In November of 2009 4 people, Bob Davis, Anton Lorimer, Kenny Kim and Jim Davis-Hicks journeyed to the East African country of Tanzania. The goal of the trip was to document and create a compelling film that captured the clean water needs of the region and the efforts of Thirst Relief International. Cinematographers Anton Lorimer and Bob Davis shot the project in a documentary style that attempts to capture the real struggles and efforts of the people in Africa. Kenny Kim was the designated photographer and blogger that relayed the day to day progress to the rest of the world. Jim Davis-Hicks, Founder and President of Thirst Relief International acted as guide and spokesperson of Thirst Relief. Post production/editing was performed by Lorimerworks.

On a personal note, it was a life changing experience that we all hope to share with everyone. Please take 15 minutes of your day to view this video and pass the word out to others. Visit this site to find out more information.

I love traveling. I love the careful and detailed planning that is required to make the trip possible. But one of the best things about going on a travel is that you do not know what this journey will bring forth. Some can be bad, some can be good and some can be unexpected. This trip so far has been no different. You guys all know by now that I am out in Italy again (this is like my second home) for my next Kenny Kim PhotoVenture w/ friends.. I arrived here few days early to prepare everything that we need for the workshop. I also brought couple of my good friends in Stevi & Matt Savage of Averyhouse & Kenny Nakai of Nakai Photography a few days early to show them some parts of Rome and Umbria that I’ve been wanting to share with the for sometime.

This trip has not even began yet and Italy is welcoming me with many surprises. Let me share a few with you:

1) While I was in air traveling to Italy, another photographer signed up for my workshop and have made it officially SOLD OUT. Praise God. Talk about last minute!

2) When we landed in Rome, it sudden started to snow – I mean major snow, that it took us almost an hour to get to our hotel (which should have taken us less than 30 minutes). The taxi driver, in Italian, told me that this is crazy because it has not snowed in Rome for over 25 years. At first I thought he was exaggerating (b/c of our language barrier) but later on I found out that he was being literal. Wow, it hasn’t snowed in 25 years and we just happened to arrive on the day that it decided to snow. Had I known this earlier, I would not have taken a nap right away when I got to the hotel. I did manage to get couple of shots before I took a quick nap:

Because we all took a little nap, we were wide awake for the evening. So we decided to walk around Rome on a night shoot. I don’t usually do many shoots at night but walking around in Rome (getting lost around Trastevere) made me realize how awesome it is to use different available light to create some amazing shots like this:

Here is a normal view of Colosseum at night:

And here’s an unexpected view of the Colosseum thanks to snow by day that melted into puddle of water by night:

Pantheon is just as breath-taking at night as it is by day. I love Matt Savage’s innocent child-like response to seeing Pantheon for the first time: “This is one of the coolest place on earth!” Matt & Stevi and Kenny Nakai took some unbelievable photos here which I am sure they will share on their blogs in the future.

I almost found out that Kenny Nakai is afraid of heights. I still made him cross over the Tevere river bridge railing and stand on the other side. He’s not smiling in this photo because he is genuinely scared right now:

We walked around Max’s home town in Terni at night. We found out San Valentino (St. Valetine) is the guardian of the city. Because it was close to 2/14, they were having a chocolate festival there. I have never seen so much chocolate in my life. I learned that Nutella is not just a chocolate cream spread – it is a religion. One of amazing things we tasted were these crepes filled with Nutella inside. I think I am not a huge fan of chocolate but I can eat this any day of the week!

Here Stevi & Matt are patiently waiting for their Nutella crepe. Almost too patient that they are getting angry – j/k…maybe..

Now that Stevi got her Nutella, she is a happy camper. Nakai on the other hand did not get one and now wishes he did:

Max had planned another workshop after my PhotoVenture is over with a group of Italian photographers. He told me he reserved a special room for our meeting and when he took me there, I almost gasped. It is deep in the moutains at a monastery where the monks used to live – which now has been converted to a bed and breakfast hotel. This place is unreal and well preserved in time. I cannot wait to do this. Just picture a bald asian who does not know how to speak any Italian teaching these guys about American style of photography. This ought to be interesting:

We also got to visit Assisi again. We went to the Basilica of St. Francis. Normally this place is packed with tourists and St. Francescan followers. Today it was almost empty and perhaps because of that reason, the guards were not there. This church is full of of the gorgeous and breath-taking fresco art. For this reason, they do not allow any photography inside. But since the guards were not there, we decided to be rebels and snapped some shots. Max told us that this is the first time in his life that he did not witness any guards protecting the basilica:

We took a break after Assisi to relax at a nearby café bar as typical Italians would do. We sat next to this couple and I don’t know why but seeing them enjoy a cup of coffee and dessert made me smile. I took a shot of them and it reminded me of how Italians love life and enjoy it to the fullest. It put a smile on my face again.

