my flight back home was soaring on the clouds, my heart changed so that my eyes can see better and my camera can work more efficiently. The most valuable was making and getting new friends. This turned my world upside down and all together this was such a good combination of things that I didn’t suffered from jetlag when I got home but couldn’t fall asleep. A week is maybe enough to re-enter.

The last night’s party was interrupted by snow and it was icy in Texas. The roads were incredibly slippery and the cabs stopped driving at about 02:00 that caused about 26 people to be stuck at Highball Bar. The owner and some other people brought people to the hotel where the party was preceded with great enthusiasm and fun that ended at 7:30 in the warm tub outside the hotel in a snow covered white world.

My heart is thankful to Huy Nguyen who started the FW and who became a dear friend. Also a big thank you to my wife and children who missed me for one week and gave me the freedom to go. My ultimate thanks goes to The Dreamgiver who has never disappointed me and gave me more in this life that I could dream of or ask for.

Here is the film of this fantastic event created by Vladimir Chalupka and Joe Dickie: