September has always been like the beginning of a new year for me so it seems appropriate that we are launching a new IDEA group this week. Over the summer, a few people expressed an interest in the IDEA group we hold every two weeks and as a result we have decided to establish a second group.

The first IDEA group was established in February; you can read about it here. Since that time, the group has evolved its discussions to be more around photographers and their body of work rather than single images. Our discussions have stretched to include art history and artists and ideas beyond just photographers. I look forward to these discussions not only because I enjoy the company of the people in the group immensely but the quality of the conversation pushes me to think about aspects of art and photography I haven’t contemplated yet. The questions people ask lead us down unexpected avenues and we take time to go deeper even picking up the ideas in subsequent meetings. Some of the recent conversations have been around Stephen Shore, Guy Bourdin, and Magnum Nominee Zoey Strauss. Be forewarned. Joining a group will likely add to your book budget, just ask Ed Brydon, Stuart Sipahigil, Ken Udle or Ellie Ericson

If you are interested in being a part of an IDEA group, we have a couple of spots open on Thursday evenings 6pm Pacific/9pm Eastern. Using Google+, we connect with each other for about 90 minutes to 2 hours depending on the conversation. Each time we decide on the topic for the next meeting and most of us try to do a bit of research on the topic but Ray prepares for and facilitates all the meetings. There is also a small monthly fee to compensate Ray for his time and effort.

Please feel free to drop me an email using the contact form if you have any questions. If you would like to join us, please also share what you hope to gain from the discussions and what you feel you can contribute.