Road Trip 7: Loom Curated With Ginny Au and Erich McVey
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THE JOURNEY
Having spent the first few weeks on the West Coast of America, it was now time to venture across the country to the East Coast, a place I call home. One half of me comes from Massachusetts, but is slowly starting to explore the East Coast in its entirety, wanting to find out more about the surrounding areas near my home town.
Next stop: Catskills, New York.
Having heard of its beauty and vast landscapes from friends, I was eager to visit and was thrilled when I found out that Ginny Au along with Film Photographer extraordinaire, Erich McVey were doing a Loom Curated Workshop there.
I got off the plane and drove three hours in the middle of the night, finally reaching my Airbnb which was a beautiful log cabin in the middle of nowhere. I'm not going to lie though, it was a little freaky as I had no reception, and trying to find a remote house in a place I had never visited before in pitch black, I imagined a little girl with long black hair popping up in front of me! Luckily, I was able to pick up spots of reception and managed to get a hold of my fellow cabin dwellers whom I had never met before. We clicked immediately and I was so thrilled to have such a lovely bunch of photographers who I know I’ll stay in touch with. The group was made up of Allie Jennings, Courtney Elizabeth and Michael, the other half of Courtney, I was so grateful to have such lovely company staying with me for the duration of the workshop.
THE WORKSHOP
The workshop was over the course of two intensive days. The first day was spent getting to know each other, and Ginny telling us her story. What a life she has led! Some day I hope to interview her as her life is filled with real hardships and amazing successes. She was kind enough to open up to us so completely, her emotion really got the better of her and I couldn't help but feel so empathetic and have such admiration for all her hard work to get to where she is today. I just wanted to give her the biggest hug! What an amazing woman! We finished the day with delicious food made by our hosts, where the workshop was being held at Table On Ten.
The second day commenced and the only thing we were told was that we were to be split into 5 groups and given 20 minutes in 5 secret locations with curated scenes to photograph. The way Ginny and Erich work together is that Ginny curates and directs scenes for Erich to photograph, but when he photographs the scene, it is the first time he sees it. I thought this was such a unique and authentic approach and something that really resonated with me. Creating and recreating authenticity in Visual Storytelling is so important to me so this really was eye-opening as I had never really known how to execute this through my photography.
Below you will find the five scenes we had no idea about, all curated with love, care, intention, authenticity, minimalism, carefully selected music, smells and props, with unbelievable models and real life couples.
I hope you enjoy the images as much as I had fun taking them.
I am currently also going through Ginny's online course, Process Driven Design which I highly recommend for anyone who is struggling with their branding, styling, or photography. It really is for any creative who wants more direction in their work. As most of you know, being creative is a curse and blessing. We have too many ideas, and at times, we don’t know where or how to direct them. ;p
I have also taken Erich's online course, Wedding Photography, which is for anyone wanting to delve much deeper and to better your film photography or all round photography skills.
Both are jam packed with trade secrets, tips and tricks and real life examples and videos. Both courses can be bought through If I Made, a place for creatives to thrive and learn, founded by Emily Newman of Once Wed and Joy Thigpen.
OTHER POSTS IN ROADTRIP SERIES
Road Trip Pt 1: Local Milk Japan Retreat At Kurokawa Onsen
Road Trip Pt 2: Workshop with Floral Designer Sarah Winward
Road Trip Pt 3: Sinclair & Moore Floral Design Workshop
Road Trip Pt 4: San Francisco with Tulipina
Road Trip Pt 5: Sonoma Valley Aka Wine Country
Road Trip Pt 6: Musically Inspired Bouquet by Chloris Floral
