For the unaware, Open Source Photo (OSP) is an online forum for photographers that was started by David Jay and has grown from just a few to over 2,000 photographers from all over the country, who love the forum for networking, building relationships, and sharing professional ideas and insights with each other. Many photographers have forged lifelong friendships as a result!
It was through our good friends Nathan and Amber Holritz that Rich and I have had the unique opportunity to be part of this year’s OSP South conference, which was hosted by the Holritz’s and the Nudd’s here in Chattanooga. Being only a few days long, it went by WAY too quickly and the time to meet and get to know everyone was hardly adequate. The time we did share was AMAZING, and in keeping with everything Nathan and Amber have told us, this forum is truly a huge family, even though distance prevents many people from seeing each other as often as they would like.
Rich and I were asked to model for photo shoots that would take place in the afternoon once the speaking sessions had ended and before the big dinner get-togethers. The large group of about 100 photographers broke into 4 smaller groups and met at different locations in Chattanooga with their models. We had a blast, and were surprised at how easy and fun it was to be shot by a group of photographers! Their personalities made it so enjoyable, and we loved meeting everyone!
Below are shots that were taken by Charles Bordner of Greenville, South Carolina. Charles, we so enjoyed meeting you and laughing a ton! It was an honor to model for you and we love your work!
Another wonderful person that we met was Carole Foret, an incredibly talented painter and photographer from Athens, Alabama. Check out her website to enjoy her fabulous painting and photography!
Below are a few photos that she took of us…
These next pictures are by Jamie Weiss, who we were so privileged to meet and get to talk to for a short while. Jamie, you are so pleasant and kind, and are such a talented photographer! Thank you so much for the beautiful shots you captured!
Here are a couple shots of the photographers in action! I love these, also by Jamie Weiss…
Here is Charles lying down on the job capturing one of his pics above…
And below is our new friend Davina Fear from Utah. Davina is just an incredible person. We felt like lifelong friends after just moments of hanging with her. She is beautiful, super fun, and incredibly talented! We can’t wait to see you again, Davina!
These are photos taken of us by Davina, and we love them!
We had the pleasure of meeting Keith and Becca Rocha, (below) who we have heard so much about through Nathan and Amber. They are awesome people and great photographers and live here in Chattanooga! Keith and Becca, we can’t wait to get to know you better and look forward to many more times! We loved meeting you guys!
Also in the picture below is Mark Adams of Lacour Photography, who gave an amazing presentation on Tuesday. What professional giftedness and all around amazing people! It was our pleasure to meet you, Mark, as well as the rest of the Lacour team.
There is no way I could get through this blog post without telling you, Amy Nave, (below) how awesome it was to finally meet you! As you know, Amber loves you and can’t say enough positive things about you. So you can imagine my delight when I heard that you were coming all the way from Santa Barbara, CA, to OSP South! It was obvious right away that Amber is right about you! I only wish we could have met under better circumstances (not with Amber’s car accident and me all emotional!) I hope to see you again in the NEAR future!!!
And last but definitely not least, here we are with Matt and Erin Dunmore, good friends, and Matt is one talented photographer. Rich has so enjoyed going shooting with Matt and borrowing lenses and getting to know him. Matt and Erin, we are so glad for the chances to spend time with you lately and we are thankful for your friendship! May there be many more nights of lively game activity
Whew! And that is a recap of our few days at OSP South! To everyone we met, it was a pleasure, an honor, and a total RIOT! We can’t wait for next year!!!
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