A.D. Drumm Images, LLC – Landscape, Portrait, and Fine Art Photography in Rochester MN Photography

After my great experience at Photoshop World last year in Las Vegas, I decided I was ready for another round of inspiration and education. Next week, I’m off to Sin City again, and I’m getting excited!

There are an amazing array of artists sharing their knowledge in classes that run all day for three days covering Photoshop, of course, but also other Creative Suite software, Lightroom, design, illustration, and – my favorite – tons of photography-related classes.

No less important are the other attendees. I can’t describe the energy in the air when so many creative people fill a convention center. I suspect photographers outnumber other artists, but it’s far from a photographers-only affair. I think that’s a good thing. Training from folks like Bert Monroy and Corey Barker, both among the PSW instructors, helped me create the wardrobe for the Narnia poster for RCT.

One of the things I came away with last year was the great diversity of approaches among the photographer-instructors. How they handle light, their visions. And yet, each makes fantastic photographs. It was eye-opening in a way. It’s that inspiration and the chance to focus almost exclusively on the creative process that makes this kind of gathering so valuable.

The conference is put on by Scott Kelby’s company, Kelby Media and the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, or NAPP. Scott has built an rather extensive ecosystem around Photoshop and photography training. He’s a great instructor, has written tons of best-selling books, and has surrounded himself with others just as amazing. He also plays a pretty mean guitar.

The days are long and packed full, but they are not all work, work, work. For one thing, there’s the Expo floor filled with vendors and products, the Westcott photo booth where they create sets and lighting and bring in models to shoot, and, of course, more training. And, there’s Midnight Madness. It’s a couple hours of just wacky goings-on and fun.

Yes, I’m getting excited. I know in a week, it will be over and my mind will be jammed packed, and I’ll be exhausted. But it’s the good kind of exhausted. The kind you know comes from diving into something you love. I can’t wait!

I spent most of Saturday morning into the early afternoon photographing gardens around town for the Pond and Garden Tour. Aside from the huge thunderstorm (and the pond I found myself and my car in!), it was fun and the rain added the nice little water droplets to everything. I’ll write more on that later.

When I was done shooting, I headed home for a quick shower then up to Zumbrota for the reception following Katie and Justin’s wedding. Lynne was there for the ceremony, and it sounds like it was great. Katie is big-time into theatre and the wedding was theatrical. Just a for instance: there was a program and they listed the cast!

I left my main camera bag in the car thinking I’d try to take a shot or two of the couple. They had the photography covered, so I wanted to try to get something maybe a touch different. I’d been shooting a ton already, so I wasn’t going to try to take a lot of pictures. I didn’t want to interfere with their photog, but he graciously allowed me to grab them for a few minutes.

Inspired by the work of Cliff Mautner, a fabulous wedding photographer, I used his “put the subject between the camera and the light” approach. I saw Cliff for the first time last year at Photoshop World. I was blown away by his images.

Katie and Justin are terrific subjects. I just told them where to stand, then asked them to be themselves. Yeah – actors, young, in love. What else do you need to do. I shot off a bunch of frames and said thank you very much.

Their expressions in the photo above say it all.

But this was my favorite. Congratulations, Katie and Justin. Have a great life together!

Life presents us many challenges. It’s part of the deal we accepted when we took our first breath. There must have been an agreement saying, “By opening your mouth and allowing this air into your lungs, you agree to the following terms and conditions…” I don’t remember it, though.

The disasters we see on TV and now on the internet remind us that our world can be turned upside down in an instant. We hope that never happens to us. But even avoiding big disasters doesn’t mean it’s smooth sailing for a lifetime. It never is.

We read about home fires and the destruction that can follow. Even smaller fires can leave a home with smoke and water damage some of which may be unrecoverable. Some fires reduce a lifetime of possessions to ash. As a photographer and a nut about photographs, I wonder how I’d cope with such a loss. There are many things that can be replaced, but there are photographs and other special memories tied to things so easily consumed by flames.

When I heard Sam and Tyler’s friends were planning a benefit show at RCTC for them, I was hoping there would be a way I could contribute in some way. I had an opportunity to take some photos and jumped at the chance.

Many of the players are folks I know from RCT or from shows Lynne has been in elsewhere. I came down for the rehearsal and thought it might be fun to take some shots then. There is a different feeling to a rehearsal than for the real performance, especially for a show like this. It’s a little looser and relaxed, people feeling out what they are going to do, the blocking, the lighting.

Some bits still are not quite memorized, so scripts are out. But the energy is still there and actors act. And, I think everyone there knew it was important. Perhaps most important was being there, being part of the production, and supporting their friends.

Attending the rehearsal was useful for me besides just capturing a few images of a work in progress. I could see the lighting, figure out what sort of exposure I was dealing with, and have my camera ready for the evening show.

It was also an excuse to take some photos, too. Sometimes I need motivation. I need a reason to shoot. While I like shooting just for me, it’s also nice to know there are going to be shots I’ll like, photos I’ll share, even before I pick up the camera. For an event like this, that’s always the case.

The final number was going to be a big group song sung directly to the couple. More support in a big way with lots of love. I felt that camaraderie, friendship, and energy even during a run through of the song around the piano. I took several shots and all of them convey some of this. It would be hard to not capture that feeling.

During the evening performance, I watched Sam and Tyler and grabbed some photos of their reactions. Most were not great with the light so low in the audience. But I kept at it, stayed patient, and knew the time would come. When Jerry and Greg did their improv act, the lights came up, the laughs began, and I had my shot.

We so often like to say, “I know how you feel.” But, of course, we don’t. I guess I’d have to say, I can’t imagine how this feels. But I think, for that night, they felt the love and concern of many friends giving something special of themselves. I’m happy to add my tiny contribution to that.

This is a high resolution version of the large group shot using Zoomify to let you zoom in and see everyone. I shot this as a series of three vertical shots stitched together in Photoshop to provide a somewhat higher effective resolution than I had in the original shot.

I could have zoomed it in tighter and shot more frames for even better resolution, but I wanted to still include the surroundings – the building and trees – keeping the full image similar to the original shot. If you were there, you should be able to find yourself!