WPPI 2016 Las Vegas
I have just returned from a hectic week of attending the WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographer International Conference) in Las Vegas, NV and after some recuperation, I’m putting together my notes from WPPI 2016 Las Vegas and am starting to realize – I had a great time. That may seem funny, but in the hustle of the week, its tough to catch your breath, let alone pause for thought when everything is going from morning until night. Along with 15,000 other photographers all converging into the MGM for a jam packed schedule of instruction, parties and a huge trade show, we came, met new friends, learned a ton of information and came home totally spent.
I was fortunate to meet some great instructors and attended a full day class with Parker Pfister, someone I’ve been following for many years; an amazing class, his talk was both moving and inspirational; going on our photo walk was also enriching, watching him and listening, the exercises we did together all contributed to a stimulating experience.
I also met Peter Hurley who had the crowd eating out of his hand with every move, his energy and humor were well placed and his program was excellent. (Funny story, he almost took my eye out with a prize disc for Animoto, he flung into the crowd like a Frisbee and it took off, racing for my face, lucky for me I have the reflexes of a cat and caught it… no damage done).
Roberto Valenzuela was another crowd (and my) favorite, packing in about 1500 for his program. His talk was excellent, and he made himself more humble by starting the program with some of his first pictures shot as a photographer, made us all feel a little more human at that point. And his new book is excellent, I highly recommend it to anyone searching for light. Others like Kenny Kim, Mary and Justin Marantz, Sue Bryce were also excellent and well worth the trip to hear them all bring their words of wisdom upon us. I have plenty of motivation and education to start my 2016 season off with, so I leave you now with some pics from Parker’s photo walk. Until we meet again. AS
