[Editor's Note: Luanne recently attended the prestigious Eddie Adams Workshop, and when she returned told me all about it. Her excitement was so infectious, I asked her to share her experience with everyone here! -Brad]

The Eddie Adams Workshop

In photography we often set out to capture the Decisive Moment. That sliver of life where time seems to stop and every element of the frame just makes sense. The minute I stepped off the school bus and heard Kodachrome by Paul Simon playing over the loud speakers, and I saw photo greats clapping for me and 99 other selected students as I walked up the hill to the barn at the Eddie Adams Workshop, I knew I was living my Decisive Moment.

I had spent the last 5 years dreaming of the day. Wondering what it would feel like, what color team I’d be on, who I’d meet, what friends I’d make, and most importantly if being there in person would ever actually happen.

This was my last year of eligibility. This was my last chance. This was my year.

My lust for Barnstorm started back in college when I first learned of the four day intensive workshop that has become a staple in the photojournalism industry. The Eddie Adams Workshop, also known as EAW or Barnstorm, is a product of a dream that Eddie Adams had to create a place where young talent can be inspired and seasoned talent can give back. His dream, which became reality 24 years ago, has now effectively influenced 2400 students and countless veterans. For one week in October, incredible talent descends on the Adams’ family farm in upstate NY, at the base of the Catskills, for a time of inspiration, reflection and community.

Timing is a funny thing.

I remember vividly applying to the workshop in 2007 for the first time. I was still in college with a student newspaper portfolio that I thought would change the world. I had a good balance of sports photos, hard news, and even a cute story about a kindergarten chess champion. I figured I was a shoo-in. Sadly, I figured wrong.

In 2007 if you would have told me I wasn’t ready, I would have laughed at you. In 2008 I would have flashed my newspaper press badge to prove my status. In 2009 I would have told you that you were mistaken, because clearly, I’m running my own freelance business so I must be successful. In 2010 I might have said fine, because I’m moving to Israel anyway. Now in 2011, if you told me I still wasn’t ready, I might actually have agreed with you…

In 2011 I got accepted.

Looking back, I can’t imagine going to EAW at any other time in my life. About a year and a half ago I decided to throw my hands up and abandon everything I knew in Atlanta and move to the Middle East. At that time I didn’t know where exactly I was headed, but what I did know was that I needed out of where I was, and that I needed to get back to telling stories that had significance. From the minute I decided to go, life opened up for me.

This year I submitted my story from Israel on a Christian-run home for handicapped Muslim children in the West Bank as my application portfolio for EAW. I even wrote in my personal statement that this was me not trying to figure out what they wanted to see, but me showing them who I am. Thankfully it worked.

My time at the barn was life changing. It was a time where my photo heroes became my friends, and my big dreams got even bigger.

To start off the weekend, Eugene Richards spoke on the power of using our cameras as a tool to respond to life. He talked about the responsibility we have as photojournalists to act. And as if the bar wasn’t already set high just being there, he spoke right to me, literally, on the first night. I just so happened to be sitting in the front seat, at the front table, on night one when Eugene was speaking to the group. He literally was less than five feet from me, making eye contact, imparting wisdom and knowledge directly to me. I thought maybe I was just reading into it a little bit. I mean, after all I was sitting up front and the lights were off. But at the end of the evening when I went up to purchase his book, War Is Personal, I introduced myself and jokingly mentioned that I felt like he was talking right to me. He smiled and said that he was! He then took my book and signed it, “To Luanne at the Eddie Adams Workshop, So nice to talk to you.” It was game time.

The way the workshop breaks down is that there are 100 students divided into 10 teams that produce stories under the direction of industry leaders, editors, and producers. I had the privilege of being on the Bronze Team (what what.. represent!). We decided to go all Spinal Tap on EAW and crank it up to 11. Myself, along with 10 other students, worked together to tell stories of equality in Sullivan County.

I must admit I was a little nervous Friday night when I got my photo story assignment and it said “grumpy old man”. I don’t feel bad about calling him that, because he is a self proclaimed grump. So, here’s how it worked: I had two days to spend photographing with Mr. Eugene, a 91 year-old man who now lives alone on his farm in Sullivan county. Mixed in amongst my time spent with Eugene and at the barn were editing sessions, speakers, home cooked meals by photo gurus, an epic bonfire, portfolio reviews and amazing conversations. Notice, sleep is not included.

On Sunday afternoon each year there is a memorial service for Eddie, and six of his photographer friends from Vietnam. All students and veterans alike, quietly walk up the hill carrying a yellow balloon and a glass of champagne to an etched rock where friends lay down a sunflower in memory. It is a solemn time where all I can remember feeling is loss, hope, love, belonging and the wind.

This year’s memorial had an extra layer to it as Chris Hondros’s fianc©e was there to honor Chris and Tim Hetherington, who we lost in Libya on assignment earlier this year. Being a photographer can sometimes be an isolating job. This memorial time and the people who surrounded me during it, made me feel a part of something so much bigger than myself. It made me feel like family.

At the end of the week, I didn’t want it to end. I felt so close to the people I had just met. When you share intensity and birth of dreams with someone, you are destined to be friends for life. All weekend I found myself running the words of Clay Patrick McBride through my head. He encouraged us when we felt frustrated or overwhelmed, to stop and ask ourselves “Where am I?” He proceeded to tell us to look down at our feet, and where we are standing, and enjoy our moment.

I am so grateful and honored to be apart of the XXIV generation of EAW family.

After a car pool back to Manhattan we were so exhausted that we decided to order Chinese food in true NYC fashion. What I found inside my fortune cookie were the perfect words to sum up the weekend: “One’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” My mind, my heart, my dreams and my ambitions were stretched. I will never be the same.

