wppi – vegas baby!

we left early on a saturday morning – kristie got to my house at 6:15 and after having some coffee with the hubs and some extra long good-byes for him and the boys we were off to philly for our flight. after checking in, the countdown to take off began. those of you who know me well know that I am not a good flyer – at all. It scares the bedazzler out of me and it always has. I’ve flown at least once a year, and normaly more than that my whole life and I can’t seem to kick this fear in it’s tail. kristie knows this about me and stayed about 2 feet away from me at all times while I attempted to get to zen. so we board, and because I forgot my ipod I immediately put on my headphones and plug into the airline “radio” with it’s sad selection of sad music – but music just the same – enough to provide a small distraction – and then we started moving. It’s take off that gets me, the power of that and the scary noises (yes my friends, I know it’s the wheels coming up. I know it… but still….) and once we get to the happy place where the bell tings for seatbelt removal I can breathe. If you’ve seen “Say Anything…” I totally related to the last scene – I mentioned this to kristie and she looked at me with a “huh?” oh.. to be young enough not to have a clue about the best John Cusak movie – EVER! so my zen is right around the corner and boom, the 5 foot cheerleader  in front of me reclines allllllll the way back. now, I am 6 feet tall and I never recline, ever! I think it’s rude. the space in coach is so limited as it is and if I can make due with my knees up to my chin, little 3 year old billy can keep his seat upright and locked in. this is just my opinion - my dad didn’t even recline and he was 6’9″ – maybe us tall folk feel an empathy for the guy or gal behind us. ANYWAY – so after landing in houston and one more bloody take off we were in VEGAS! so happy!! saturday night was basically a free night – no plans but to introduce kristie to vegas and get my blackjack on. I won’t bore you with our gambling escpades – let’s just leave it to the cards weren’t my friend, but I left vegas $200 up thanks to a sex & the city slot machine. I also am not going to go into detail about all of the talks we went to – almost all were amazing - but I do have a favorite and will elaborate later.  on sunday night we went to the airhorn & lasers party - partly sponsored by none other than the love affair girls! the party was at tryst in the wynn and it was such a good time! In addition to kelly, lauren & millie I saw meggie - my rock star model from love affair and lezlie andrew - amazing photographer and fellow love affair attendee. the dj was awesome and the joint was jumping! here we are chillaxin on the red velvet couches

the following day the trade show opened and literally – EVERYTHING a photographer could need or want was at this place – and some stuff that no one should ever want – again, just one girl’s opinion. but we were excited to head over to the girl’s booth where they were featuring their amazing new products. such as…..

from kelly – the kelly moore bag

I got the fuschia one shown above kristie got a rockin’ green croc

and millie – the get it together kit I saw the beginning stages of this while in atlanta and if you are a photographer who is overwhelmed (aren’t we all?) do not pass go – order this today!

and then lauren – UNO dvd  lauren is a photoshop rockstar and this DVD will help you take your post-production skills to a whole new level!

so now for my favorite speaker of the whole deal – I had heard about the “film is not dead” guy for a bit but didn’t know his actual name – well I found it out during our final day in vegas. it is jonathan canlas and he is amazing! he reminded me why I love photography so much – why I started shooting in the first place – I could actually smell toner and fixer as he spoke. he shoots film only – no digital – just film. I remember when digital first started to really emerge and we were out to dinner with some friends and I stated “I will NEVER go digital – ever!!” so when I started pricing out my first canon 20D all the hubs could do was laugh. I’m not saying I don’t love what digital can do – I absolutely do. but as the talk went on I kinda kicked myself for putting the old nikon away so quick. but it wasn’t only the film thing, even though that’s so cool to me – but this guy is devoid of any ego – when people clapped after a slideshow he waved his hands saying “stop.. stop” and he ran a slideshow that took everyone’s breath away. my words wouldn’t do it justice, but you can pop over to his blog to check it out – it was amazing. I’m so grateful that his was the talk I wrapped up wppi with – as an experience as a whole, wppi got my mind a racin’! I’ve been shooting for 20 years with an active business for almost 8 – I spent 8 years of college living in darkrooms and shooting everything I could see. I guess my point is that even though I’ve been in this gig for awhile – I hope I always remain teachable, open to new things and seeking inspiration everywhere. I pray that even though gillette portrait arts is beginning it’s biggest year ever, that I NEVER think I know everything there is to know about this big beautiful business and my craft. I like wedding shows – gasp! I know some people feel that they’re too big or important to do them but I love them! it gives me a chance to meet new brides face-to-face in addition to new vendors who are riding the crazy train of the wedding business. I hope that I continue to attend talks/workshops/etc  and be as excited about shooting as I was the first time I ever picked up a camera. I think that being creative is a constantly evolving adventure and when you get your work down to a “formula” you should just stop shooting. I’m proud that I’ve never shot a senior session in the same location twice – that I fully get my couples input when doing e-sessions and come up with locations that are them, not just some cool alley I’ve used 10 times before. If you’re not growing, why do it? Is it fair to your clients? to you? So as I step off my soapbox I will leave you with the wppi experience summarized :                                                                                                                                      

1. I still hate flying

2. blackjack can bite you in the wallet but the sex & the city slots can redeem you (and it’s really fun)

3. kristie and I love our kelly moore bags – a lot

4. the girls from love affair are amazing photographers, businesswomen and people

5. I’m getting too old to jump during the whole song of house of pain’s “jump around”

6. film is NOT dead (I pulled out the nikon my first day home)

7. I am truly excited and blessed to have the job I do, the friends I do, the hubs that I love and kristie who made vegas so fun! (holla at your girl!)

I will leave you with some smilebooth shots of us at the airhorns & lasers party – viva las vegas! can’t wait til next year!