Back in 2012, I found myself sitting in my office once again, letting my mind wander over everything that had happened in the past few years. I’m always tossing around new ideas—sometimes as a photographer, sometimes as someone who just likes to shake things up and keep our business fresh. I can never sit still very long.
I’d seen other people run photography workshops, but honestly, most of them didn’t appeal to Ally or me. The vibe was always a little too serious, a little too competitive full of folks eager to prove how much they knew or to show off their skills. Maybe that sounds harsh, but if you’ve ever joined a workshop with an intense group or a know-it-all leader, you get what I mean. Even the term “workshop” just doesn’t fit my style.
We wanted something different. We wanted to bring together people who simply loved photography and wanted to learn and have a good time. People who liked the idea of wandering around, snapping photos, and enjoying themselves without any pressure. Yet we also wanted it to be filled with education and instruction.
San Francisco – The Very First Tour
After running our courses around the country , we decided to try launching our first photo trip—to San Francisco. We had no clue how it would turn out or how to handle all the logistics. But the response? Absolutely amazing.
All twenty spots sold out in five minutes. We had to go by the order of calls and emails just to keep things fair, and even then, we ended up with a waitlist of more than forty people. Our first photography tour kicked off that April, and honestly, we couldn’t get enough. After a few more trips to San Francisco, we were fully hooked. Then, out of the blue, a client tossed out an idea: why not take the show on the road—to Italy? We’d been there a couple of times before, and just thinking about it got our hearts racing.
Why not, right? We started spreading the word. The trip sold out before we’d even figured out all the details. All we really knew was where we wanted to go. Luckily, one of our clients had a connection, a travel coordinator who worked her magic. Thanks to her, our first international tour came together in the spring of 2013. Twenty photographers, five instructors, and a ton of unknowns. We figured things out as we went, and it turned out to be one for the books.
