PhotoExpo, RE:WORKSHOP, Drobo, Clients Albums

So I'm sitting here not being able to do much... so a rambling I shall go. I'll explain the work stoppage at the end.

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NYC

Last weekend I went down to NYC for the PDN Photo Plus Expo. I took the train in with a few photographer friends. I walked the whole expo floor with my assistant Greg. The show was just ok this year. I did pick up a few products that I wanted to get, but didn't really see anything impressive on the album end of things. First, I'll continue to use Memory Link as my standard line of albums. It looks like they just finished their new website. I've been using them for years, pretty much since they started up. Their quality has been top notch and so have been their prices. This is how I keep my clients costs low on the albums while keeping the best quality. Then I wanted to see my high end album company and the 2 other high end album companies. Unfortunately all 3 were not at the show! I guess I'll see them at the WPPI convention in Vegas. Another no show was Apple! APPLE!!! There weren't there promoting Lightroom (not that any of us seem to be using it), nor there to promote their cinema displays. Every photographer I know (except 1) are using Macs. Plus photographers and videographers are using Apple TV to present their work on large displays! But don't worry, I went to the Apple store after the show.

Speaking of after the show, we had a reservation for 28 photographers at Carmine's on West 44th. SOOOOO Good. Then it was off to a bar with a few friends, and then to hang out with Kelley's friend Courtenay, and her sisiter, who live in the city. We got back to the hotel at 2:30am! It's New York!

The next day we shopped the city, stayed for dinner, and drove home. I found some AMAZING deals at the Macy's sale where we spent a good portion of the day. I don't even want to know how many miles we walked. OH! The biggest bummer of the trip was not getting together with Chris and Katie Humphrey's who were in town. Simply put, my cell phone battery died and I never got their messages until 2:30am. If you don't remember, Chris and Katie photographed my wedding in San Diego. Sorry guys!!!! I'll see you in February at WPPI!

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RE:WORKSHOP

I had my Hartford RE:WORKSHOP / PPA Super Monday class on Monday! It was awesome. I got a lot of great response from it. What can I say, I'm a very giving person and I love to help out my fellow photographers. I give away my secrets! OK maybe not all of them. But thank you to everyone that came out. I have already heard that a few of you are implementing some of what I do, and are using the files that I gave out! As always, e-mail me any questions.

For those of you not in CT who want to attend the RE:WORKSHOP, why not host it yourself? I've already had one in Sacramento, CA host by Carmen Salazar which was a huge success. You supply the space, notify your area photographers (I'll help too), and I'll be there! Check the website: http://www.rephotodesign.org

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Drobo

This is going to get technical... So this week I decided to check my RAIDed hard drives to make sure everything was going well. Well... no. Both RAID's failed. This isn't the first time they have failed. I've been doing it through Mac's Disc Utility with Lacie Drives. I've pretty much have had enough with this setup. It would probably take me 5 days to restore everything. So instead of dealing with all this, I bought a Drobo and all new hard drives to store next years files, backup this years, and to store last years files. 6TB total. So as I transfer this years files, I can't really use them. The changes may or may not transfer, depending on where the transfer is at the time of the changes. So I'll sit here and wait the 7 hours for the transfer. Then I have to transfer 2 other drives. Joy.

Now I have FOR SALE: Completely working, no issues, 2 - 500GB USB / Firewire 800 Lacie Desktop Drives, and 1 - 1TB Lacie Big Disk USB / Firewire (That could also be a 500GB RAID). Make me an offer. I may have 2 more 500GB drives in the closet.

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Albums

Lastly, and I should probably put this first cause I'm sure your bored reading this by now, are my clients albums. I'm done editing photos for a month after this weekend. So now it's all about designing the albums that I have lined up to do. Believe me there are a lot. But work on them starts on Monday! I hope to have everyones designed by the end of November.

Why the backup? I didn't expect EVERYONE to choose a new option called the "Photographer's Line" which puts all the work on me. And I do mean everyone this year. But I can't complain because knowing that my clients trust me to do a good job has been the best thing ever.

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So those are the updates! Tonight: A halloween party!!!!! What will I be for halloween?? wait and see!

We're Back!

Kelley and I are back from our vacation / conference in Hilton Head. While Kelley was in her conference, I played golf. It was a great vacation for me. I feel recharged and ready for the last part of my wedding season!

Here's a few highlights from the trip. Our first stop was in Savannah where we saw this t-shirt. Kelley works for Yale University, so it was funny for us!



As promised, Kelley's photo with... uh... Barack Obama!! No, that's not cardboard! I don't know what your talking about! There was a group of sidewalk supporters.


The sunrise photo from the last post was the morning we took the ferry to Daufuskie Island to play on the Melrose course.


It was a really nice course with next to no one on it. From what we heard from the pro shops and resident golfers, the economy has really sliced the amount of tourist golfers.


Kelley was happy it was the last hole!


The next day I played Hilton Head National. There are 3 - 9 hole courses. I played the Weed and National course. It's a really nice place to play.


Then it was my birthday round at South Carolina's #1 ranked course, also ranked 52nd (if I remember correctly) in the world, Harbour Town. I've only played it on PlayStation. It's a completely different experience when you play it in person. You then realize you can't drive the ball 350 yards and reach the par 5's in 2. Although I did reach the par 5 second hole in 2!




