Sometime late last night I finished updating the Photography Workshops page for the 2014 season on The Digital Story. If you've ever attended one of my events, you know how passionate I am about them.

I think one of the reasons why I like these gatherings so much is because they aren't virtual. A group of people with similar sensibilities get to work and hang out together... in the same space.

Back a few years ago, I was lucky enough to join 11 other pro shooters on an adventure to Iceland to vet the first version of Adobe Lightroom. It was an amazing event. I saw some of the most beautiful landscape ever.

What's interesting to me, however, is that my fondest memories of that adventure was hanging out in the workroom with the other photographers. We edited our images, talked shop, made prints, and got to know one another. I still smile when I think about those afternoons in Iceland.

I try to bring this camaraderie to the workshops I facilitate. Capturing great pictures is important, but so is fellowship, good food, and community.

Photographers are really the only people who are interested in what other photographers think. That's why we need to get together every now and then.