<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  A few weekends ago, Ryan Plett, the creative director of fashion discovery engine StyleSeek, got a bunch of young photographers together at Camp Wandawega in the Wisconsin woods for a couple days of eating, drinking, and (of course) picture-taking. Yesterday, those shots hit the Internet \u2014 and they look damn good. So, to mark the occasion, we grabbed a few minutes of Plett&amp;#039;s time to ask him about how it call came together. Read on for his thoughts on the project, and check out the slideshow below for more photos. ESQUIRE.COM: How&amp;#039;d you decide on the location? Why Camp Wandawega? RYAN PLETT: The location was a no-brainer for me. Having shot some photography there earlier in the year, I already knew what an amazing experience it was \u2014 and how many amazing things I didn&amp;#039;t have the chance to photograph. So I thought, &amp;quot;Why not just get a group of photographers and stylish people get together and see what they come up with?&amp;quot; ESQ: And how did you find the photographers?  RP: I guess in some way, shape, or form, they were all connected through me. Whether from Iowa or Chicago, or people I&amp;#039;d worked with from the Internet \u2014 my only goal was to get diverse people together. Not just diverse in the style of photography, but even the platform that they use. Some use Tumblr, some prefer Instagram, and of course there&amp;#039;s professional work and client work. Thinking through and watching how these folks captured moments was amazing for me, especially since I was actually under the weather. So much so that I left my camera bag at home and didn&amp;#039;t take a single photo. ESQ: Was it difficult to get everything together? Setting up the place, arranging travel, that sort of stuff... RP: Setup was fairly simple. The only tough part was setting dates and coordinating everyone&amp;#039;s travel. Other than that, just picking how much beer to buy at the liquor store was about the hardest task. Personally speaking, I thought the most difficult part was going to be getting everyone to click, to work together to shoot and model, or help setup shots or what have you. But every single person had fun on both sides of the camera, sharing knowledge, gear \u2014 even swapping cameras to get the most out of the trip. It was a blast. We&amp;#039;re already looking forward to the next retreat, and working on finding brands, sponsors, and locations to explore and expose. More photos, right this way...  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/style/a17218/styleseek-retreat-photography-ryan-plett-120712/?click=news>