I wouldn’t consider myself a contest-entering-junkie. I mean, sure, I can get behind the random contest every now and again… I once committed myself to entering the Frontgate sweepstakes where you could win a backyard makeover worth $100,000. And I had to enter everyday. And I did. And no. I didn’t win. I still daydream about entertaining in my tricked-out backyard complete with barbeque pit, pool and an ice chest the size of my bathroom.

Most of the contests I’ve ever entered are those that I forgot about the minute I sent the entry. So imagine my complete surprise when I get an email notification that I WON a workshop with Jessica Claire in New York! Yes, THAT Jessica Claire… the one who lives in Orange County. Which is where I live. So, why would I travel to New York to see her? Exactly the question my husband, a.k.a. the money man, wanted to know. All I know was the minute I heard that I won, I KNEW I was going.

So, in order to make the trip feel more manageable, my husband and I decided to make it a couples weekend and wrap it around the workshop. Which was a great idea, except for the fact that my husband got sick with what could only be described as a less creepy version of the bubonic plague. So seeing that he was all phlemy, coughy, achey, etc, etc, he made the game-time decision not to go. Bummer for our couples weekend away.

In my former life, I was one of those advertising executives… like Mad Men without all the smoking and sexual harassment. And I spent some time working in New York – the mecca of the advertising world. It was a blast to say the least. And I got to know Manhattan pretty well, so I wasn’t too worried about finding my way around by myself for the weekend. And to be honest, the prospect of being ALONE ANYWHERE WITHOUT MY CHILDREN almost made me giddy. I had visions of me shopping in SOHO, eating in bistros in the Village while reading a book, sitting in the park people watching… all while feeling glamorously alone.

The reality of my trip? 99 degrees and 100% humidity. Shopping that consisted of me bargaining with some illegal street vendors for my fake Prada bag and knock-off Channel’s. A night of food poisoning from the quaint little Italian restaurant where I grabbed dinner. I DID sit in a park, but I only lasted 15 minutes in the sweltering heat. Not so glamorous, my friend.

But I DID make it to my workshop! And I have to say it really was fantastic. Jessica Claire is an incredibly talented photographer… she is one of those people that just has THE EYE, if you know what I mean. Her style, while being incredibly powerful is also incredibly “simple”. She knows what she wants to photograph, and she gets it dead-on in the camera, so her editing is minimal. I am really grateful for the experience and all that I learned. I met some great photographers from other parts of the country (I wasn’t the only one who traveled, but I did apparently travel the farthest!).

So, I am on to the next contest…. this time I’m hoping to win a 1d Mark IV. God willing I won’t have to travel to get it. 🙂

(… here are a few of the images I shot from the workshop… )