FIND Tahoe

FIND (Film is not dead)…Tahoe.

Is it a film vs digital thing? No. Is it trying to be cool? Nah. Is it going backwards on the road of progress? Not at all. So, what’s this all about?

This trip is about more than choosing the medium (film or digital) that your image is captured on and how to run a business doing it. Yes, the foundations of how to shoot film and run a successful business are covered, and I’ll add that they are covered better than I could have imagined. It goes beyond that though. It’s taking a look at how you spend your time, what your intentions are, the attitude you have, and what it actually means to love photography. It’s about discovering, refining, and forever moving forward with your ‘voice’.

This whole idea/community/brand of FIND was created by Jonathan Canlas. He is an extremely talented photographer and business man, an advocate for shooting film (placing a heavier focus on the principles of shooting film, rather than pitting digital and film against each other), and has become someone I am proud to call a friend. He’s been graced with a big heart full of passion for his family, his ‘voice’, and the life that he gets to enjoy them in.

The most saturated portion of what I’ve talked about happens on these FIND workshops. He has them all over the world about once a month and mine was in Lake Tahoe, CA, this past August. This was essentially a 5 day intensive trip with 11 strangers where Jon poured out everything he knows, along with anything any attendee asked for, in regards to those three things; shooting film, running a business, and using your voice.

One of the best parts about this trip, and this was echoed by other attendees who had been to other photographer’s workshops, was that Jon wasn’t there to be adored for his successes. Yes, he’s wildly talented and would rightfully be able to get a few pats on the back for the work he produces, but that’s not him. He works as hard as he can, loves his job, and goes home to be with his biggest passion, his family. He genuinely wants each FINDer (someone who attends a FIND workshop) to love what they do and succeed at doing it. He wants every person to find their voice, apply it, and continue to develop it. He challenges and encourages each person to figure out their goals and then supplies every single tool he possibly can to help them get there. The whole trip is very challenging and yet extremely uplifting.

We learned together, shot together, and ate together. These strangers became friends as we all took a few steps further in our individual journeys as a family of FINDers.

You can look at the workshop schedule, pricing, the day to day activity breakdown, and any other questions you may have by visiting filmisnotdead.com or emailing Jon personally. At the end of the day though, if you call yourself a photographer in any way, I would strongly recommend going to a FIND workshop and becoming a part of this lovely FIND family.  It’s true.

Film is not dead.

Prints can be ordered here.