Quick Hit Monday: Power Of Passion, A Visit With Joe, & Be Inspired

Good Morning Everybody,

I have to tell you, our last few days in Las Vegas have been wonderful.  In addition to the weather being near perfect, I've enjoyed just shooting around the city - always a treat.  Our time has been filled with seminars, friends , and relaxation - ahhhh. 

We were up the Strip Saturday evening - the lights were ablaze and the weekend crowds were growing quite thick on the walkways. We were still a few blocks from our hotel when, as we were walking briskly, I thought I heard my name called out.  I turned and saw two smiling faces who approached to say HI.

Eventually we learned their names were Carlos and Carlos, no they were not related to Daryl and Daryl.  They were two friends from Mazatlan, Mexico who were making their first trip to Las Vegas and WPPI!  They had seen my Kelby Training videos and follow DPT.  It's always a nice surprise for me when that happens but I never expected to be meeting two photographers from Mexico in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip on  Saturday evening.   What a thrill this week is going to be for them!

Anyway lots of other things happening at the convention.    Let me fill you in on a few below. 

Sandy Puc and Jerry Ghionis's Power Of Passion Tour

When they land in a city near you, you need to go. I was locked to my seat for 5 1/2 hours and took pages of notes!  That's right, the highlight of our weekend was attending Sandy Puc and Jerry Ghionis's "Power of Passion" tour.

I've always enjoyed hearing Sandy speak and enjoying her images.  In her program she nails you with more marketing tips than you can ever absorb in one sitting.  Saturday's program was no exception.  She covered Boudoir parties to selling the digital files to planning your own marketing strategies. I am constantly amazed how she does all the things she does. Way to go Sandy.

I learned years ago a very important rules of success:  “To be successful, just help others become successful too.” Sandy lives those words more than any person I know.

Sandy and Jerry alternated presentations throughout the day which made the time pass quickly as you had different parts of your brain tickled throughout the day by each of their presentations.  Although I had never heard Jerry speak, I have been a fan of his fabulous photography for many years. He creates wedding images that sing.

Jerry walked us through several ways to make people look good in front of the camera selecting several audience members to help make the point - everybody loved it!  One of the highlights of his posing demos was how he poses plus sized individuals.  His secret to capturing great images is his attitude as he takes the photograph.  He photographs the bride lovingly through the grooms eyes and the groom likewise lovingly through the bride's eyes. The results were amazing!

Years ago, I heard one of the greatest wedding photographers of the time, Rocky Gunn, say that every bride is beautiful regardless of looks, size, body style.  We, as wedding photographers, needed to always find that beauty in our clients.  Only then could we bring out their innate beauty in our images.  It was a lesson I learned early in my profession, I lesson I never forgot and a lesson every wedding photographer needs to learn and live by - no exception.  Jerry makes it easy to learn that lesson when you see how he empathetically interacts with his clients - it was masterful!

Jerry also has an unbelievable eye and is able to get outstanding images out of the simplest of backgrounds.  His sense of style, color, and composition is unparalleled in our profession - just a vicarious joy to see. 

You got the feeling that you were looking at two very extremely talented photographers genuinely sharing their talent  completely with the audience.  As the program progressed, I was struck by the sincere desire both Jerry and Sandy had in connecting with the audience and wanted each and every one of us to reach for the stars and do their best. 

Over the course of the program Sandy gave every audience member a complimentary download from her hot new marketing site, UKANDU.com - a $25 value.  She also threw in one month free for SPU – Sandy Puc University, again worth $25.  Jerry followed that up with one month free to his ICE Society - again a $30 value. All told, we all walked out getting $80 worth of REAL educational opportunity. Heck, as a PPA member and code that made the real cost of the seminar FREE!

They began the program promptly at 2:00p.m. and wrapped it to a standing ovation about 7:45 p.m.  What a great experience!  Don't miss it.  Here is the link for all the program info and to register.  Highly recommended!!!

A Visit With Joe

Fellow blogging buddy and Kelby Training photographer, Joe McNally was on the speaker platform at WPPI too.  He presented a great program on Sunday morning.  As always, it is a treat to see Joe's work and here the story behind the images.  We caught up with Joe after his program and enjoyed a short visit.

He is fired up with his upcoming Flash Bus Tour sharing the speaking responsibilities with the Strobist, David Hobby. They are traveling with 7 people that will be helping on the tour.  The bus sleeps 12 - like Joe said, it's just like a rock and roll tour.  It sounds like a "hoot".  We're looking to catch the FBT in Atlanta after Photoshop World.  Here is all the info and registration link right here.  Be forewarned, many cities are already sold out, so I'd be signing up early to be sure and reserve a seat.

I Was Inspired, Now You Can Get Inspired Too

Many of you reading DPT know that I'm a big fan of landscape photography.  I enjoy shooting landscapes and I enjoy seeing them.  While doing a little web surfing this weekend, I came across Landscapes 2.0 - a great website showcasing some outstanding landscape photography.  Please check it out right here - awesome images.

And you also know I am a big fan of time lapse photography.  I just did a post showing some cool time lapse photography a few weeks ago [link].  Well, here is one more to add to that list.  It shows a "heavenly" transition of a complete night at ALMA Array Operations Site in Chile (the largest astronomical project in existence). The video [link] is mesmerizing to view - enjoy!

Where Was Friday’s Photo Captured?

For those that played along and tried to guess the location of Friday’s image of the Day [link] here is the location. We are staying at our Hilton Time Share located behind the Flamingo Hotel. The photograph is the back of the Flamingo Hotel from our living room window. We look down upon the pools, tennis courts, gardens and can see the Bellagio Fountains, the top of Paris and the mountains in the distance. Thanks for playing along!

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Hey gang, that's it for me today. I've got lots more to report from WPPI and will work it into this week's posts.  Posting during a major convention is always a challenge, but I'll be giving it my best shot.  Also, if you see me around the show, please feel free to come on up and say HI - I's love to visit with you.

We've got another full day of convention speaker and the trade show opens at 10:00.  I'm hooking up with my buddies at the Sigma booth this morning to do a little work on their 50 year anniversary celebration project [link].  I'll keep you posted on that.

Hope to see you then,  David