February 2018 will go down in the books as one of my favorite experiences-- ever. I got the opportunity to go to the first ever Headshot Mania in Cabazon, CA. As you know, a year ago I joined Peter Hurley's Headshot Crew after meeting Peter at a seminar here in Denver. The Headshot Crew is group of international, professional photographers who focus on headshot photography, taking it out of the ho-hum and into the wow. Peter Hurely trains us with his method that has made him the best headshot photographer in NYC, and undoubtedly the world. In conversations with Sven over the past year, I have likened the crew experience to that of the academy. It's challenging, prideful and I have come in contact with some of the most amazing people I have ever met. I have found a true photography family within the crew.
My opportunity to go to Mania came pretty late in the game, so we opted to pull the kids out of school and drive to CA. (The residual affects of my concussion and vestibular issues were the final decision maker as well since flying is uncomfortable for me at this point.) It was an insanely long road trip in an insanely short period of time. We endured snow in the Mojave and a blizzard in the mountains of Arizona (and ironically the weather and roads in Colorado were great). The kids were troopers and Sven the reliant pilot. I owe my family a level of gratitude that I cannot put into words for putting up with yet another of my crazy photography schemes in order to attend this phenomenal event.
I'll spare you the daily details (though I could go on and on). The summary is that I couldn't have asked for a more positive experience than this. It was 3 intense days of classes and camaraderie. The feeling was mutual among the 150+ attendees. The comments were, "It's like going to a family reunion with family we've never met." It really did feel like that since we talk online with each other daily and see each other on video casts several times a week. You'd think a group of photographers who have set their sights on being the best in this niche of photography would have a competitive atmosphere-- quite the contrary. It warms my heart to know how each and every person I meet and cross paths with on the crew is supportive in every way from the technical details of a shoot to marketing and client interaction. I truly stumbled upon a gold mine that day I met Peter. Yes, I could really go on and on. The crew has brought so much into my life and for that I am grateful. They have given me a direction and a support system. I love my crew.
Anyway, here are the outtakes from our fantastic adventure!
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| Snow in the mountains of Colorado as we drove over the Rockies. |
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| Somewhere in the desert....Utah I think? |
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| Our route took us through St. George, and a quick hello with my aunt and uncle. |
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| And, a quick dip for the kids in their pool! |
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A quick stop for a night in Vegas.
(Ha- are you picking up on the 'quick' theme we had going on?!) |
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| Happy Chinese New Year! |
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| A baby dolphin to meet at the Mirage Garden. |
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| How does Em feel about a 2,000 mile road trip? Lol..... |
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| Snow in the Mojave. Yep, that's how it goes when the Krauss' hit the road. |
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| CA-- land of sun....wait, rain? Cold rain?? No!!! |
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| The Morongo Resort-- our home for the next 4 days. |
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| The 'Rumble Room' where an insane amount of shooting was taking place. |
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One of my best HSC friends from Cinncinati.
She told Sven that we were like sisters who'd never met. =) |
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My amazing, amazing mentor Tommy.
I'm so fortunate that we live in the same city! |
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| The larger-than-life Peter Hurley. This man is amazing. He was an actor, model, Olympian and now creator of the largest group of professional headshot photographers in the world. He's simply the best! |
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I love this photo that a friend captured of us in the Rumble Room.
Peter's 'doing his thing' and we're all soaking it up. |
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| Here we all are. No, this is not all of the crew, but only a small fraction that attended Mania. Nope, it wasn't any fun at all. lol.... |
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And just like that, the fun was over. Friends dispersed to the air and the roads.
This is what we had to contend with! Darn-- let's just go back to Mania! |
