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New
York, USA
- If you are
a
photography
enthusiast
and want to
learn more
or increase
your skills,
don’t know
what area of
photography
to venture
into, are
mystified by
the
continuing
trends in
digital
equipment
and editing,
or anything
else that
you are
curious
about, how
do you learn
more?
Where do you
go?
How do you
handle that?
 One of the
greatest
informational
opportunities
for an
enthusiast
of anything,
is to attend
an
exposition
and
conference,
such as the
one going on
now at the
Jacob Javits
Center in
New York.
The 2010 PDN
PhotoPlus
Conference &
Expo ongoing
from
Thursday
through
Saturday
looks to be
as exciting
as ever.
It is the
place to be
to see the
best in
photographic
and video
equipment
and
accessories,
to explore
their
capabilities
and to learn
how to use
them
efficiently
and
effectively.
In addition
to a main
floor that
hosts a
myriad of
products and
services
from
companies
the likes of
Sony, Nikon,
Canon and
LowePro, the
event offers
seminars and
workshops
all day. The
seminars, in
three
sessions,
start early
at 8:45 a.m.
and go on
until 5:45
p.m.
 They
are
organized
according to
informational
tracks such
as:
Lighting
Masters,
Portraits/Wedding,
Commercial/Editorial,
Photo
Markets, The
Art of
Photography,
Marketing &
Social
Networking,
It’s Your
Business,
Video &
Multimedia,
Technically
Speaking,
Software &
Workflow and
Hands-on
Master
Classes.
Don’t let
any of the
track titles
deceive you.
Seminars in
each and
every track
are
exciting,
informational
and
attention-grabbing. The
presenters
are the best
at what they
do and give
you a myriad
of insight
into why
they are
such. I
found myself
excited by
wedding
photography
in a way
that I
didn’t think
I could be. Some of the
seminars are
purely
informational
in content,
while others
-
more
technical,
and yet
others even
hands-on.
 The
difficulty
in
maximizing
the
experience
results from
schedule
overlapping
because
there are so
many good
workshops,
how do you
choose which
to attend!
This leaves
one to
wonder, when
scheduling
an event of
this
magnitude,
what is the
scheduling
process to
achieve
maximum
satisfaction
for the
attendee? And how does
one schedule
to ensure
the
presenters a
sizable
audience for
their
efforts?
Does history
of the event
indicate
that the
greater
attendance
is in the
morning or
afternoon,
and during
which time
are
attendees
more
attentive?
As for the
main floor,
the products
on hand left
this writer
in somewhat
of a quandary. The
expectation
of seeing
the latest
and greatest
was sorely
unmet. Disappointment
set in as I
realized
that all of
the product
demonstrations,
while
expansive,
were all of
readily
available
products as
opposed to
yet-to-be
released
products.
 Nevertheless,
the
opportunity
to make
physical
contact with
the products
with
representatives
on hand is a
good thing. One of the
most
interesting
products
this writer
eyed was the
Sony NEX-5
explained by
Todd Treman
(pictured),
one of
Sony’s four
technical
experts. It
was,
however,
noticeable
that the
more senior
company
representatives
tended to
engage
attendees
better than
the less
experienced,
who appeared
to be a bit
timid even
when fully
prepared.
The one
disconcerting
occurrence
of the day
was the
feeling that
the
management
did
themselves a
disservice
this year by
eliminating
the Press
preview,
limiting the timeline for
unfettered press access
to the event
floor. In
previous
years the
press was
allowed one
hour of
access to
the event
floor prior
to opening
to general
attendees.
This allowed
the press an
opportunity
to have one-on-one time
with the
product
personnel,
corporate
executives
and vendors,
to get
insights and
updates on
products and
discern if
they truly
were any new
innovations. A time to
engage in
intimate,
detailed
product-oriented
discussions
which could
serve to
more promote
the expo, and
possibly
reach
professional
photographers
and
videographers
who are not
in
attendance,
or do not
know about
the event; to
proclaim why
this event
should not
be missed.
 What could
have been
the
rationale
for such a
decision?
Although
Jacob Javits
is a highly
unionized
environment,
the decision
could not be
cost-based
as once the
product
representatives
and vendors
hit the
floor the
clock is
already
ticking. Was
it by
request of
the
companies in
attendance?
Did they
previously
feel that
the
uninhibited
attention by
the press
was
unwarranted,
unfair or
too
concentrated? Hopefully
this would
not be the
reason as
this would
be the best
opportunity
to promote
your wares. Albeit
presumable
that any
true
professional
photographer
or
videographer
wouldn’t
already know
about this
prestigious
event, the
plethora of
digital
media has
created a
whole new
generation
of
professionals
whether
corporate,
freelance or
‘wannabes.’
Whatever
your
pleasure,
whatever
your
availability,
go...see...and
learn.
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