Quick Hit Monday: Great Speakers You Need To Hear; Project 52; Wedding and Portrait Photography On-line Magazine; and Fresh New Podcasts

Good Afternoon Everybody,

What a weekend it has been - including winter blizzard and all! We just wrapped our PhotoPro Expo and I have to tell you, it was a lot of hard work, a lot of long hours, and a lot of great fun! I was also just named named president of the Kentucky Professional Photographers Association – Wow!

I felt kind of bad that I couldn't get last week’s Business Day Thursday post up but with our blizzard dumping snow on us throughout the day and the total lack of any kind of free time during the convention – for example 7 hours sleep in two days - it just made it impossible to post last week. Sorry about that. I thought I might find a little more time to get it up on Friday but, that didn't go as planned either. 

Being a convention chairman and incoming president certainly has its benefits but it certainly has its time-consuming responsibilities as well.  I'm looking forward to a great year in my new role with the Kentucky Professional Photographers Association.  We've got some great activities and learning opportunities planned and I can't wait to get started. That’s me at the Awards Ceremony with our out-going Chairman of the Board, Jessica Vogel.

I was looking forward to getting back to the normal blogging schedule this week so with that said, why don’t we get on with today's post.

PhotoPro Expo Recap – Wow!  Great Programs!

Blair Phillips Hits It Out Of The Park

One of the highlights of our convention was in our speaker lineup. Our kickoff speaker was Blair Phillips, from Charlotte, North Carolina [link]. Blair arrived at the airport at 9:00 am for his 11 o'clock flight and after two delays finally arrived in Cincinnati at 8:00 pm in the evening. It was a very long travel day for Blair.

I was introduced to Blair while having dinner that evening at the Marriott restaurant. Blair was full of energy and looked that he was raring to go in spite of his many hours at the Charlotte airport. He had an infectious energy that you just couldn't resist noticing.

The next morning he ascends the stage and over the next three hours of presenting this program, he literally “knocked it out of the park.” This presentation manner was easy, relaxing, fun, entertaining, and most of all one of the most informative presentations I've heard. Blair is only 33 years old but “man oh man” does he have his act together on his business and in his photography.

If you get a chance to hear Blair down the road please jump at the chance.

Tony Corbell – A True Gentleman

Another highlight of our speaking lineup was Tony Corbell, from NIK Software [link] speaking on “The Power Of Light” [link]. Tony and I have been friends for many years and it was nice to just sit back and spend some time visiting during his stay at our convention.

Tony is genuinely one of the nicest people that you can meet. He mingled with the attendees as often as he could and was happy to help out with any questions anyone asked.  He gave a dynamite program for the over 210 attendees that were in attendance.  If you get a chance to hear Tony at Imaging USA or WPPI you must not miss this program. Oh, just a reminder, if you purchase anything from NIK Software and use the DZISER code, you’ll save 15% off your purchase – THANKS, Tony ;~)

Kent And Sara Wow The Audience

We also found a quick few minutes to spend some time with our friends, Kent and Sarah Smith [link], from Pickerington, Ohio. They also mesmerized the audience during their entire three hour presentation. I've said it many times before, there's no one that markets as effectively as Kent and Sarah when it comes to high school seniors, children and family portraits.

Cliff Mautner Tells It Straight

I picked up Cliff Mautner from the airport on Saturday. We had a nice visit about wedding photography on the way to the hotel. Cliff was the last speaker for our convention. In spite of the very tired, over educated, saturated attendees, Cliff had everyone nailed to their seats to the very end of the day.

One thing about Cliff is that he tells it straight and gets straight to the point. And his photography is outstanding -- heck, he's been named one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the country. But it is his no “BS” approach to what he does and how he shares with his audience that is quite refreshing. You can catch Cliff over at Kelby Training right here.

All of our speakers were just outstanding and everyone that was there knew they had just experienced something special over those previous three days. Were already planning for the 2012 convention and I’ll be sure and keep you posted as we proceed. I know a lot of people made a long drive or a flight to attend the convention in spite of our blazing snowstorm, but no one regretted one moment of their effort.

Southern Exposure Magazine - A Great Resource For The Portrait And Wedding Photographer

One thing that you do as convention chairperson is lineup the talent for the upcoming convention. I, many times, check other association websites just to see what the other states are doing when it comes to speaker talent.  In that search I found quite a nice photographic resource for our DPT readers. 

As I was browsing the net recently, I managed to find my way to the Southeast Professional Photographers Association website [link]. As I perused the site I found the link to Southern Exposure, their on-line magazine. This publication is just jam-packed with good information from talented photographers whose articles appear in the magazine. Let me point you to the link right here so you can enjoy it.

Project 52 - A Very Interesting Photographic Challenge

52 weeks, lessons, assignments for photographers -- that was a heading on this new website I just discovered. It looks like a very ambitious and interesting project from the guys at lighting essentials. Each week a different assignment is posted and each week the photographs from the previous week's assignment are also posted.

I think is a fascinating approach in learning many different aspects of photography. I invite you to check it out right here.

What's Up Over At LensFlare35?

As a blogger I spend a lot of time surfing the web looking for interesting articles, podcasts, tutorials -- anything that I think my readers will enjoy.  That’s part of the reason for DPT and the purpose of Quick Hit Monday. One of the special joys of that process is revisiting some blogs that you haven't been back to lately and see what they've been up to.

David Warner, the creative source behind LensFlare35.com always has solid content on his blog. Probably the highlight of his blog are his monthly podcasts. With last year’s CBTL tour, holidays, and even travels in the beginning of this year, I hadn't visited LensFlare35 in a few months .

When I made the trip over there recently, it was a pleasant surprise to see all the new podcasts they have available. It looks like it's going to take me a little while to get caught up on all the cool interviews that David has posted. Want to check them out with me -- here is the link.

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Hey gang, that's it for me today. We had an early meeting with the hotel and convention center in planning the 2012 convention. I didn't get back from the meeting until early afternoon hence the late post. As I said, we should be back on schedule this week so why don’t you plan to come by again tomorrow and see what's new for tomorrow's technique Tuesday.

Hope to see you then, David