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Friday, February 20, 2009
WPPI 2009 Review
I'd love to hear your thoughts on WPPI 2009. Who was your favorite speaker? What did you like on the trade show floor? What were some of your favorite places to eat or hang out? What parties did you love? Who did you meet that pleasantly surprised you? Please share your thoughts in the comments and see what other people had to say as well!
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Favorite restaurant: Diego
ReplyDeleteFavorite parties (other than the Photo Lovecat party): EditTeam/Loktah party at Peppermill and Finao's suite party with outdoor balconies overlooking the strip.
Speakers/Tradeshow: unfortunately I didn't make it to any speakers this year because I didn't feel like paying the fee that WPPI was asking for one person to attend. I only stepped in and out of the tradeshow for my appearances at the Thirst Relief and Pictage Booth- so I didn't get to see much there either. Most of my time was spent in meetings and working on the Vegas Wedding Project or Photo Lovecat party.
Surprising people: It was really cool to meet Jeremy Cowart at the Modern Photographer's dinner - and I loved getting the opportunity to spend some extra time with Trish from Studio ATG.
Favorite Speakers: Jim Garner, Jerry Ghionis and I'm sure Elizabeth Messina would have been in there had they not kicked us out for fire code.
ReplyDeleteTrade Show: Any booth where I was acknowledged and there was space. Seriously. Loved the find of Cypress Albums, and Studio Cloud specifically. Hated that there were two seperate ballrooms - made remembering where something was super confusing.
Parties: Photo Lovecat (seriously, it was nice to get out of the MGM, and the party rocked) and [b]party. Didn't make it to Blu, but wish we had sucked it up and gone.
People: Met so many new people - the most surprising was Joe Photo, who was so friendly and down to earth, not at all like I expected.
Business Institute was really beneficial as well, but a lot to take in one day, so it all ran together for me.
As someone who didn't go this year (never skipping again, too sad!!), my favorite part was your "I spy" twitters :)
ReplyDeleteawww - thanks kacy jo! You were definitely missed!
ReplyDeleteFavorite restaurant: Rio Seafood Buffet
ReplyDeleteFavorite parties (other than the Photo Lovecat party): [b] Party at the Palms Real World Suite
Speakers/Tradeshow: Jerry Ghionis & Doug Gordon
Tradeshow was awesome - this was my first year so I tried to take in everything there. Jerry Ghionis's booth was always packed - also enjoyed the Microsoft booth speakers. Fasttrack Blogger lounge was also cool!
People: I met a ton of people and it was great to meet so many of the photographers that I blog stalk!
I loved hangin' at the Fast Track Lounge and talking with the folks at WHCC and MPIX. I also had a great time with the folks at drop it MODERN; very cool crew.
ReplyDeleteThe [b] party was amazing and so were all the people I met there.
For the food, it was a nice treat to eat at In and Out and I also really enjoyed the Kobe beef fried rice at Pearl.
Can't wait for next year! Love this blog too.
Ciao!
For food I actually really liked Pearl. It was pretty yummy. I also went to the PIF party and that was super fun. This was my first WPPI so I hit every platform talk I could. My favorites were probably Cliff Mautner and Jerry Ghionis. I think I would have enjoyed Audrey Woulard but I was one of the ones that got kicked out because there were to many people.
ReplyDeletewell the only class that got my attention enough to stay the full lenght was Arthrur Rainville and Jen Hudsons. Actually I am one of many who gav e astanding applause and had tears from the ending section.
ReplyDeleteHi Anne,
ReplyDeleteIt was really great to meet you and Christine. Really, that was a highlight.
I really liked Parker Pfister's program. He was really funny and I loved his images. There was one program that was downright painful (I left, as did about half the room). How do those people ever get a gig?
On the trade show floor, I really liked seeing those retro slide-viewers. I can't wait to get my mitts on some of those.
Can't wait for next year.
Great review Justin!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the I spy twitters too.
ReplyDeleteDiego was my fav restaurant.
The [b] party was a lot of fun and
Elizabeth Messina and adobe workflow classes were my favorite. :)
Favorite Speakers (in order I heard them): Jeff & Julia Woods, Jerry Ghionas, and Dane Sanders - one business, one posing, and one about getting OFF of automatic and finding my passion. All great things to hear.
