B&H Sponsors an Epic All-Women Photography Retreat

Rachel Jones Josh took photographers that inspire her on a retreat to the Canadian Rockies to shoot, collaborate, and have fun doing what they do. 

There is no difference in motivation, strength, or determination between a man or a woman. Being brave and curious is an element that makes everyone equal. What I will say is that I think photography needs more collaboration like this. We need to share ideas and work with others more. I once had the mindset of keeping my cards close to my chest. I didn't want to share the way I edit, the presets I use, or the workflow I follow. 

I did it because of the competitive nature that I told myself the photography industry has. I was keeping something valuable away from the industry, and I'm glad this mindset has passed. I now patiently share how to edit and color a photo in Photoshop. Sure, there is competition, but I now see it as a healthy part of the challenge. So, my advice is to show how you achieve something when someone asks. Teach it. You know as well as I do that a large part of photography is who you are as a person and not what gear or software you use. Be one that inspires by showing others. 

In this video, it seems like each person's strength was given the opportunity to grow and shine. And I think it's great for B&H to sponsor events like this. 

Wouter du Toit's picture

Wouter is a portrait and street photographer based in Paris, France. He's originally from Cape Town, South Africa. He does image retouching for clients in the beauty and fashion industry and enjoys how technology makes new ways of photography possible.

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4 Comments

The world definitely needs more women in the realm of landscape and nightscape photography! Many other genres of photography do have a growing percentage of female photographers, but in landscape and nightscape photography, it often seems like it's still 99% (bearded) men.

Way to go, Rachel! Waking up at 5 AM in the middle of the winter sounds like fun! Unfortunately, as I'm friends with a couple of the girls who attended this workshop, I've learned in my conversations with them (and others) that going out to photograph the stars in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere is NOT something that most females feel really safe doing. Which is really a shame, and it's something that didn't even register in my mind as a male. Yeah, I'm terrified of mountain lions and grizzly bears, but there are still innumerable places I go that I feel totally safe shooting solo all night. Hopefully, we can be the change we wish to see in this and future generations.

Reverse sexism at its finest

We definitely need more women in ALL professional fields. Saying that, I wonder how it would look if B&H did a all male retreat...

And what's with the word 'epic' every second article. An adjective for the sake of having an adjective?
'B&H Sponsors All-Women Photography Retreat' sounds more objective and less like a bait.

1. Retreat for all women is like saying they can't compete with men so let's give them their own time and space. 2. I thought this was going to be a retreat for new or up and coming female photographers. Give them a chance to explore photography and all the possibilities. But nope.. let us bring in experienced and successful photographers who are already on it.

Feminism fails once again.