It’s Shout Out time!  On Flickr there is a group called "Starting a Wedding Photography Business" and while I am sure this  group of 3,175 members is an awesome resource for information and community gathering – it is but a small chunk of the group that I would like to focus on. Ladies and Gentlemen, I would love to introduce all of you to -

Carlos Benjamin and The Fit Photographer’s Group!

While gathering to network and learn with each other about weddings, a common topic of discussion continued to surface – and it seemed it had nothing to do with weddings. And then, one day, something occurred to one of them…

Quote Carlos Benjamin: "Another photographer and twitter user posted a tweet that day that simply said, “I’m Fat.” I can relate. Then it hit me….. Why not get a group of photographers together who are just as tired of being…. well, fat…. and see if they’d like to join me in public humiliation and start a collective blog about our resolve to get fit? I expected a few to jump on board but to my surprise nearly forty said, “I’m in!”"

Carlos then went on to co-found The Fit Photographer’s Group that is now a small network of blogs revealing the personal up and down roller-coaster ride of physical fitness – complete with photographs of the photographers in all of their out-of-shape glory! That right, these uber brave photographers are getting out from behind their cameras and showing off – literally – what they’ve got to loose. But that’s not all. Within this group comes an outpouring of some really amazing, heartwarming, and inspiring blog stories of each and every journey coupled with beautifully artistic photographic images of what they encounter as they go. Also, the community stays connected through a a neat little system where you can read blogs as they are posted on the main page: http://fitphotographers.com/, or you can choose to follow a specific person via their personal blog link in the side bar of the main page. And everyone is allowed and encouraged to read, react, and comment on each blog post creating an unbreakable support system. A total packaged concept that I find to be nothing short of genius! 

Quote Carlos Benjamin: "There’s sure to be some friendly competition in a group like this, but the real competition for each of us is ourselves. It’s not the comparison between what someone else is doing and the progress they’re making, but the real competition comes when we see how we are doing in comparison to how we were doing. So far, the results are positive. Everyone seems to be doing something different than what they were doing and unless something changes, nothing changes…….."

I have to tell you, I am so touched and inspired by this group, that although I am not a member – I have decided I too needed to start making changes. So now I am making a conscious effort to take my health into my own hands. Poor weather conditions may mean that I will not be able to walk outside, and poor pocketbook conditions may mean that I can not join a gym – but I can walk the length of my apartment several times while pumping small hand weights!!

So, it is with a healthy heart that I would like to give a HUGE LOUD SHOUT OUT! to Carlos Benjamin and every single last one of the members of the Fit Photographer’s Group! You all majorly rock!!! To read more about these amazing people – Click the pic!