October 2, 2014
Don’t Give Up.
For years I’ve admired their work from the other side of the atlantic. It’s not just their work I admire – it’s their ethos, their way of story telling and recording peoples lives. These people are The Parsons. Ashley and Jeremy to be precise. I first met them when Dee and I attended their Don’t Give Up workshop in Belfast back in early January of this year. The two days at that workshop to some extent changed my life and Dee thought the very same. We came away feeling refreshed and with a different outlook and perspective on not just wedding photography but on what it means to be a photographer. The Don’t Give Up poster is framed and positioned over our kitchen table so we are reminded of their message on a daily basis.
At the end of those two days in Belfast Ashley and Jeremy told us that if we are ever to visit the states then we must come and stay in their home in Kansas City – which is exactly what we did in June just a few months ago. And on that night in June sitting on their front porch we told them that they must return to Ireland one day and hold another workshop as we know of so many people who would benefit from it. Just three months later and they are standing at our doorstep in Kilkenny and just a day away from the Dublin Don’t Give Up workshop. Amazing.
We took them to Dunmore East for some sea air, fish n chips and guinness. A proper Irish welcome. The next two days were spent in Dublin amongst some old friends and new friends as we listened and learned from these two great people and then topped it all off with a proper Irish farewell in a Dublin pub.
Until the next time folks.