Las Vegas : 2011 WPPI

I love taking trips. I love the planning, anticipation and excitement that surround a trip, and this trip was one of my most exciting yet. I just got back from Las Vegas, where I attended the 2011 WPPI convention and trade show. This was my first year attending WPPI and in spite of waking up at 6 am three out of the four mornings to attend classes, I had an amazing time.

We flew to Vegas with two very good friends of ours, Geoff & Amy Hilgemann.



We stayed at the MGM, where the convention was held. This was the view to our left.



The view during the daytime:



And the same view at night:



Geoff was a fantastic travel companion & researched the best places to go in our spare time.



Dinner our first night in Vegas.



Since Amy & I were often busy with classes, Geoff & Brandon kept each other company.



Amy waiting for our first class to start.



Becker spoke to a FULL room and I must say, the new preboard feature offered by WPPI was fantastic.



Bobbie + Mike (which we also preboarded for).



Their photos are beautiful and I must confess, I teared up a little during their slideshow.



One of the lighting classes I took:



While waiting for my next class to start, I walked through the trade show, where I ran into Jasmine Star. She was kind enough to let me follow her to the Leather Craftsmen booth she was getting ready to speak, and JD took this photo of the two of us.



JD



She did a raffle drawing at the Leather Craftsmen booth and gave away 4 beautiful albums, and I was the lucky recipient of one of them!



Another lighting class - this one on getting the most out of low light/available light.



It was fun to work with models.



Excalibur



New York New York



The city at night



We walked by this bar while exploring one night, and I just loved the way the back was all lit up.



I admit - I took too many photos of us in mirrors, but it was an easy way to get photos of the four of us together. :)



My handsome husband waiting for the tram.



The Hilgemann's on the tram.



Another mirror picture. :)



Geoff & Amy on the left. A chocolate fountain (heaven!) on the right.



Asian Art Exhibit (can't remember which hotel this was in).



What Vegas looks like at 6 am from our room at the MGM.



Of all the classes I woke up early for, I had the easiest time dragging myself out of bed to see Jose Villa. He is without a doubt my favorite photographer and his platform class did not disappoint.







Jose in action, showing a few tips he uses to get his clients comfortable in front of the camera.



After class, I was able to meet and have my photo taken with Jose. Thanks to my friend Shannon Hollman for taking this photo. She's obviously very funny. :)



The view out the window as we came into Portland.