Thursday, October 23, 2008

PhotoPlus Expo 2008

Once each year, pretty much the entire photo industry descends upon NYC and shows their wares, shares knowledge and discusses what is new in the field. And I would not miss it for the world. As a New York wedding photographer I provide the best images to my brides, am easy to work with and very affordable. Below are a few images from photowalking from Penn Station to Javits this Morning.
With the financial markets going crazy (OK, I have 15 years on Wall Street and have to be careful what I say here...my day job is in risk management/compliance(and No...I am not to blame for this markets mess!)) there is no better time to have a plan B. I think this photo about sums that up. Speaking of tough financial times, if you are planning a wedding, now is the time to think about getting the best bang for your vendor buck. J. Mitchel Photography offers amazing creative wedding photography from just $2300!












In addition to checking out the latest pro gear, selecting key vendors for albums...prints and design work and learning about the newest techniques in images, there are some amazing seminars from top industry leaders.
One of the best parts, is you just never know who you bump into. Today I was fortunate to bump into several amazing folks.




I got to thank David Jay, from Open Source Photo, my favorite forum. That's me on the left. David got a real kick out of my business card...not everyone remembers 35mm slides. David was just enjoying the show, like tons of other folks.
I let David know that what he has created with OSP was more than a place for pros to share knowledge, it is a community that fosters both professional and personal growth from members that believe there are no stupid questions and are unbelievably giving and supportive. David is not a bad shooter either. Check out http://www.davidjay.com/

I also bumped into Joe McNally...my lighting guru idol. This guy has taught me how to light. Well, Joe and David Hobby (AKA The Strobist). Joe has an awesome book, The Moment it clicks that anyone who wants to learn lighting, simply must read. His blog ain't bad either. Check out
http://www.joemcnally.com/blog/ and www.strobist.com

I have met Scott Kelby a few times before and it was Scott that put together the worldwide photowalk in August and I lead the walk for NYC. (check out the August blog posts for that one). Well, Scott is not only a guy who knows his way around a camera...he pretty much wrote the book on anything Photoshop. Actually, he was written over 25 amazing books and is one of the reasons I can edit a wedding of 800 images so well and quickly. It was great to say hello and listen in on a few of his seminars.

Catching up with D.J. Ladez of Lumedyne (who taught an awesome lighting class on the streets of NYC earlier this year) was a treat. As was seeing the instructor from one of the architectural classes I loved. Turns out we were both drooling over the same Nikon 24mm tilt shift lens, and recognized each other.

Walking the floor with two great guys that I work with, Omar Perine and Michael McNenny just made the day go by too fast.
I am always working on sharpening my skills to provide the best in NY and LI wedding photography and Cliff showed me a neat trick for adjusting white balance on the fly with the Live View on my Nikon D700.
Walking non stop (OK, I did sit during some of the seminars) from 10-5 caught up with me at the end of the day and I was pooped when I snapped this on the way out. Contributing factors were forgetting to eat all day and having a pretty bad cold. I treasure my 8 Month old daughter, Sunny, but I never used to get sick and now I get colds all the time. And they take a week or two to go away. Maybe I am just getting old?The thing about NY is...construction never stops. The economy might slow it down, but there is always something going up.

Tomorrow, I have a a spot on the Rick Sammon boat cruise... a half day seminar while circling NYC on a water taxi. http://www.ricksammon.com/Home.html
The best part??? One of my best second shooters and photographer buddies, Amos Chen, is joining me.

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