To see Luanne’s full story on Eugene from EAW and other work visit LuanneDietz.com. You can also follow her on Twitter.

Photo by Alan Hess

That’s right, you get TWO guest blogs this week :)

Scott’s neck deep in a few different projects, so he asked if I would do a quick post and share a few shots from the last concert I shot. Luckily, the last time I shot, I had a double header and shot two shows on the same night.

First up was Béla Fleck & The Flecktones at Jannus Live in St. Petersburg, FL.

Béla Fleck, one of the world’s most innovative banjo players

Victor Wooten, regarded by many as one of the best bassists in the world

Roy “Future Man” Wooten (Victor’s brother) and his drumitar

Howard Levy, who returned to touring with The Flecktones last year, completing the original Flecktones lineup for the first time in 18 years

Victor Wooten & Béla Fleck

After The Flecktones show, I went down the road to State Theatre to photograph Underoath.

Spencer Chamberlain of Underoath

Since I didn’t get there at the beginning of the show, and this venue doesn’t have a barricade, I was shooting from/over the crowd.

Timothy McTague of Underoath

Christopher Dudley of Underoath

Spencer likes to whip his hair back and forth ;)

I was surprised that there wasn’t nearly as much moshing and body surfing at the Underoath show as there was at The Flecktones (kidding)!

All in all, it was a fun night at two completely opposite ends of the musical spectrum.

And, since we’re talking in twos today, I recently did a guest blog for my buddy Stanley Leary about the high we get from creating. You can check it out right here if you’re interested.

That’s it for today! Check back tomorrow for guest blog #2 :)

Hi, I’m Matt, I’m 19. I just started studying business at the University of Idaho and live in a small college town named Moscow. I do commercial photography and shoot dramatic portraits. I enjoy shooting photos of people because I love to tell their story in a split second of time. Most of my photos are dramatically lit because I love the intensity it creates.

Taken during Rian Flynn workshop

I started getting serious in my photography when I was 14. I shot my first job when I was a freshman in high school. My first job was a product shoot for a European footwear company. At this point in my photography life I had just purchased a Canon 40D and 28-135mm kit lens. Being a 14 year old that just got asked to shoot all of the product shots for a startup footwear company, I was pretty excited, but nervous. I immediately started studying other shoe photos and decided I could pull it off with minimal supplies. I used a display board and ran a poster board down the back to make the background seamless. I draped a white bed sheet over the top of the board and shot two work lights through the top to give it soft lighting.

This shoot really helped me to see how important lighting is in your photos. I began to see the lighting more and more in photos I loved. Shortly after I did this shoot, I was watching Photoshop User TV and saw that Scott Kelby was starting his Worldwide Photo Walk and I decided that sounded like a fun time and decided to participate!

Photo by Peter Boden

I joined the Spokane walk and met many interesting people and great mentors. We started a photography group from that first walk and helped each other grow in photography. We talked about everything from lighting to Photoshop. This inspired me to explore lighting more and be more serious about my photography. I came across David Hobby’s blog, Strobist and was immediately amazed at how much there was to flash photography. I bought a Canon 430ex, an umbrella, and some “eBay” triggers and instantly fell in love with light. I was lighting nearly every shot I could, and my photography was improving because I realized how the light made me slow down and think through a shot before it was taken. Using an off-camera flash really changed my life. It added more difficulty to the shot but also added more creativity. When I would underexpose the background, it would make the shot look so interesting and I could see the direction of the light. This curiosity about light led to my style. I loved that direction and control of the light that I was able to obtain with the off-camera flash.

Fast-forward a year. I had moved up to Alien Bees for the power and the variety of modifiers. For this shot I had used two lights in the rear sides and one on a boom up front. I used a home-made beauty dish for the main light on this shot. This is all the real grass and clouds (yes the bird was drawn in). This is the difference that light can make. It adds depth, dimension, and drama to your photos.

I continued to play with light and explore it, the inspiration of Frank Doorhof (@frankdoorhof), Zack Arias (@zarias), Joey L (@joeyldotcom), Joe McNally (@joemcnallyphoto), and Rian Flynn (@rianflynn) really helped me to keep pursuing light. Through the inspiration of these people I pushed myself to learn more and be more precise about lighting. I soon found that I was tweaking lights ever so slightly to make them perfect; this could be moving the light one inch or one degree. Doing this really helped me to be more intentional about my lighting and in turn helped me to produce some really neat photographs.

It is so important to find someone that inspires you and strive to be like them. It is how I’ve come to where I am today and how I will continue to grow in the future. Another way to keep progressing is to push yourself to get out and shoot. Think of something that you would like to shoot and exactly how you want to make that photograph. Plan it out, find a model, and go shoot it. Nothing will make you better more than practice. When you are at your shoot, pay attention to all of the elements of the photo: the pose, the background, the light, and composition.

Photo by Chris Thompson from the World Wide Photowalk that I led this year. This girl won best image from the walk.

Don’t be concerned with the gear that you have, because you can make a great photo with any camera. A high-end DSLR only helps make the photo-making process easier. It will give you better image quality but a point-and-shoot can do a great job as well! Once you’ve done your shoot, post it on Flickr or a similar forum or website. Get feedback on it and listen to the constructive criticism. It will only help you get better. You can’t improve on your mistakes unless someone points them out to you. Another important step in the growing process is to find a mentor to help you grow along your way. Find someone whose work impresses you and assist for them, ask them questions, and study how they do their work. Eventually, you’ll be on your way to creating some amazing photographs and exploring life in a whole new way.

You can see more of Matt’s work at MattLeitholt.com, and keep up with him on Google+, Twitter, and on Facebook (personal and fan page)