As instructed by our fore caddy, don't hit left. If you do, just leave your ball there. This was just one of a few alligators I saw on this course.


Don't be short!


Par 3, don't be short... right... or long... That's my shot!


The famous 18th hole to the lighthouse. I totally blew this hole. It was all into the wind.


My last day I played Palmetto Dunes, Arthur Hills. Some really tough holes! Amazing homes around the course. 5 more alligators to look out for.


So we're back. My first day back on Monday... and I played golf with Kelley's dad. It was a holiday! Now I'm back in the office and getting through all the e-mails, mail, and stuff to do. Back to work! Man my boss is tough on me...

Vaca' Bloggin'

This will be the first and last blog post while I'm on vacation! Kelley pointed out that this is one of the few non work related vacations that I've taken. So just to give a few highlights of what's going on... We flew into Jacksonville Florida as Sarah Palin was giving her speech. That's NOT why we went to Jacksonville. Then picked up our rental car... er... dare I say mini van! Ever see that Seinfeld episode where you have a car reservation but they don't have your car? You get the picture. We (meaning Kelley) drove to Savannah for lunch. We walked around downtown. Kelley had her picture taken with Barack Obama! (Stay tuned I'll post that).

Now we are at the Westin on Hilton Head Island! (The bands Staind and Seether are staying here on their way to Miami. The big suite is under our room). Kelley and I played golf at the Melrose course on Daufuskie Island. Starting tomorrow Kelley has a conference to attend, and I'll be golfing for the next 3 days! Next is Hilton Head National, then Harbour Town Golf Links (on my birthday! Friday!), then the Authur Hills course at Palmetto Dunes. Then sleep.

This morning we were up before the sunrise to get on the ferry to the island.


Here's two photos from Daufuskie Island. It's the 18th hole along the water. It's a par 5 and I almost reached it in 2! It was a little windy... Then I blew the 4 ft birdie putt.





It was clouded over all day today. Now as I'm just hanging out in the room, it's pouring rain out! There are tornado watches to the west of us! Maybe I'll get some extra yardage on my drives tomorrow!

Good Morning Philly!

Kelley and I are about to walk down to Independence Hall. Then we are off to DC for tomorrows wedding!

If you want to see the photos I'm taking along the way with my iPhone, visit my Facebook page!

Random CA

I just loaded a few pics off my Canon G9 that I was carrying during my recent trip to CA. Here's a random few that I wanted to share...

First off... I left San Francisco Tuesday around 5pm and it was a cool 72 degrees. By time I got to Sacramento the car was reading 107!!!!


After the RE:WORKSHOP about half of us from the workshop went out for dinner.


Leaving Sacramento the next morning I wanted to see the capital building. It was just a drive by, I needed to get back to San Francisco.


On the highway I spotted a '72-'73 Volvo 1800 ES. I'm a car fanatic, and a former Volvo owner myself. My wife now has a XC90. But what struck me about this 1800 ES is the similarity to the new C30's. And I thought Volvo was trying to put out something "new."



The haze from the wildfires was evident almost the whole drive. You can just about smell it too.


Some of the fires were pretty close to the highway! I even hit some traffic while some fire trucks were spraying foam on a burnt tree.


Before leaving CA I had to gas up the rental. And I though CT had high prices at $4.37 a gallon. CA was at $4.69!


Then the most confusing thing happened on the plane. This was on all of our screens on Jet Blue:


Everyone was confused and commenting on it. We were on a Jet Blue plane!!! After 15+ minutes of seeing this, the video finally played. It seems we are no longer flying... we are "jetting" with Jet Blue.

Jen & Brian!

Jen and Brian got engaged in February! The last time I saw Brian he was a groomsmen in my cousins wedding a few years ago. He's known my work for a while. Now I get to come out to San Francisco to photograph their wedding next June. I can't wait! San Fran is starting to feel like a second home, so any reason to come out here is a good one.

It was a pretty cool day today and the Golden Gate Bridge was completely fogged in. The fog started to break while we were taking pictures.

I had to post some pics before I left... I'll be flying back to CT in the morning!

Ahhhh... San Francisco.


How can I not come out here and photograph a steep street?








Pier 39! It was tough shooting around all the tourists.






A great view of the city from the Palace of Fine Arts.

RE:WORKSHOP Sacramento

I'm back at the hotel after a really long and TOTALLY AWESOME day. The RE:WORKSHOP took place today and I couldn't have been happier about it. It was a great group of photographers. I crammed so much information into the day. It even went an extra hour! That was followed by more Q&A over dinner! I've never talked so much before. It was awesome. I'll get some pictures posted when some of the photographer's send me some :-) I'm headed back to San Francisco in the morning and meeting up with Brian and Jen for their engagement session!

Ruby & Tony!

I made it out to San Francisco! I got no sleep on the plane... I can never sleep on a plane. So I went right from the airport to meet up with Ruby and Tony at the Golden Gate bridge to do their engagement shoot. It was a little hazy from the wild fires, and the wind was kicking up on the bridge. But I guess the wind is normal? Then it was off to the beach! Ruby has a thing for jumping. It was her big request to get some jumping shots.







Thanks to Ruby for taking the long walk up to the bridge columns in her heals!




They only had one side of the bridge's walkway open so the bicycle riders were on the pedestrian side. They were going through non stop.


Great for the album layout!


We went as far as taking shots UNDER the Golden Gate Bridge.


Ok Ruby... you can jump.