Lightbulb Moments | Chicago Photographer

Images from the Inaugural #20SBSummit, hosted at the Gleacher Center in downtown Chicago from August 19-21, 2011. ..Photos by Erin Parker (Erin Parker)

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to not only attend, but also speak at the 20-Something Blogger’s Inaugural Summit in downtown Chicago.

Words cannot describe how grateful and floored I am that I was there because this weekend? Was all about learning and connecting and cultivating. I gleaned some knowledge, spoke to other bloggers about my passion for photography, and, most of all, felt inspired and invigorated by everything I heard. I cannot express to y’all how many lightbulb moments occurred because I had one in pretty much every session I attended. Literally.

Lately, I have felt this little photoblog of mine has been lacking a certain spark, but I had no idea what to do about it. After this weekend, I’m making the leap and plowing forward with these updates, even though they are going to shake things up a lot and are a little scary.

And I’d love to know what y’all think about them I have because I want you involved with these plans.

After all, more than ever, I believe that we are a community and that we can lift one another up if we so choose. And since I work as a full-time freelance photographer and basically eat-sleep-breathe photography, I want this blog to become a forum that is more than just about me and my work.

So, thanks to the genius of my pizza-eating, champagne-drinking, creative, beautiful and fabulous blogger friends (cough cough, Jenn, Ben, Doni, Jenny, Renee and Jamie), I’ve got two ideas to throw out at y’all (and about three more potentials to hang onto in my pocket for the time being.)

  1. Friday Favorites. This is one of my favorite features, but it’s been a little lacking and a little inconsistent. To jazz it up, I want you – yes, YOU – to send me some of your favorite links weekly from all over the internet for the feature. What are you interested in seeing on this feature? What aren’t you interested in seeing? I’d love to know what you think.
  2. Tips and tricks of the trade. I want to help you learn about photography. And while I might not be the most knowledge-savvy/book-smart photographer, I do know some about this chosen profession of mine. So I need some feedback from y’all – what do you want to know about the profession? Do you want to learn how to shoot on manual controls? Would you rather hear about how a certain image was selected over another? Or do you want to discuss post-processing actions used in Photoshop? Would you like to know about gear or choosing gear when you’re ready to make the leap and get a new camera? Or is there something else about photography you’d like to learn more about? Let me know because I want to help you learn about the artform that I am fortunate enough to work in daily.

This weekend, I was reminded that a blog is more than a place where you can write about your life or share your work. A blog can be a community if you allow it to be one, and that is what I want for Life As It Is.

What do y’all think?

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  • August 23, 2011 - 2:12 pm

    Ben - Best weekend! Great post! Love all the new things!ReplyCancel

    • August 23, 2011 - 2:24 pm

      Erin - Thanks so much, Ben! I appreciate it and am SO grateful we got to hang out so much and that you shared your input! Excited for these coming weeks and months… and whenever the next time it is we can hang out!ReplyCancel

  • August 23, 2011 - 4:16 pm

    Jenn - I love the ideas and the community building, and I love YOU! So much fun this weekend <3ReplyCancel

    • August 23, 2011 - 4:18 pm

      Erin - Thanks so much, Jenn! I love that we finally got to meet, that we hung out extensively and YOU! … Can we all go back soon?ReplyCancel

  • August 23, 2011 - 7:43 pm

    caryn - What a great photo of the bean! It was great meeting you this weekend! I look forward to seeing your photos!ReplyCancel

    • August 24, 2011 - 10:47 am

      Erin - Thanks so much, Caryn! It was fantastic meeting you, and I am looking forward to reading your blog!ReplyCancel

  • August 23, 2011 - 9:16 pm

    Jamie - Love it all. Can’t wait to see what comes next!ReplyCancel

    • August 24, 2011 - 10:46 am

      Erin - Thanks, lovely lady! You and me both… and I am SO glad we had the opportunity to hang out as much as we did this past weekend!ReplyCancel

  • August 24, 2011 - 7:11 am

    terra - So great meeting you this weekend! I love how inspired we are all are now to create and do more. It’s a very god thing.ReplyCancel

    • August 24, 2011 - 10:46 am

      Erin - It was great meeting you, as well, and I completely agree. It’s inspiring, and I cannot wait to see where this weekend’s learning takes us all!ReplyCancel

  • August 24, 2011 - 9:31 am

    Lacey Bean - Love all of this! And you! So glad to meet you this weekend. 🙂ReplyCancel

    • August 24, 2011 - 10:39 am

      Erin - I love your comment and YOU! It was great meeting you, and I’m so excited that we all brought so much back from the Summit!ReplyCancel

  • August 24, 2011 - 9:47 am

    Renee - LOVE seeing inspiration in action!ReplyCancel

    • August 24, 2011 - 10:21 am

      Erin - You and me both, girl! I’m inspired that we were all so inspired and encouraged by the conference that we’re actually doing something about it!
      And I am SO glad we got the chance to hang out!ReplyCancel

  • August 24, 2011 - 3:40 pm

    Lorraine - I took away so much from the summit too! I’m trying to work out all the features I want to include going forward, but I really love where you are going with this and all the interaction you are including. 🙂ReplyCancel

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