FIND Review from Natalie Grummer - FIND Seattle

Words words words words. They just don’t come. It seems far too cliche to just gush on and on about how amazing this workshop is, and even I would want to call complete BS to hear myself rave about how life changing it is. But that is the only stuff coming to mind. And not that it’s not true, because it is true. But I am just rambling, and there are hundreds of such reviews out there about any and all workshops are so great using the words ‘amazing’, ‘awesome’, ‘life-changing’, ‘transformative’, ‘epic’. Bleh. Phooey. None of that would really come close to doing this workshop any justice. I’ve had a month to mull over and process the three days of FIND Seattle 1.0, yet it is still hard to describe and explain it’s amazing amazingness. I think I have to come to terms with the fact there are no real adjectives that could possibly touch upon the full effects of FIND. Simply stated, it is something you have to experience, not just hear about. Photog and Non-photog friends alike ask me how that workshop thingie went. Good! No, more than good. Great! Amazing! Wonderful! Epic! I ate SPAM Musabi! We Karaoked. TWICE! It was freaking AMAZING!!….and I just get nothing but blank stares.

I can’t remember exactly how I first found Jon & his Workshop. My husband and I debate over this. He remembers seeing something about it in College when we were a few of the remaining die-hard analog lovers. Back when the Canon 10D was the hot new toy. For me, I think the term ‘Jonathan Canlas’ was an inspirational name I kept stumbling upon on other blogs for quite some time, then became more into the forefront of my awareness when I got so fed up with trying to shoot digitally and started researching other professional photographers who were still using film. Jon, among a few others, were one of the nails in the coffin for me to ditch shooting any sort of Digital Photography after trying and trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. My heart has always been with analog. It took me nearly three years into building my current business to realize Digital was not for me and finally make the tough decision to start back at square one as an all-Film shooter once again. I remember the month I bought my Contax & sold off all my digital gear, I vowed I would one day take a Film is not Dead workshop. Fast forward to last summer & Jon announces on Twitter he is coming to Seattle in 2011. To my town. On a whim I email him. He (in person) responds back within, like, a whopping 60 seconds, all exuberant and excited. Then I proceeded to drag my feet for about another month, until he emails me again letting me know there is only one, maybe two spots left. Thankfully his persistence paid off, and I think I very likely did snag the very last seat in Seattle 1.0.

Jon’s work resonates with me not just because he can pop out some sweet eye-candy or has honed the technical and artistic sides of photography into an amazing craftsmanship - because the guy absolutely is a master at his art. Jon is one of the few in the vast sea of Wedding/Portrait photographers who actually evokes so much more meaning and humanity in how he makes portraits. In all of his work- be it wedding, families, travel, personal- that is what is so strongly communicated through his photographs. His artistic vision and visual communication is about the people and relationships he shoots. Pure, honest and real, without fluff or pretense. Of course, that is compiled with an amazing amount of dedication, practice, business sense, passion, experience, consistency and respect for his medium. I wanted to learn from Jon not just for the ‘how to’ of Film photography, but the ‘why’ and the ‘who for’ that makes him as a photographer tick and continually strive for betterment. Anyone can take a picture. Any of us can simply be camera operators. Anybody given a bit of know how can even expose film properly. It’s not rocket science here, people. Jon says he’s an open book, and that is absolutely true. There is no holding back, nothing off-limits or proprietary or secret. His goal for the workshop is to help his attendees FIND their own vision. He is accessible, honest, genuine, humble and completely transparent in everything about the what, how and why he does things.

In sitting down to write this, I realize more and more this workshop isn’t so much about Film. Or Jonathan Canlas. Or Photography, for that matter. It was about people. Sure, this workshop provides every resource & opportunity you need to successfully shoot film. But no, it’s the friendships that I walked away from this workshop that I will forever treasure and value my time with them more than any other aspect of those 3 days. Maybe it is just Jon & the honesty, down to earth-y-ness and the check-your-egos-at-the-door mantra he exudes in both talk & action that attracts a culture of people interested in their own personal refinement as artists. From Canada to Mexico, West Coast to East Coast, the amazing photographers of every genre, skill level, experience, personality– it was all a level playing field. We were there and given a very rare opportunity to learn together, help one another, to learn from one another. No one, even Jon, is above anyone. I NEVER expected to walk into that workshop and feel the amount of camaraderie, trust and genuine care from these dozen or so other photographers. I walked away with amazing friends, colleagues, fellow photographers who continue to build friendships, care for one another and genuinely desire to help and support others. And there are some amazing big-name, crazy talented people that my introverted self would normally be too intimidated to interact much with. But within a few hours, this group was so open and comfortable. Likely the epic Karaoke sessions the first & last nights helped. Now even more than a month later I MISS EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE GUYS & GALS.

At the very core of this group is Jon. And he has built more than just an group of attendees who went to a workshop, because there are a hundred of those. This is special. Jon has built not just an educational course, he has poured himself into building a movement. The heart and soul of this movement is FINDing your voice. YOUR voice. Not someone else’s; Not what you think you should/could/might/possibly do; Not what the latest trendy idiom happens to be; Not what anyone tells you it should be. YOUR VOICE. A voice you can only discern the more you practice your craft and the more you stop listening to all the junk that vies for your attention. I went into this Workshop stuck in a big lull, both creatively & professionally. Within a week of the workshop, I had completely re-worked my portfolio from scratch after being on the fence about what the heck I should do for almost a year, solidified the direction I was taking my business after wrestling through much uncertainty, and mapped out a much more solid plan for getting there. After nearly hitting burnout and getting so tired treading water, not knowing what I should be doing, FIND was the motivation & empowerment I so needed. Sometimes you need a swift kick in the pants, someone to give you a huge doobs hug, a totally new perspective, and a heap of encouragement poured on you all at once. FIND lit that fire under me. And I needed that.

Natalie Grummer

Interested in attending FIND in 2012? Drop me a line.