The week that made it all real. Part 2.

The story of my life-changing week in Las Vegas at WPPI, part 2, continued from Part 1:

Day 3, Tuesday 2.22:  The morning came far too early as my roomie, Kate, and I were up chatting ’till the sun rose.  That’s what happens when you room with someone destined to be a great friend!

My first event of the day was to hike over to The Signature for Troy and Aimee Grover’s Branding class, put on by Showit.  I saw Lisa Lefkowitz in passing and gave her a smile :)  Lisa is a film photographer from San Francisco and her branding is something I first learned about through a blog post by Lara Casey.  Her recent re-brand is gorgeous!  I really identify with it.

On to Troy and Aimee Grover’s . . . I got to the room and it was decked out in lustrous copper and brown linens and was set up like an intimate tea with 10 or so small tables with two or three chairs at each.  I wish I had taken a picture!  Before the presentation started I saw that David Jay was there in the room so I introduced myself.  Another huge name in the business, met!  Later I noticed Promise Tangeman in the room–she is an amazing web designer who designed Jasmine Star’s new website and she also happens to be Aimee Grover’s sister–followed by one of Jasmine’s recent brides, Whitney.  I tell you, this big, huge, somewhere out there photography world shrunk by the hour while I was on this trip.

Troy and Aimee are the cutest couple.  If you haven’t checked out their website yet, you should!  Their stop-motion video (click “about” on the site) has been a great stand-out tool for them.  Through the hour class they shared how their business has grown over the past couple of years and the way they run things.  This kind of sharing was one of the most valuable things I took away from WPPI.  It’s so incredibly helpful as someone new to the business for others to be open.  Most of these people cite their own experience with having open mentors as the reason they share now.  I am so grateful!

After the class it was time to leave the MGM for the much awaited DESERT SHOOT! :)  My roommate Kate Botwinski and another photographer Emily Steffen (also from my MTH class) coordinated the whole thing from the models to the bouquet to the jewelery and it was such a neat experience.  We drove out to a ghost town called Nelson and spent the next couple of hours shooting amidst amazing scenery.

More on the shoot in an upcoming post, but here are a couple of previews:

So many thanks to Kate and Emily for coordinating!

After we got back to the hotel I met my other destined friend, Alison, for dinner at Nobhill Tavern by Michael Mina.  We were tossing around ideas of what to do afterward when she mentioned the Studio 54 event that ShootQ and Pictage were hosting at the MGM that evening.  We didn’t want to be out late because Making Things Happen was the next morning, but the party was from 8:30-11:30 so we went for it!  We procured two tickets and in we went.  Studio 54 Las Vegas is a franchise of the original in New York and felt really legit.  You would’ve felt so too, I promise!  One of the highlights of the event was that there were Cirque du Soliel dancers dancing down the walls from the ceiling when we arrived and later a number of performers descended on a ring right above the stage.  I love Cirque du Soliel . . . if you ever have a chance to see their water show, “O” at The Bellagio, do!  It’s absolutely amazing.

Photos from my iPhone

I got to bed at a completely reasonable hour that night in preparation for my big day at the Making Things Happen Intensive the next morning.

Since I feel like the post about MTH is likely to be just a long as this one, I’m going to make it its own!  Sorry for the trick, I guess I’m breaking the week into more than two posts.  The week was just so full of goodness!

Thanks for being with me.  xoxo

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