“I am inspired by my mom.”  This is not the common thing we hear from twelve-year-olds when asked about his or her parents, but Diana is different.  Her mother, Nancy, is the recipient of a micro-credit loan from Foundation for Women.  For the past two days, half of our workshop team has been on location filming, photographing, and interviewing Nancy’s family.

The inspiration in this family does not stop with the twelve-year-old.  Nancy herself constantly tells us how much influence her own mother had in her life, “She would work an eight hour day and then come home, grab her merchandise, and go door to door selling wares to support myself and my brothers.  She was such a hard worker.”  Nancy has carried on the tradition of hard work, now teaching it to her children as she starts up her own cake-baking business.

Michael J. Costa, photographer and workshop participant

Inspiration is needed for small business work, families, and artists alike.  One of our workshop participants, Michael J. Costa, has been inspired for years by the work of Phil Borges, the workshop leader and founder of Stirring the Fire.  “I got into photography later in life, just like Phil, and I was always fascinated by his Dalai Lama photograph.”  It was while Michael was in school at the Academy of Arts in San Francisco that he got to interview Phil, his favorite photographer, for a research paper.  “I think Phil speaks for a generation of photographers.  He does what I want to do; he travels and captures people’s eyes and emotions in his photographs.  The social documentary part of his work really intrigues me.”

Phil Borges’ photograph of the Dalai Lama, 1994.

Here at the workshop Michael is a self-proclaimed sponge.  “I am soaking up all the information about pre-production, on location shooting, and post-production.  I feel so blessed to be here learning from my mentor, sometimes, it’s even overwhelming.  Yet, Phil makes us all feel like we are deserving, that we can move on, be professionals, and reach our goals.”

As each workshop participant works towards his or her personal goals, together we are all back in the office, downloading the day’s photographs and video clips.  This process of downloading helps each photographer review their work, edit, and find those images that truly inspire.