After what seems like an eternity, I’m finally back. The reason for the trip was a large photography conference, but we were able to fit in a little family visit and a little play while we were at it. Jean was very diligent and stayed home and worked while the boys and I drove out west…in retrospect, I’m not really sure which one of us got the raw end of the deal . I joke, of course, and my four boys were troopers…I’ll post a few images from our adventures maybe later this week, but this post is more dedicated to the conference and my time in Las Vegas.

So, while in Vegas, I had the opportunity to hear from some of my photographic heroes – people like Vincent Versace, John Paul Caponigro, Joe McNally, Cliff Mautner, and Zack Arias (just to name a few). It’s always inspiring to hear from these people and see their work. I think the best part of the conference was during a lecture by Vincent Versace. After several minutes of fighting with his computer (for some reason it kept crashing in the middle of his photoshop presentation), he broke into a rap song…the guy seriously cracks me up! If you haven’t spent any time learning from him, I highly recommend it. However, be prepared for your brain to hurt…the guy is a genius and often dives into some very technical waters.

In addition to the conference my friend Brittni Schroeder and I set up a few editorial shoots, which I’ll share with you over the next couple blog posts. The first I’m posting here, is with Jlene. When we contacted her, she said she was interested in shooting in a lake bed. I thought to myself, I didn’t realize there were any lakes in Las Vegas…and after we arrived at the location, I realized that there aren’t! But the location was awesome! I’ve never had the chance to shoot in such a desolate, arid location, and it was a great change from what I’m used to. The skies were completely blue, not a cloud in sight. We arrived later in the day, so heat wasn’t an issue, and we ended up getting a beautiful sunset. It was incredible seeing the vivid colors setting against the deep blue and purple mountain horizon…really made me miss my western sunsets! Jlene was a great subject as well. She was a ton of fun to work with, and if anyone is ever in need of a model in Vegas, I highly recommend her.