While hanging out with Colorati, I happened to notice someone who looked like Jeff Youngren. Edmond and I have been to one of their PUG’s before but weren’t able to meet and greet. I checked out his badge, and sure enough it was Jeff! We finally met both him and his wife Erin Youngren. These two are great wedding photographers! They are an awesome couple and are really caring. I can’t express how happy we are to finally meet you both!! Inspirational! (btw, Jeff you were right!!! talk about sharp at f/1.2! )

During the show we sat down and listened in on a few inspirational and talented photographers (I call them artists!) The first was Kevin Kubota. He was at the Nikon Booth showcasing his awesome work along with his unique style. He explained in detail on how his shots were made; which were all awesome! Other than being a great photographer, he has developed some kick-ass post production actions and software!

The next talk we watched was Becker at the WHCC Booth. He talked about branding your photography business and how making your mark launches your business into a profitable one. He explained that being consistent is memorable which I totally agree! but other than his talk, we are also blog followers of his work!

Last, Ed and I checked out Canon’s Booth to test out some of Canons new gear. We played with the Canon 1D Mark IV, and what can I say, the camera is fast and well balanced! Ed wanted to try out how the 135mm f/2L performs, and also wanted to check out the new version of the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II. The Canon Booth was a drool-worthy equipment teaser!

So that was our 2010 WPPI Trip! Ed and I had an awesome time at the Convention and Trade Show! We finally narrowed down our Labs, and better yet, got inspired!

A lot of booths have on-site training for many to learn about new products, services, techniques and tools. awesome! A lot of the lab’s have guest photographers and artists showcasing there work, and spreading the knowledge and passion on what they do.

Marlana and I visited the Quikeys Booth of DQ Studios. They were showcasing there Quikeys products which help boost efficiency in LR post production. Mar was inspired of their work, and we finally got to meet them in person. They are an awesome husband and wife team!. Dave was busy running a demo, but we got a quick greet. they are awesome!

After walking around, I headed up a hidden catwalk on WHCC’s booth to take a quick panorama of one of two convention halls. Talk about lots of vendors! This was taken about 20 minutes into the Monday Trade Show. Click here for the full high resolution pano!

Our last stop for today was Pocket Wizard’s Booth. Marlana said, “hey! is that Mark?” And sure it was! Mark was demo’ing the FlexTT5/MiniTT1 along with the new Zone controller. (For you tech photog’s, this means you have full zone control on all your speedlites (via TTL or non-TTL if you choose) along with 3rd party strobe control) We met Mark and Diane a while back at his PW Tour he held a few months ago. Mark and Diane are inspirational photographers that Marlana and I recognize and appreciate. It was great to see you again!

More to come tomorrow! woohooo!

Last year, we bought our 1st Canon 5DmkII at the show at the Durys booth. They had awesome trade show deals which were well below prices you would find online. awesome! This year around, we are looking to add to our lens arsenal more primes (135mm f/2L, 100mm f/2.8L IS macro and more!!!) and more Pocketwizards!! (ooh you can’t have enough PW’s its all about the light!)

Last Friday, Marlana and I meet the owner of Colorati, Leon Sandoval for a inspiring talk about our passion for photography. He gave us some insight and tips which made things so much clearer for our business, and our post production So first things first, Mar and I will head to the Colorati booth at WPPI and sport their shirts!

Some quick shots at registration. It was packed! Stay tuned, more WPPI coverage to come!

A couple of people have asked us about our gear and what we carry. We are Canon shooters! The ease of shooting, the buttons and functions, Canon just works Below is a quick list of what tools we use and sport on our portrait sessions:

Camera Gear:
3 – Canon EOS 5D Mark II Full-Frame Cameras (our main cameras, and secondary camera)
1 – Canon EOS 40D 1.6x Camera (secondary camera)
(why 4 cameras? you always need to have a backup; and a backup for the backup!)

Lights and Radios:
4 – Pocket Wizard Plus II’s (awesome wireless remotes!)
1 – Set of Pocket Wizard FlexTT5′s and a MiniTT1
2 – Canon 580 EX II Flashes (our main lights!)
2 – Canon 540 EZ Flashes (used for light shaping w/ the PW’s)
1 – Canon 430 EX Flash (secondary, backup, light shaping)
2 – 580EXII / 540EZ external battery packs
1 – Alien Bees Ring Flash (ABR800) + 56″ moon unit + Vagabond II Battery Pack
A bunch of light modifiers: snoots, tails, reflectors, umbrellas, paper..

Lenses:
Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
Canon EF-S 10-22mm USM (ultra-wide scenic lenses)
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM (all around workhorse, mar’s fav!)
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM (all around walkaround lense, great in low light)
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM (telephoto zoom – edmond’s fav!)

Misc:
Bunch of CF Cards
10+ Sets of MAHA Imedion Ultra Low Discharge NIMH Batteries (awesome set! charge, store, and use!)
A pair of Storm iM2500 Hard Cases (best all-weather protection, BUT they are heavy :-p )
On-Location 8′ x 8′ backgrounds, stands, monopods

Soon to have/wants:
A few prime lenses (100mm f/2.8L Macro, 85mm f/1.2L, 135mm f/2.0L), more Pocket Wizards

Have any questions? Leave us a comment! That’s our gear so far… and more to come!

A few months ago, I went on Pocket Wizard’s website checking out there wireless E-TTL radios (FlexTT5 and MiniTT1) for Canon. We heard about these little radios when they came out at the 2009 WPPI Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas earlier this year.

Mark and Diane Wallace of snapfactory.com did a bunch of awesome tutorials on PW’s site explaining the basics of the new FlexTT5 and MiniTT1′s. I have to say, I was impressed. Doing more research on these units, there was a known issue with RF (Radio Frequency) interference and signal quality with a subset of Canon flashes. (heck, I still got them anyway!)

Pocket Wizard and Mark announced that they will be doing a Hands-on Meetup Tour around the United States to promote the Flex’s and Mini’s. When we found out that they will be coming to the West Coast, we knew we had to check it out!

The Meetup was held at Pier 59 Studios West in Santa Monica, CA. This studio is awesome!

Mark held a few informational talks about the FlexTT5 and MiniTT1′s features, updates, & capabilities and also talked about creative lighting techniques. He also introduced the AC5 “Sock” which resolves the RF issues with Canon’s Speedlites.

Overall, the Los Angeles Meetup was a blast! Mark and Diane were great in all aspects and Me and Marlana had a awesome time!

Thanks Mark, Diane, and Pocket Wizard for hosting this Meetup!!!!

Below are a few shots from the Meetup Tour, Enjoy! (See more at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nemaphotography)