Zelasko_G2F6277This image is what I would call the essence of what we are trying to do with Crossroads Photography Workshops. It is a new metal railing at the Randel Davey Audubon Nature Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Not very exciting is it? But it is very important. I should probably explain.

In a Crossroads Workshop, the class and instructors become Team Crossroads and what we do is seek out the images our non-profit partners need. We don’t take the pictures we individually want, we take the photos our non-profits want. This is a very important distinction between a Crossroads workshop and all other photography workshops- traditional workshops are all about you the photographer, Crossroads workshops are all about helping someone else.

When we talked to a representative of the Audubon Center, we were told that one of their most desired images was of the new metal railing that had just been installed. The money to install the railing was donated by a patron and the Center wanted to publicly thank the donor in their newsletter. They needed a good photo of the railing.

I don’t know about you but I haven’t spent much time photographing railings. In fact, in my 30 years of professional photography I have gone out of my way to not photograph railings, new, metal or otherwise. This photo was the last of probably 40 taken by the class- it took the first 39 for the class to figure out the best angle, f-stop, background, etc.

And that is the power, the process and the magic of a Crossroads workshop. You are on a photo scavenger hunt and the object is to get the best image of something the partner needs. The process is fun, sometimes frustrating, often curious and even more often tremendously rewarding.

Can you say that about the photography you are doing now? I hope you can but I suspect you can’t. Come to a Crossroads workshop and give a purpose to your photography. For more information please go to the Crossroads website.