Party Animal - NOT!!

I'm not a partier. I dont go out and dont stay up late and i dont socialize well in large groups. Honestly I'm a downright dull person but man did i have a great time partying in Vegas! Good think I dont have to do it on a regular basis, but it was fun to live another life, if even for a short while. So there is a photo of me gettin tatted up at one party or another in Vegas - after a while the parties all started to look the same: top notch hotels, fabulous, beautiful, famous photographers all having an amazing time drinking wonderful drinks and eating great food. I did gather a whole bunch of business cards of some very very interesting people from all over the country that i hope to contact. I think its important to connect with people who share this passion - we have so much in common and yet are so very different. Sitting behind a little computer screen for too many hours can be very isolating - this world can be really really big or it can be really really small, it all depends on what we make of it.

Pepper Nix and Mitch

Before heading off to Wppi I won a Thirst Relief Auction for a 90 min mentoring session with Pepper Nix. When I was first exploring the idea that photography could be more than just taking a few photos I found her website and saw her amazing albums. the photo of her in the bath with with the toddler so she could get the best capture was so inspiring to me and i have always kept that photo in my head and in my heart. I was so excited about meeting with her and getting her input into my business so i never expected to get an extra bonus - her husband mitch who is as talented and interesting and fun as she is! Score! like how i make my babies: i got two for the price of one!! they were sooo beyond helpful! these people are amazing! no wonder they are so successful. i went into it at the end of wppi with my head spinning and so full of doubt and too many questions to make sense of and came out with new focus and direction. now more than ever i am very certain of what i need to do and how to do it. there arent words to thank them enough for all they did for me in just that quick 90 min. my only regret is that i didnt get a photo of us together!! but catherine hall did so maybe i'll try to snag one from her :)

Kevin Kubota's party at Roy's

What a funny likeness - while no one would mind seeing him in tights....he didnt have that superhero attitude at all.Becky and I with the man himself - LOVE his shirt!Super hottie wife - sooo nice, and down to earth.This is Teresa Wagner - what a cutie! One of her fav restaurants is Eastside in New Britain Connecticut where my parents grew up. My husband loves to eat there! Small world! Gail Backal and her husband Daryn Backal - she is designing a line of camera bags for women - I cant wait to see them! he is a total jokester, what a fun couple!

Doug Gordon, not putting a brides legs up in the air

Becky with Frances Marron even his chocolates are cool!

I know, I know, everyone says how down to earth and friendly Kevin Kubota is, but he REALLY IS!! What a sweet, unassuming person. At his party he was friendly, quiet and understated, almost shy, though very accommodating of his guests. It was interesting to see him transform into such a dynamic speaker at this lecture the next day - in both cases he was genuine to himself, but it shows how passionate he is about what he does and in how he teaches that to other photographers. More about his class later - this is about his party. Kevin loves him some good food. His party was a Roy's where the sushi, shrimp and fish were tender and yummy. Lots of pineapple martinis and very friendly people - who could ask for a better combination. I met some of the nicest people there. The atmosphere was relaxed and inviting. He had a very fun contest that involved coloring in a comic color page - how cool is that! And he gave each of us a box of Kubota chocolates - like having us all to his party wasnt enough - what a giving person.

Blu's Shindig

Here is a photo of most of Blu Domain - i lifted it from their website, it was taken this last december by the world famous boutwells. Blu is the ultra cool company that make the coolest websites around - I havent finished mine yet so it doesnt do them justice but just check them out to see what they can do! Their blog has lots more party photos (including one of me and becky at the very bottom!)

This is the bowling suite at the palms - yes, a bowling alley between the two bedrooms. lets just say that it didnt suck
Marcus Bell getting all tatted up

yes, that is THE Dennis Reggie bowling with a purse over his shoulder - how cool is that sight?!

Blu's Aundrea is so unbelievably stunning i'm almost embarrassed to put this photo in - i should have photoshoped myself out!
the stunning dalisa cooper Fred Egan - WATCH THIS KID FLY! - he is hot on the heels of the best of the best! what a sweetheart, so talented and so fun. i cant wait to meet up with him at the antiworkshop in seattle - i have a lot to learn from this guy!

dennis reggie and... is that? i think it is..... is that [b]ecker under those shades?

always looking like a GQ model - doug boutwell we have almost the same exact glasses - so how come I dont look that cool!?!?!

chenin boutwell - i cant wait for the antiworkshop seattle! i love this photo of her - great capture becky!

