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Canon Announce the New Canon 5D Mark III Digital SLR Camera
Exciting news released by Canon on Friday March 2nd, the much anticipated new Professional favorite Canon 5D birthed a new offspring, the Mark III following up on the Mark II. I am very much looking to review the reviews of this new camera as I view it as my next major upgrade from my Rebel T1i. I've been waiting for this for some time now as my lenses are way too superior to my body but I didn't want to jump in and get the Mark II only to see the Mark III hit the store shortly afterwards. Looks like it won't hit stores until the end of March 2012, so in the meantime I'll have to be satisfied with the launch of the new version of the next generation Apple iPad which occurs this coming Wednesday at a special event planned by the Cupertino, CA electronic giant.
Saturday March 3rd, 2012: Johanna's Quinceañera
The first weekend of March other than being a beautiful sunny one sees me at two events as a guest at a Quinceañera on Saturday and taking some 'engagement' photos for a work colleague and his fiancé at Trump National Golf Club on Sunday afternoon. As I write Saturday evening the Quinceañera church ceremony was held at the very same church Maria and I married at back in 2004. Brings back memories! Somehow when inside today and a non assuming guest the church felt smaller and more intimate, as opposed to that day back in October 2004 when all eyes were on me and my beautiful bride.
Well without wanting to get in the hired photographer's way, I snapped a mere 80 photos at the ceremony and outside the church. The pretty Quinceañera Johanna wore a striking red dress and was flanked by her chamberlains dressed in dark suits white shirts and blazing red ties! A nice afternoon. Check out my Johanna's Quinceañera Ceremony Gallery to see the photos.
Sunday March 4th, 2012: Engagement Photoshoot
Tomorrows session at Trump National with Ferencz and Jackie will be a relaxed and comfortable hour snapping the young couple as they show their affection for each other..... tastefully. I'm looking forward to working with a couple as I usually work with sole portraits or families. Check back next week to see how that shoot went down.
What an awesome landscape. Looking forward to spending an afternoon here with Ferencz and Jackie for their engagement shoot on Sunday March 4, 2012.
So having spent two days absorbing terrific information from some of the work's top professional photographers, I am back home and trying to evaluate what I have learnt and will look to use this as I continue to develop my skills all with a view to taking better photographs. In addition to the training, I was able to attend the tradeshow where I was able to watch more demos and see sample books, albums and all kinds of equipment.
It is easy to be drawn in or overwhelmed by the amount of booths/vendors showing their wares, but It was good to talk to my friends at the zenfolio booth, where I was given some freebies including a zenfolio t-shirt and a book on website development! Thanks so much guys - you're awesome!
I have already marked my calendar for WPPI 2013, (March 7-14) again at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. I am hoping to attend more masterclasses and further develop my skills and knowledge.
Having tested the water last year here in Las Vegas at WPPI attending the annual wedding and portrait photographer's tradeshow, this year I went one better by signing up to attend WPPI-U a two-day program of world class successful professional photographers lined up to speak and inspire 400 or so up and coming photographers.
What a thrilling experience to be able to hear the inspirational speakers put before us. It was made very clear by more than one speaker over the two days that success will come to those who embrace the advice and information given, but more importantly those who decide to do things differently to develop and grown their studios will ultimately be the winners. One thing I already feel committed to working on is more personal projects to practice and grow the quality of my portfolio.
On Monday and Tuesday this week I will be attending the WPPI tradeshow of exhibitors and hopefully hear more speakers and also get the opportunity to chat one-on-one with some of these vendors and professionals. I'll check back here once again after we've headed home from Las Vegas. On what I've seen so far this year, I'm already looking forward to attending more of the same again in 2013. Like many industries, photography is built on change. Those who think they've made it and do nothing will be left behind.
WPPI gives us the opportunity to keep current and pick up fresh ideas. Thanks to WPPI we have an organization who brings together like-minded professionals to share their love of photography, with a view to becoming better photographers and more successful business owners. Love it!