I'm so fortunate to be attending a Magnum Photography Workshop in Provincetown, MA. In attendance and doing nightly lectures are Constantine Manos, Bruno Barbey, David Allen Harvey, and Olivia Arthur. Bruce Davidson will be here tomorrow. Students can apply to work with a specific photographer. I chose to work with Olivia Arthur, as she is one of the few female Magnum photographers. Olivia is a documentary photographer. She is really pushing me out of my comfort zone and helping me get closer to the people I interact with on the street. It's a process, but I feel I'm making progress. Olivia is pictured here in the passenger side of the Cadillac with her assistant for the week, a renowned P-Town photographer in her own right, Angela Russo. The car is Angela's baby, Pearl. Like Angela, Pearl has character and attitude. As is true with any workshop, I'm learning as much from the other attendees as I am from the pros. Eric Kim, a prolific blogger, street tog, and curator of all things street photography is here and working with Constantine Manos. It's especially fun to follow Eric's blog while he's here living it.

I've been thinking a lot about editing. Not post processing, but editing as in making decisions about what is worthy of attention - or not. I review hundreds of images and may only come out with a few that truly catch my eye...precious fewer that feel worthy. In an effort to improve the odds, I'm trying to edit more while shooting rather than on the computer. To do so, I need to understand why a certain scene holds interest for me. What makes me stop to take the shot? Composition is only part of it. I wonder how much is subconscious.

In this scene on Wickenden, was I intrigued by the young woman reading a flyer in the window, or did I see the flyer first? Dreaming out loud. I only consciously noticed the words while looking back over the images later. Yet that's what I had been doing earlier in the day when I had the pleasure of meeting Kali Quinn, a Providence theater artist /performer /teacher /professor /connector /writer who is passionate about compassionate creativity. You can't help but dream out loud when talking to her.

It's clear Kali has a gift for inspiring creativity in others. As I was leaving our meeting, she gave me a little booklet made from the folded flyer of her solo show. On the thick paper, typed with an old fashioned typewriter, are 56 ways you can cultivate compassionate creativity for yourself and your communities. I have no doubt they will continue to inspire me. A few resonating with me at the moment... #3 Look to be surprised. #19 Remember that an opinion is flippant. A point of view evolves over a long time. #20 Talk to strangers. #32 Allow the picture in your head to be flexible, bendable, impressionable. #44 Use your art as a vehicle to constantly learn more about other things. #50 Remember that everything is an interpretation.

Thank you, Kali! I have another one to add...dream out loud.