Ok, so I know my place in the food chain of life - for my kids I'm top of the list but for this WPPI thing I'm pretty much the person who should be holding the toilet paper roll. this was THE party to be at during WPPI. my head is still swimming from seeing all the "who's who" we saw. It seemed like every single time I turned around there was someone who was SOMEONE in the world of photography. It was mind-numbing. Normally I'm not one to swoon over a celebrity but I was duly impressed by who all was there. The best part was that as i introduced myself, like the total geek i am, people were nice to me. telling them how much i admire their work didnt seem to churn their stomachs like it was afraid it might! Hugely geeky of me, yes, but it was fun!! dont get my wrong, not everyone was so down to earth, but hey, now I know who is worth spending my time, money and referrals on. There arent enough flattering words for the people who run Blu Domain! They had a horrible trip out there, got bumped from their flight, lost their luggage, hotel gave away their rooms, lost all their email off their server and yet were amazing hosts and were so fun to be around. oh, honestly it would have been perfectly fine with me had harold cried on my shoulder, but he was far too much a professional to do that:) Most of these photos were take with my ultra-retro nikon 2mpg camera but the good ones were taken by becky.

My Condolences

My deepest, most sincere sympathy goes to the people of Las Vegas. If its not bad enough that they have to deal with the scorching summers and the rudeness of people thinking its ok to smoke at all times absolutely everywhere, but after this week I have become aware of a far more embaressing problem. These people have to put up with THE single worst local news cast in the country and possibly the world. Touting themselves as the only local news cast in the morning, they should be suicidal with embaressment. In this photo, with her stupid smug expression she had just said that a school was justified in blocking students from using myspace.com because there is stuff on there that is so bad that it is just...well, its BAD. Thats hard hitting investigate reporting right there. I wont go into details other than to say that they were....um, bad.

Album Making with Mr. Cooper

John Michael Cooper and his handmade album box set collectiona few supplies...some very precise gluing....


some time with a bone folder....

some squeezing....


and you got a book in the making!

I took a very unique class with the most amazing photographer/creative soul. John Michael Cooper, of Altf, is well known as a genius photographer an innovator in the field of wedding photography, lighting and also custom album making. Yup, not only is he really talented and has a uber-high cool factor, but he custom makes his own albums (and he's got the sweetest wife - but more about her later)! After seeing his Simple Photo Minute piece about how he makes his albums I couldn't pass on the opportunity to learn from him when they announced a class during WPPI. It took two days, lots of patience, more perfectionism than i normally allow myself, a couple pieces of cardboard, fabric, really fast drying glue and low and behold I have myself a very cool little book. As far as educational opportunities, which I am taking as many as I can at this point, this class was worth every single cent. John and his wife Dalisa are very friendly, down to earth, "no question is a dumb question" kind of people. I learned a lot more than just how to make a book and met a lot of very cool people. Seeing everyone elses work was worth its weight in gold. The diversity in the pages was amazing - all beautiful but so very different from each other. On my own I wouldnt be able to make books regularly but fortunately they gave us a DVD (dont ask me for a copy - buy one! I honor these people too much to share) and my husband watched it when he got home. Guess whose even more hooked than I am? Yeah, so we hope to be making our own albums together - go team!!

Becky Spencer

Becky Spencer, my roomie for wppi vegas! I met Becky recently through my long time friend Bridget Smith - (i know, you're a long time friend of Bridget too, everyone is, that girl is more connected than anyone i have ever met!) anyways, becky is amazing. not only is she a super talented photographer running a very successful business but she is a fantastic interior designer, awesome mom, super hot and just really cool gal to be around. we went from just meeting to rooming together and it worked out great. i am planning on doing some second shooting for her soon - i cant wait to watch and learn from the master. check out her website!

Paris!

We went to the Eiffel Tower for dinner and boy was it great! Ok, it was the Eiffel tower in Las Vegas, but quite honestly I've been to both and I really prefer the lack of travel to get to this one. I'm not a big traveler. If you ever eat there I'd recommend going early so you can check out the seating and pick where you want to be - plus they give you samples when you get off the elevator and enter the kitchen area and it was really really tasty. The seafood platter was excellent! (plus we brought home the big sea shells for the girls which helped redeem us for not taking them with us) It was just a nice quiet dinner in a secluded part of the restaurant, just the two of us for hours - talking and eating and planning for the future. For as much as I love our time together as a family, its soooo nice just to have him all to myself.

New Wedding Website!

My brand spankin new wedding website is up and running. Ok, well it's up but more strolling than actually running at this point. But it will be at a full gallop soon! Just go to my website and check it out. Hopefully I will get to work on it a little this weekend but if not then next week for sure. I'd rather spend time with my babies than work on the website on the weekends anyways. Please check it out then check back often for updates. I am so excited!!!! - I am well on my way to fullfilling my dream!!