When I took the plunge and attented Le Petit Atelier-Bistrot

My first posts on this blog are all about first times: my first steps as a blogger, my first family photography session… Today I wanted to write about my first experience as a food photography student when I attended Le petit Atelier-Bistort, an event organized by Inés (@lespetiteschosesdudimanche on Instagram).

Living in Switzerland but having most of my photography network in Spain, it can be frustrating not being able to participate in the huge variety of face-to-face courses and events organized over there. I really miss the opportunity to spontaneously meet my 2.0. friends for coffee.

Indeed, I really like to meet the people I interact with every day on Instagram. Every time I have done so (as when I met @marapazos, @mariacalcetines y @martavil78 in Santander or @chispa24 and @mallorkids in Mallorca), I felt the same connection as when we were interacting virtually. I have never regretted it.

One of the persons I had wished to meet for a long time was Inés. I have been following her on Instagram from the beginning, when I used to take pictures of cups and spoons – for me they were the best examples of still life photography (this particular picture is still on my feed. It reminds me where I started). Inés has always been very supportive on many matters (maternity, children education, photography…) without even knowing me personally!

When she told me she was organizing a photography and food styling course in her beautiful house in Empordà, I said to myself: “I really want to go, but is it reasonable with a three-months-old baby? Will I manage to convince Philippe? And are the logistics feasible?”. I really wanted to attend. On top of everything, the course was taking place not far away from one of my best friends’ holiday house. It was the perfect opportunity to combine a weekend with my friends and the course!

I will spare you the details on how I managed to convince my husband – the negotiations were as tough as international politics. As you can guess craziness won. What I would like you to know is the fantastic experience Le petit Atelier-Bistrot was. All started weeks before the event, when Inés told me who else was attending. I realized I knew everyone and couldn’t believe I was going to meet them in person!

It continued with an intense exchange of messages (with more than 500 WhatsApp messages on some days! This is probably more than I get in a whole month from my family and friends). During the weeks before the event we laughed a lot and started to share much more than photography. Inés was already teaching us. As we were only going to spend a few hours together, we wouldn’t have time to talk about basic photography, so she suggested to review basic concepts beforehand for those who felt the need to.

Finally, the day came. One of the moments I remember most vividly is when I arrived at Inés’ house, opened the door and saw them all. Believe it or not, it gave me the goose pimples because of the good vibes I felt in that house! From that moment on, time flew. The course was very interesting (Inés shared absolutely everything she knows on food styling and photography); the decoration from @jardindemamaana, and paper art from @latortuguitablanca were exquisite; the food, cooked by Inés’ husband (@mariuscarbonell), was delicious, and the waiters (their two boys), were really cute.

I would have stayed at Inés’s house forever. I think we have so much to share that Inés will need to organize a couple of other Ateliers for us to feel we talked enough! And, for the first time, I didn’t feel “the crazy lady with the camera” as they are all as crazy as me…

I want to thank Inés once more for so much generosity and for making my first Instagram event unforgettable.