I co lead a photography group at my church to build community with others in my neighborhood and maybe bless someone along the way with a great photo.  I must say, I had a great time.  I think we were surprised by how amazing our first meet up went.  It was raining that morning and I didn’t think we would be able to get any real good shots being indoors.  Plus I was anticipating on being outdoors like we planned.  Living in a dry area, being outdoors after a really wet season is a blessing. It’s quite lush and green right now even in the burnt areas that were damaged by the Hill and Woolsey fires. I was eager to be outside and enjoy the nature.

For our first meeting together, we decided to keep it real local.  I have lived in the Conejo Valley for almost half my life and I have never been to the Stagecoach Inn.  The Stagecoach Inn is a historic landmark and museum in Newbury Park. Stagecoach Inn was a resting stop for people going from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. These days by car the distance between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara is about an hour and a half with no traffic. It has also been used as a post office, military school, and restaurant.

Fortunately for us the rain stopped and we ended up with a beautiful afternoon. As soon as I parked and studied the grounds, I was immediately eagered to get started.  This historic site has the most amazing photographic spots. I definitely could of had more outfits with me for sure.  One of the docents told us that the Inn is used for weddings as well and I can see why.

 

 

Before we got started we decided to talked about our love for photography. One of the photographers wife was pregnant and we thought it would be a great gift to give her pregnancy photos to cherish for her and her family.  It was a pleasure to be able to bless her with photos.  Using each other with that great backdrop made it all worth it. Since I also like to be in front of the camera for fun, it was cool to be someone else’s muse.  I felt blessed that I had a couple of photographers to take photos of me.  My sister usually is the phtographer whenever we are out, but if she isn’t around, then I don’t have the best shots of myself. Maybe because she is honest with my poses and angles plus I think she does quite well.

What’s so great about being with other creatives is that we come with different views on how we see the world. It’s inspiring to see how each of us sees things around us. My prayer is that we will all be able to develop our talent even more. I pray that this group can make a difference in how we see the world through each other’s eyes.  I also pray that in the process we get to bless each other as well as others with our images and at the same type build cool relationships shooting together.

I’m super excited about the upcoming photo meet up.  If you know any great places in the Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Kern county areas, please comment.  Thanks and till the next post.