Education in any field is so so important, and I’m constantly looking for stuff to learn, people to learn from, and things to try. Last year I came across Into the Pines Workshop. It was being put on by a girl I was following on Instagram. I loved her gorgeous work, and fell in love with the other two girls that were putting in on alongside her. It was reasonably priced, but it was near Winnipeg, but it’s 4 days of vacation (its vacation when there’s no baby, right?). Now I’m used to driving, we (mostly me) put on 40k miles on our truck in about a year. So when I saw the drive of about 12 hours, I was like ya, this’ll work. So I bought a ticket and looked forward to this May for some me time and time with people with cameras.
I headed to Manitoba on the 27th, a day early. I arrived around 10pm, so I parked in some parking lot and sprawled out in the back seat for the night. I woke up with sunshine on my face, and I headed to find coffee (duh). I took a little drive and saw a couple bears and a single elk. Then I spent the rest of the day on the beach with a book (American Sniper), and enjoyed the sun. If I stepped into the shade I was swarmed by mosquitos, so needless to say by late afternoon I was caught up in the book and sunburned. I met everyone looking like a tomato, but it was worth it.
I did a poll on Instagram asking if everyone wants to see just one big blog post or a blog post for each shoot. The majority wanted somewhere between one big and each shoot. So I’ve decided to blog a few times, but not each shoot separately. So here’s the first day, the “engagement” sessions.
We had three sets of models, which was incredible for all us students to not run into each other. We would rotate models and instructors, to get more photos/poses and learn from each instructor. It was very helpful to see three different shooting styles and how they interact with the models. Anyway, I could go on all day! All six amazing attractive humans had great patience with all us photographers. Their smiles never faded and they were such pleasures to shoot! And can you tell by these photos that we were all being eaten alive by mosquitoes? I cant.
I picked a bunch of my favorite shots from these shoots, hope you enjoy! (Ps I would LOVE to do more water shoots! I know some of our lakes are pure snow melt, but it’ll be worth freezing your body! 😜)

everyone getting ready to shoot their hearts out!
First up!
Cole + Shareen – Wild. These two just radiate joy and had the most beautiful smiles. All the poses/movements they did were so natural and fun, and I’m pretty sure they would be one of the funnest couples to hang out with ever!


Now aren’t those the coolest photos ever? Love the water!
Bo + Vivian – Artists. First off, Bo’s hair game is 100% stronger than mine. Second, I wish I had Vivian’s jewelry making skills, plus she’s so down to earth and they are both just plain badasses. The creative juices flowed strong with these two!

do you see that dragonfly on the right of Vivian? It’s the only thing in focus…but how?

and last but not least!
Zach + Sophie – Sweet. When I think of this couple I think of those shared young love grins, the gentle embraces, and the sweet stares and glances at each other. Zach had his fair share of lifting beautiful Sophie up for various shots, but he just smiled and she did too. They braved into the water as well!

Way to be extra during a shoot, mr dragonfly.
Wow!! Mac- I’m so so happy you came and enjoyed your time. Also these photos are actually bomb…. I’m sitting here with my jaw on the floor because you killed it.
Oh I did enjoy my time for sure! Thanks for putting on an amazing workshop, and thank you thank you for your kind words! 🖤🖤🖤