Missouri Photo Workshop

In September 2023 I took part in the Missouri Photo Workshop in the United States. It was the 75th Anniversary and was one of the best learning experiences of my life. Over the years I heard from a handful of photographer friends about this workshop and how great it is in getting you out of your comfort zone and it was everything I was told it was going to be and more. The chosen town was Sedalia and 40 photographers were tasked with finding and telling a stories of the people and small town life in Missouri.

This renowned workshop limits the number of frames photographers can shoot in one week to 400. The idea being to think a lot more about building a narrative rather than shooting thousands of images and trying to create one retrospectively.

I spent my time with Beth Hakala who runs Peaceful Pastures donkey rescue. Her story is amazing – she rescued one donkey back in 2021 and now has more than 300 to date. Furthermore Beth is an ER Doctor and juggles her time as a physician on the front line and taking care of the sick and injured animals.

You can see more images of her story in the galleries here