And this last shot is pretty amazing – not only is Terni guarded by San Valentino, he also has a church there and is buried there as well. We drove by the church as they were finishing their mass and noticed these heart shaped lights leading them into the church. We couldn’t help but to take this photos for Matt & Stevi. How many couples can say that they celebrated their Valentine’s Day in front of San Valetino’s Church where he is buried? These guys are so cute together they make me sick.

Anyways, I need to hit the sack soon. We are heading back to Rome to meet all the attendees tomorrow. I cannot wait for this PhotoVenture to start and to see what surprises are waiting for us around the corner. Are you ready? Andiamo & arrivederci!

For more, visit: My Portfolio | Resources For Photographers | Twitter: KennyKim | Facebook Page
contact@kennykim.com | 800-539-1294

As I sit in front of this computer writing this blog, it is 7:00am and I have not slept. Part of it is because I have been going crazy trying to get as much things done as I possibly can before tomorrow. I’m also trying to adjust to the European time zone which is 7 hours ahead from Central Time Zone. But mainly I haven’t slept because I am so excited that what started as my vision has come to reality and is now beginning to bear fruit. Fourteen of us will be traveling in a group down to Campania region in Italy led none other than by Max Brunelli. We’ll be visiting various cities and hidden gems along the coast with planned activities as well as few surprises. We will soak it all in. Let Italy teach us about life, beauty, culture and perspective. I cannot wait to learn more about our fellow travelers to find out where they have been in their walks of life and how their journey has led them to photography.

I can go on and on but I will stop here and do one thing – which is to give a BIG BIG BIG shout out to my sponsors – especially the main ones that believed in what I am doing and have come on board to help me back this trip up in various ways.

A sincerely thank you of gratitude goes out to all the fine staff at Pictage the best online lab solution that any photographer can ask for. But they are more than that. Find out for yourself how Pictage can improve your image and your business. I’ll be talking about them on this trip as well as during my Master Class at WPPI – about the lessons I’ve learned from them.

Another shoutout goes to Roxanne Benton at Pixel2Canvas. Not only do the make amazing canvases that bring your work to life, Roxanne is such a giver. She gives and gives until you can’t take it anymore that you have to do that for others. Her passion for the industry is contagious and I just love her to death!

I was a prisoner to my monitor until I met these guys: Nathan Holritz at Photographer’s Edit – who convinced me that I can let go and delegate! Because of their photo editing services, I have the time to go on trips like this and invest in my business. Thank you. Thank you.

I wish I had the time to list every single one of the sponsors but I just don’t have to time – I still have not even packed my clothes yet. For the full listing of all my sponsors, please visit here. From books, discount codes, prizes, services, memberships, I want to thank all the sponsors for coming on board. I cherish your partnership but more importantly your friendship. Thank you again. See you on the other side.

Arrivederci!

I promise that PhotoVenture II will be a successful one in so many levels – and through you guys it will get even better. Ok, I better go pack my clothes now…

Well not really. It was not an actual wedding. But it was a vision. A vision to create a scenario to be able to capture some wedding images from Italy – which is what a group of us did when we went on our first PhotoVenture trip to Italy this past September of 2009. With the help by our tour coordinator Max Brunelli, we organized a photoshoot with Italian models and for few hours where we photographed them in their wedding attires and came up with some really cool wedding images. My goal was that all of us will walk away with some beautiful images for their portfolio. But not only that, I wanted them to challenge themselves to work in any kind of environment despite the language barrier to come up with shots that they needed. My personal goal was to photograph more weddings here in Italy so I wanted to build a portfolio to showcase more of my work in a unique backdrop only Italy can offer. Last year I had the privilege of photographing a beautiful wedding for Bob Davis and I fell in love there and told myself that I will make a goal and my vision to photograph more weddings here.

For this reason, the mock wedding photoshoot took place in a small acquaint hilltop medieval town of Labro tucked away between the mountains. Labro is in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region Latium, located about 70 km northeast of Rome. The town's population is about 350 and is so small that you cannot find it in most tour guide books. They also still have a prince that still lives and governs there.

When we started our shoot, we had couple of obstacle to overcome: 1) Rain. Which meant that we had to pose them in places where they were under the cover and/or the umbrella. Fortunately the rain stopped after about an half hour into the shoot. We learned the lesson of quickly adapting to things we cannot change (such as weather) and rather than letting that discourage us, think of more creative ways to capture the subject.

Despite the rain, we came up with some really cool images

Trying to explain to the them 'almost kiss but not all the way' was little tricky

2) Language barrier: Another challenge we had to face was that none of the models spoke any English. And we didn’t speak Italian so many times we had to use our body language, eye contact and just repeating things slowly and audibly so that they can somewhat understand what we were saying. And because many words were used in repetition, they eventually picked up some of our instruction and we also picked up a few phrases of their own. Lesson learned: that communication is very important during a photoshoot even with our clients. Often times I see workshop attendees just silent while they shoot away at their subject. It is important to keep the conversation flowing during our shoot.

