There's a new SMUG in town!

What's a SMUG you ask. As it is described on the smug site,

"A SMUG is a place where you can learn, teach and meet up with other photographers who share your passion. It's also how we can tell you what's happening in our world and discover what's happening in yours. SMUGs are a great way to connect with other photographers and add a few weapons to your creative arsenal."

Last night we kicked off or first official meeting as the Detroit SmugMug User Group. There are smug groups all over the country, and now there is one right in our backyard. I knew, from the time that we had our planning meeting back in june, that this was going to be an awesome group, and our meeting last night did not disappoint. There were many people there that are passionate about all different forms of photography. Some professionals, some just interested in photography as a hobby. I saw some familiar faces from the june meeting, but I was even more excited to see new faces.

Most of all, last night, I was REALLY excited to meet our speaker of the night, Dawn McCarthy. Dawn is an extremely talented wedding photographer from Jacksonville, Florida, and the leader of the Jacksonville SmugMug User Group. I have known Dawn for a long time now, but have never met her in person. Let me tell you, she lived up to every expectation I had for her. She is even more beautiful than her photographs. I saw a mutual friend of ours say that she is cute as a bug's ear, and it's so true. From her country girl accent, to the rhinestone studded pockets on the back of her jeans and her sassy leopard print pumps. Appearances aside, Dawn is a great speaker. She is eloquent, honest, knowledgeable, and best of all, she is super sweet, but not afraid to show a little sass. It was also nice to know that I am not the only grown woman in the world who uses the word "crap" on a regular basis. Lol. Although she is a wedding photographer, and used many wedding analogies in her presentation, her points were relatable to many other forms of photography, or any small business for that matter. Dawn's presentation was engaging and inspiring, and I cannot think of any better way to kick things off for our group.

Dawn has definitely raised the bar for any future speaker that the Detroit SmugMug User Group will ever have. Luckily, our group has a great leader, Jerry Roek, and other great organizers that are passionate about both photography and their relationships with SmugMug. I cannot wait to learn and grow through this group, and get to know everyone better, but most of all, I can't wait to watch as our group grows into something that Detroit and Michigan can be proud of. There are great things ahead, I know it, and I for one am really excited about it. :)

If you are at all interested in photography, and want to learn and meet people who share your passion, please feel free to head over to the meetup site and join the group.