We had a great time last night with Jessica Bergthold of the Mile High Photographers. While her group is all about professional photography in the greater Denver area, it follows the same principles of any other collaboration network. And as Miyamoto Musashi said, “From one thing, know ten thousand things.” So what I take away from Jessica’s experience I think we can all apply to the many collaborative projects we have.
To paraphrase her main talking point … In the old, dark days of freelance work (not that long ago, actually), photographers sat alone in their offices, scared of their competitors. Then came that spark of realization: “nobody is doing anything new or secret, so why should we hide our knowledge?” Thus a new model of collaboration was born among photographers.
Jessica said, “I see the Mile High Photographers as a sort of Abundance League, we just don’t talk about our ‘passions and needs … or gifts,’ because we’re all passionate about the same thing.” I also had thought of MFP as an “abundance league,” which is why I invited Jessica to speak in the first place; but to hear her say this out loud got me thinking, “many groups are actually abundance leagues … just in different formats.”
So where did this start? A loose collection of photographers in Colorado started gathering, and Jessica decided to create an online space to aid in that real-world community. Just under two years later the Mile High Photographers have a growing network that offers all its members rich benefits:
- chances to learn from each other through discussions
- professional workshops
- a referral network to find vendors & clients that match each business
- easy ways to find backup photographers when someone can’t be there
You might notice that their website is a private Ning network; it’s private because Jessica wants to encourage candor, and keep comments hidden from the eyes of Google. At the same time the group is also open because anyone who is interested in professional photography can learn + contribute in this community.
When MHP holds workshops, teachers volunteer their time. MHP receives a small fee from attendees: this means they value the workshop with a financial commitment, but don’t pay through the nose for it. Each workshop has so far sold out within hours.
Because the active membership has grown to the point that they need large meeting spaces, and the group has surplus revenue coming in from workshops, Jessica is planning to start a non-profit, soon. FYI, Jessica Bergthold and her husband Kevin Bergthold specialize in colorado & denver-area wedding photography.
Hearing about the growth of Mile High Photographers and its members’ personal development is giving me some thoughts & ideas about the Abundance League in Denver. What do you think? How does this story reflect your organization’s story? Leave your comments.
And as always, you can follow us on Twitter @abundanceleague.
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