Photofocus

Copyright Scott Bourne 2010 - All Rights Reserved - Westcott had more going on at the show floor than ever before. They set up four cool studios for attendees to use free of charge and staffed them with props and models. They even hired a kick-butt makeup person to prep the models. This was my favorite model-she worked as hard as anyone at the show!

I’m honored and privileged to be a part of this year’s Photoshop World. I went last year and helped out with blogging the keynote and leading a Tweetup. This year I am part of the conference speaking with Rod Harlan on how photographers can use Twitter.

So far, it’s the usual success. The folks at Kelby Media Group are simply first-rate and first-class in every way. The presenters here are the best in the business. It appears that attendance is up slightly this year from last. That’s a big deal considering the down economy.

Copyright Scott Bourne 2010 - All Rights Reserved - Scott Kelby hosted a meet and greet dinner for the speakers at Maggiano's Little Italy. It's an outstanding place to eat and the photography and Photoshop horsepower in that room was amazing.

The programs are well-organized and run. There are tons of volunteers available to make both the attendees and the speakers comfortable. The Mandalay Bay has done a good job accommodating the conference.

But as it is with most of these things, the real value in attending any such conference is the time you get to spend networking and reconnecting with old friends while meeting new ones.

Copyright Scott Bourne 2010 - All Rights Reserved - My pal Clay Blackmore was absolutely on fire in the Westcott both - working with a model and teaching like crazy. It was a special day since Clay's mentor the great Monte Zucker would have been 81 today had he survived his battle with cancer. It was very special to be with Clay today.

I was very excited to see my pal Clay Blackmore teaching in the Westcott booth. He was demonstrating their continuous lighting products. If you get the chance to watch Clay teach – don’t miss it. Really. He’s one of the best in the world. I was also happy to see Nicole, Vanelli, Rich, Colleen, Scott, Victor, Matt, RC and a host of other pals at the show. Seeing old friends is simply my favorite part of the show.

Copyright Scott Bourne 2010 - All Rights Reserved - Scott Kelby's shoes made him literally 10-feet tall!

The keynote was a blast. Kelby and company actually came out on stage dressed as Kiss and played LIVE. It was awesome. Adobe came and discussed CS5. Not much new but they did make it clear that they are going after the DSLR / video hybrid market pretty agressively. They are making it easier to use Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.

Copyright Scott Bourne 2010 - All Rights Reserved - Yes this mall is cool because there is an Apple Store right next to the Tommy Bahama store - gotta love Las Vegas!

There was plenty of free education available on the show floor since many of the booths featured speakers. I also saw Nik Software demonstrating their HDR plugin. Peachpit Press had just about every photography book they’ve ever published at the show. And of course Kelby Media had a free place to view Kelby Training materials online.

The mood was upbeat. The audience and the faculty all seemed very happy to be there. I’ll write one more post after I give my talk on Twitter with Rod Harlan.

NOTE: All these photos were made with my Olympus PEN E-P2 12.3 MP Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 17mm f/2.8 Lens and Electronic View Finder.

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This post sponsored by the Digital SLR Store