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!