Richard Roca — Maryland

Course: America’s Beach: The Outer Banks of North Carolina

Every time I have taken an RMSP workshop - and the one on the Outer Banks was my third - I enter it with a bit of trepidation. This time, I had let my photography slip for the last several years as work had been particularly demanding, and one of my concerns was that I would find my interest in photography had waned. This turned out not to be true. The interest was still there, and the challenge of the workshop coupled with the skills of the instructors, Tim Cooper and Eileen Rafferty, rekindled the passion.

When participating in one of these workshops, one quickly becomes aware that the skill level of the participants varies widely – ranging from novices to beginning professionals. I am more towards the former than the latter, not a comfortable place for someone of my competitive temperament. During the week, I discovered again what I had discovered in all the previous workshops: one is not competing against anyone, rather everyone is on their own journey of discovery and learning. So it was before and so it was this time. For me, this is where I could (safely) depart from my comfort zone in technology and analytical thinking and allow my creative side to grow.

The advantage of participating in the RMSP workshop is that instructors are not only well versed in their profession, both technically and artistically, but they are also skilled in supporting each participant in the best way for their own particular journey.