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

I’m back from Photoshop World in Vegas. My head is still spinning, I’m still sleep-deprived, but I wanted to write down my thoughts while they’re fresh.

The event began with the NAPP forum party. This is a gathering of folks who frequent the forums at the NAPP member web site – a chance for us to meet face-to-face. We ate at the Burger Bar near the Mandalay Bay, the conference hotel (/casino). Being my second PSW, I’d met some of the folks before. It was fun reconnecting and meeting some others for the first time. I brought my trusty 50mm f/1.4 to shoot available light and found that the lens wouldn’t auto-focus. I guess having started shooting before there was auto-focus paid off.

There’s a theme to the conference each year. Last year, they had a KISS knock-off called NAPP. There was a video about the NAPP reunion tour – cheesy, but fun. Then Scott Kelby and his band performed in KISS-like costumes. So, I was wondering what they could do this year.

The theme this time was Project Photoshop, a parody of Project Runway, complete with the runway show. The opening video was a hoot. The full keynote is on YouTube here.

They later had all the fashion, actually designed by students, on display in the Expo hall. It was fun and cool. I’m still amazed at the quality of the video and live productions. They have an outstanding creative staff. If you’ve attended conferences for engineering or medical or various other professions, this is something altogether different. Altogether.

Westcott, a lighting manufacturer, sponsors a booth with four lighting setups and four different models. Some of them have photographers on-hand to discuss the lighting, posing, working with models, etc. Photographers are free to shoot the models, even direct them. Last year, I had mixed feelings about shooting the models.

I didn’t set the lighting. I didn’t conceive of the setting, the costumes, the make-up. It’s sort of hard to call the photos I’d take my own. This time, I reconciled this a bit. It is I choosing the lens, focal length, shutter speed, aperture, angle, and composition.

And, I get to choose how I’ll post-process the shots. Make them warm or cool. Soft or harsh. So, yes, I’ll claim these as my own.

But as folks scrambled for a good position to shoot the model against the cool background, I decided to move to the side, walk in close, and shoot this buff female against the black partition dividing two of the sets. Something a bit different, and I love her profile which struck me even when I was standing by the crowd.

There were many sessions to take in. There are six or seven parallel tracks, so choosing what you wish to attend is sometimes tough. I tried to find instructors I’d not seen before or seen only in online tutorials. My take on the hottest topic this year was compositing. Matt Kloskowski has a new compositing book which has been a run-away bestseller – as in, sold out on Amazon. Looks like they have some in stock now. But there were several classes teaching or showing compositing. One of the instructors said if your photography looks like it could have been shot 10 years ago, you’re missing the boat (to paraphrase).

The photo above was the panel session called The Art of Digital Photography. It was one of my favorite sessions last year. This year, it was still at the top of my list. Eight great photographers show some of their work and discuss it. But, only a few days before the tenth anniversary of 9/11, it was Joe McNally’s presentation that stole the show. Joe shot folks, many of them firefighters, who were in some way affected by 9/11 shortly after the tragedy using a huge Polaroid camera. The Polaroid prints were life size – nine feet long.

This year, he visited with many of those same people to find out what they’re doing now. And, photograph them, of course. His talk and images were stirring. He showed images of the towers (Joe’s from NYC), a shot he took from the top of the antenna tower, talked about how photographs, to him, are memories. It was incredibly moving. When he finished, the applause began, intensified, went on and on, then one person stood and another. The entire room stood and the applause was deafening. There’s a web site for Faces of Ground Zero. It’s worth a look.

Jeremy Cowart had the misfortune of following Joe. But Jeremy has devoted much of his time, when not shooting celebrities, to humanitarian work. His Help-Portrait initiative is just one example. I think he did okay in his first time on this panel.

Part of the lure of PSW is the fun. It’s first a learning event, but Scott Kelby and his staff know the importance of making the event fun for all the creative minds. On the second night, shortly after The Art of Digital Photography, there’s Midnight Madness where the promise is you won’t learn anything about Photoshop. It’s games and donuts. Where else will you find Angry Birds – Live? Yes, that’s right!

One of the instructors who resonated with me was Gregory Heisler. Greg has shot many of the photos you’ve seen on the cover of Time including the Man/Woman/Person-of-the-Year issues. He had a class on The Appropriate Response. The net of this was how a photograph needs to be appropriate to its subject and its theme. Cool, warm, harsh, soft, subtle, bold. This helped me understand my own reaction to photographs I see. It’s the best part of Photoshop World – gaining insight into my passion.

The class following this one was titled, Moved by Light: A Conversation. Gregory was shown as the instructor for this class, too. I considered whether to stay for it or attend one of the other parallel tracks. I decided to stay, and Jay Maisel joined Gregory on stage. The session was the two amazing photographers asking each other questions and sharing their thoughts and insights. It was an incredible hour.

When I leave Photoshop World, I feel so inadequate. Seeing the work of masters of photographic and design arts keeps my ego in check. But it’s good to surround yourself with artisans who are much better than yourself. Absorb what you can. Learn what they teach. Never stop growing.

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!