ReplyDeleteTrade Show Floor: I checked out album companies to see what was new and I looked at online proofing options. I'm adding an album company to my lineup, and I think I'm going to stick with my online proofing for now. It was awesome getting to meet the rest of the team behind ShootQ in person, and catching up with the people I already knew there. I really enjoyed the WiFi Lounge and it was so great meeting people there! I hope they do it again next year! The geek in me *loved* finding http://photoflashdrive.com for cute, personalized hard drives with no minimum order. I can't wait to test them out!
Favorite place to eat or hang out: My burgers at the Hawaiian Tropic Zone were delicious. I liked eating at the food court at the MGM not necessarily because it was the best food, but because it was convenient. Diego was good, but I wasn't feeling well enough to enjoy it that day.
Parties that I loved: The PhotoLoveCat party, of course!!! I also had a really good time at the Photography Mentor / Go Bee party, and the Jose Villa Workshop reunion.
Pleasantly Surprised: Hmmmmm... well ... hmmmm... I can't say that I met anyone that surprised me. I met people, but they were either people I didn't know at all (so I couldn't be surprised because I had no expectation) or they were as awesome in person as I knew they would be from our online interactions. I found Roxanne & CB from Pixel 2 Canvas along with Mark Eric of Modern Photographers to be AWESOME people, and I can't wait to do more stuff with them throughout the year!
The best part of WPPI, hands down, were the relationships strengthened, renewed, and forged. Seriously seeing and having the chance to hang out with so many wonderful people is what it's all about, IMHO.
ReplyDeletePlatform speakers who were awesome without question: Gene Higa, Jeff and Julia Woods, Elizabeth Messina.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the late-night walks over to NYNY for a slice of pie and a Fat Tire with great people!
Thanks so much to all the Photo LoveCat peeps and their sponsors for putting on a fabulous party!!!
Looking forward to next year already:)
Parties that ROCKED!: Photo Lovecat!
ReplyDeleteBest sessions: NILMDTS training, Kurt Voclain senior session.
Best Meal: Mon Ami Gabi on Valentines, Chef special menu. mmmmmmmm
Worst meals: Like the 50th time eating McDonalds and Nathans since it was the closest thing to the convention.
Best part: Meeting up with my best friend.
Trade show most interesting: Metal murals.
TY all of the vendors and sponsors of the PLC party. You rock!
My top three speakers were definitely Jerry Ghionis, Doug Gordon, and Joe Photo... all inspiring and hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI agree with an above comment on how great it was to meet photographers I blog stalk! Gene Higa was so nice, and it feels awesome to be acknowledged by the "celebrities" when you run into them later!
I happened to meet a great photographer who lives two hours from me, so there's so much potential for collaboration. It's amazing how you can network amongst so many photographers like that.
I ate at Mon Ami Gabi at Paris - amazing food!
I can't wait for next year.
Fave Party: LoveCat Party.
ReplyDeleteFave Speaker: Cliff Mautner. So great as a speaker and photographer.
Pleasantly Surprised: Bob and Dawn Davis are so nice. I met them a couple of times over WPPI and they truly were nice and very approachable.
Tradeshow: Lots of good stuff. KISS booth was nice to hang at. It was super crowded so being patient was key.
In terms of individuals, I drew the most inspiration and motivation from Dane Sanders, Claudia Kronenberg, and Jenn Hudson
ReplyDeleteDane spoke to me. As an individual. So often in the creative fields, we get caught up in "our art" or conversely "the business" that we forget about who we are as individuals. Dane's presentation (Photographer by Design) beautifully articulated how critical it is to (above all else) KNOW YOURSELF. Truly a breath of fresh air amidst the hoopla & hype.
Claudia presented a really down to earth perspective about BALANCE that I hope to be able to apply in my own business and my own life. I was fortunate enough to lend her a hand with the production elements of her platform - just an added bonus!
With Jenn, it's even more personal. Jenn inspired me to dive head first into wedding photography when I was her student at Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts (CDIA). To see her work recognized by her peers was magical to me. Just wonderful!
Trade show: I was gaga over Michael Chinn's presentation materials (albums, DVD cases, etc) Handcrafted, beautiful. I'm looking forward to offering his collection to brides: http://michaelchinn.com/
And of course - the Photo LoveCat party at Caramel. I'm a homebody. And having left the hubby & photog friends at home in Boston I was apprehensive about coming out to a party alone. I met some amazing folks - all thanks to you Anne and this terrific resource!
Much love!