If you’ve been following me on Twitter or Facebook, you’ll notice that I’ve been traveling a lot.  Like so much that, as my friend Monty says, all the airplanes and changes in pressure have “broken the mold on me” if ya know what I mean.  And with that said, it’s easy to see that life has been such a whirlwind the last couple of months… It seems that it all spins faster and faster until everything becomes a blur.

But sometimes, there are moments in life that bring you back.  Those “be still” moments…  They bring you back to who you are and remind you of your purpose and what you love.  It’s in those moments, moments like sitting on bench in silence, standing in awe of the Scottish seashore, being wrapped up in his arms, being kissed softly and sweetly on the forehead, that I’m brought back to that calming center at my core.  That center where I can be me.  Where in that moment, I’m not influenced by any external forces.  It’s refreshing.  It’s energizing.  And it’s hopeful.

About three days before I jetted off to Scotland, I had one of those moments. It was in Las Vegas, where I joined 14,000 other photographers at the world’s largest wedding and portrait photography trade show, WPPI. Sounds like a lot of external forces, if you ask me, but wait.  There’s more! ;-) I actually didn’t stay for the entire week of festivities, as my Scotland trip interfered.  But the part that I did attend, was likely one of the most worthwhile and meaningful events.

It was called Lens and Learn: Inspiring Kids Through Photography, a very special day of light lecture and lots of play with a few of the world’s most well known photographers and the children of the Las Vegas Boys and Girls Club.  The event was initiated by Jim Collins, CEO of Pictage – my right hand company who handles more of my business than seems fair, and was co-sponsored by Canon USA.  It was a honor to be included in this group and I owe it all to Jim who is one of the best and neatest leaders I’ve encountered.  His heart behind the event was something that hit hard with me.  For an entire day, I got to hang out with a bunch kiddos and play with cameras and do a photo scavenger hunt.  But playing with the kids wasn’t quite the moment I referred to earlier. The moment, that brought me back, was the second I sat down next to Tyler. And Kaydine.  And China.  And Maile.  And Lauren.  And Lexie. And Hector. And Dylan.  And I just got to love on those kids.  To smile at them, hug them, and tell them how important they are.  And what a bright future they have ahead of them.

To see them open up and begin to imagine the possibilities was what it was all about.

It was such an amazing blessing to be there.  I’m so grateful to be a part of the loving community that is Pictage.  Enjoy this video from the awesome Ron Dawson who was there to capture the day and some neat interviews from the photographers’ view points.

A few shots from the day.  To be honest, I didn’t shoot a ton.  The ones without my logo were taken by Tyler. :-)