Despite our language differences, I was still able to communicate to them on the reactions that I wanted

Often times we can use the photoshoot time to get to know things around us. We spent some time w/ the old man in the background and found out that he is 95 years old and has been the pastor of the church we were photographing for over 70 years old. Wow!

I love the breath-taking backdrops that only Italy can provide. Rainy weather meant bright blue sky to follow shortly after!

As we were driving away at night, we were mesmerized by how clear the sky was and how the bright stars were illuminating the city. Then we asked ourselves: "Did we really just shoot there?"

I am thankful for the experience that we had together as a group. I am putting it on my vision board to photograph more Italian weddings in 2010 so hopefully it will happen soon. In the mean time, I am taking a group of photographers again in less than 13 days on another PhotoVenture with Kenny & Friends. We have people from all over the States & Canada coming to this one. Kevin Swan from KISS Wedding books will also be joining us on this journey and I cannot wait to explore the region of Campania Felix (Amalfi, Napoli, Sorrento, Rovello, Positano, Pompeii, plus more.) It is not too late to sign up! If you are interested in joining us on this adventure, contact me. Until next time, happy traveling!

For more, visit: My Portfolio | Resources For Photographers | Twitter: KennyKim | Facebook Page
contact@kennykim.com | 800-539-1294

In Hollywood, most production companies will attempt to make a sequel film if the first one ends up being successful. But we all know that in most cases, the sequel is never as good as the first one. One might have expected the same result when Ray Santana and I decided to do another Portfolio+Workshop down in Miami, FL – in just three months after launching our first one back in September 2009. But when we factored in the warm weather, gorgeous models, amazing sponsors, great teaching and enthusiastic students, we knew it was going to be another hit. The Biltmore Hotel agreed and love the idea so much that they allowed us to use their facilities again during one of their busiest time of the year (week before the Super Bowl).

I just returned from Miami few hours ago back to the cold tundra of Chicago. My normal reaction would have been to cuddle up in a warm blanket and watch some TV or sleep to catch up on rest. However I think the adrenaline from returning from such a fun/successful workshop still has not worn off. So I decided to use that energy to blog about the experience.

We had attendees that flew from various locations throughout the US and Canada. It was so refreshing to see many photographers passionate about wanting to take their craft to a new level. From the starters to the seasoned pros, they all came to learn something new – not just from the instructors but also from one another as they shared and networked. The first half of the day was filled with classroom style teaching by Ray Santana, Jim Garner, Dave Cross and yours truly. I loved how each of us brought different elements to the table. But when combined together it became useful and practical things that we can all take away. When we were not instructing, we became like one of the students all learning from one another as well. Then the second half of the day was filled with portfolio shoot. Ray, Jim and I all each took our models and spent our time photographing them in separate groups while the attendees got to jump around from different instructors to another to capture all the models. In my group I allowed each of the attendees to have a few minutes to take time to lead our group in posing the models while we helped and shared with each other our camera settings and posing ideas. We shot until it got dark and to be honest, unless the darkness stopped us, we could have gone all night long.

I can go on and on talking about this but I wanted to share with you guys some of the photos that I captured during the shoot. I cannot wait to see what the others have come up with. I mainly worked with Lucy – who flew in from Utah the night before to join us. Even she gave us some good advice on how to pose and work with models.

I got to take a few shots of another model Barbara

Here is our group - So thankful for everyone that came to the workshop.

I think we made a pretty good team

We would like to thank everyone that came to the workshop – instructors and the attendees. Please leave a comment here with links to your blog and twitter so that we can follow up with what you guys have done. Follow us on twitter @PP_Workshop as we will keep you posted on more events and news in the near future.

We also would like to thank ALL our sponsors that believed in what Ray & I are doing. We could not have done this without your help! Big thanks to: Our models Lucy, Thalita, Ken and Barbara for doing an awesome job in helping us capture some amazing images. To Ines Di Santo for sending us incredible wedding gowns. To Xquisit Events for providing us with amazing flowers. To the Biltmore Hotel for allowing us to use their beautiful venue again despite their busy season. To all our friends that gave us a hand before, during and after the workshop. By the way, check out Kenny Nakai’s blog for some behind the scene coverage of this workshop. Thanks Kenny for helping us out.

We cannot wait to do this again. We have some awesome ideas in the works so stay tuned for more! Portfolio+Workshop

In the mean time, I have another workshop coming up in two weeks in Italy. If you are interested in traveling with a group of photographers around one of the most beautiful place on earth (Italy) on a PhotoVenture of a lifetime, visit this site.

For more, visit: My Portfolio | Resources For Photographers | Twitter: KennyKim | Facebook Page
contact@kennykim.com | 800-539-1294