PDN to Hold Virtual Trade Show December 2-3, 2009
I recently received an e-mail about PDN’s upcoming Virtual Trade Show, being held online December 2-3, 2009. The event is free, and the webinars look very interesting. This is the second Photographers’ Virtual Trade Show (the first was held about six months ago). Over 18,000 people registered for the first event and over 10,000 logged on during each day of the show.
Selected titles of the free webinars are as follows:
Wednesday, December 2
• The Art of Wedding Photography
• The Perfect Print
• How to Master Location Lighting
Thursday, December 3
• Successful Self-Promotion in the Digital Age
• Multimedia and Video: New Opportunities for Photographers
For more information, full webinar descriptions, and to register for this free online event, visit this page.
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PhotoPlus Expo New York City 2nd Day Observations: 5 More Trade Show Booth Suggestions
The PhotoPlus Expo trade show was absolutely packed with people on Friday, and I had a chance to explore much more. Here are 5 more recommended booths to check out.
1. LR Fine Art Mounting and Framing (Booth #165)
Have you ever wanted to get your work face mounted to Plexiglas, mounted on dibond (a relatively lightweight and very stable material) or other material? If so, you may know that it is not an easy process to do well. LR Fine Art Mounting and Framing of New York City has large printed and mounted samples, as well as a table full of samples of their mounting processes. One especially impressed me. It was a matte inkjet print mounted on a board, which was then mounted on either aluminum or dibond.
website: https://www.l2mounting.com
2. HP (Booth #136)
The HP booth at PhotoPlus expo is worth a trip just to see the award-winning books from the Photography.Book.Now Winners 2009 competition. Yesterday, I recommended stopping by the Blurb booth to check out their many outstanding book samples. Blurb uses HP Indigo printers exclusively for their books, and all of the books were produced by the company. According to the site, “Rafal Milach, a professional photographer from Warsaw, Poland, was awarded the $25,000 Grand Prize for Black Sea of Concrete. Mr. Milach’s work, shot on the coast of Ukraine, was chosen as the most creative, most innovative and finest self-published photography book by an esteemed panel of judges led by Darius Himes, a co-founder of Radius Books.”
While you’re there, I also recommend seeing Joel Meyerowitz’s limited edition hardcover book printed by HP using an Indigo printer. There is a tipped-in photo on the front which is a look that I really like. The book, entitled The Hallett, is an exclusive limited-edition book exploring the Hallett Nature Sanctuary in Central Park. It includes images not featured in Meyerowitz’s new book Legacy (a spectacular book definitely worth seeing). An archival pigment-ink print made personally by Joel Meyerowiz is also included in the box set available from Aperture (the Aperture.org link below shows the limited edition set and offers a full explanation of its contents).
And I also highly recommend checking out the exhibition of prints near the upstairs entrance to the Javits Center (in front of the registration desk). The exhibition highlights the winners of the Magnum Expression Photography Award.
From the Magnum Blog: “The Magnum Expression Photography Award was established by Magnum Photos and HP with the goal of raising awareness and inspiring change through campaigns using photography as an expressive medium. Its mission is to discover and illuminate compelling documentary photography employed in innovative ways to affect social awareness and propel humanitarian compassion.”
The inaugural theme for the 2009 award was Communities.
websites:
https://www.hp.com
https://www.aperture.org/boxed-meyerowitz.html
HP Magnum Expression Awards websites:
https://expression.magnumphotos.com/
https://blog.magnumphotos.com/2009/02/the_magnum_expression_award.html
3. Nikon (Booth #501)
Nikon has a large stage this year and many noted photographers who are speaking about their work and the Nikon equipment they use. There are a number of huge prints at the booth worth a look–one of which by Rob Van Petten shot with the Nikon D3x of a woman with very long eyelashes is spectacular.
4. Sony (Booth #618)
The Sony booth is huge this year at PhotoPlus, and the prints in their booth and in lightboxes throughout the show floor should not be missed. Many photographers are speaking at the booth, and most if not all are shooting with the Sony Alpha 900 DSLR. I had an opportunity to see a portion of photographer Matthew Jordan Smith’s talk. He specializes in portraiture and his work is truly outstanding. What’s great about many presentations on the show floor (including Matthew’s) is that photographers often share the story behind the photos they’ve taken, including, for example, learning what a client likes or dislikes so that you can prepare ahead of time.
website: https://www.Sony.com
5. Op/tech USA (Booth #1151)
If you want to see some very nicely designed camera straps that really help keep your strap on your shoulder (or more comfortable when you have a strap around your neck), as well as many gadgets related to keeping your camera dry and more stable while shooting, stop by this booth. The neoprene lens and camera protectors are also impressive.
website: https://www.optechusa.com
PhotoPlus Expo New York City 1st Day Observations: 5 Trade Show Booth Suggestions
The PDN PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo’s 26th annual trade show is in full swing, and as usual, it’s impressive, both for the trade show offerings, as well as the excellent seminars in lecture halls off the show floor. It appears to me that there are fewer companies showing their goods and services this year compared to last year, but the offerings are vast, and include the gamut, from tripods to DSLRs, to Photoshop action sets and much more. It’s like a candy store for photographers and those who love to look at pictures. And be sure to check out the seminar offerings.
In the interest of time (and sleep), I will post photos to go with many of these after the show is over. Until then, here’s a small sampling of what impressed me greatly when I was there on Thursday 10/22/09.
1. Blurb (Booth #361) My mouth was wide open saying words like “amazing” and “holy cow” when I saw the incredible books made by Blurb from imagery and text submitted by their clients. The hardbound wraparound photo covers have such a nice look and feel. Coupled with the high quality printing and impressive design of so many of the books, it was a joy to look at the collections of images.
website: https://www.blurb.com
2. Canon (Booth #120,220) Canon’s booth is huge, and includes a stage with rotating presentations by many notable photographers. Another great thing about this showx, as with many other camera manufacturers, is the ability to hold and try out just about any current model camera body and lens that the company offers. Also, don’t miss the huge panoramic print by George Lepp on the wall. It is an HDR stitched panorama made from 66 images (shot with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and printed on the Canon imagePROGRAF iPF9100 inkjet printer.
website: https://www.canonusa.com
3. Epson (Booth #805) Epson always shows truly impressive work on the walls, and this year is no exception. One photo on the wall by Stephen Wilkes printed on Epson Exhibition Fiber is so riveting both in content and color that I could not take my eyes off it. Look for the blue photo–it’s not that big, but you can’t miss it. You can also see the new Epson Stylus Pro 3880 17-inch-wide printer, as well as some prints made using the printer. The black and white imagery from the 3880 and the Epson Stylus Pro 7900 and 9900 are pretty spectacular.
website: https://www.epson.com
4. Hahnemühle (Booth #754) The sheer number of fine-art papers in the Hahnemühle booth is staggering. Whether you use an inkjet printer or not, I highly recommend taking some time to look at the following in their booth:
• A truly outstanding black and white portfolio of prints of Japan by Craig Stevens. They were printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta. The company recently announced a heavier weight version of the paper–Photo Rag Baryta FB 350gsm.
• A beautifully made sample book (about 11×17 in size and located near the coatings display). It contains most if not all of their fine-art papers, including their new Sugar cane paper.
• Hahnemühle Gallerie Wraps Canvas stretching system.
website: https://www.Hahnemuhle.com
5. Moab Paper (Booth #630) Moab recently unveiled some great looking portfolio books named ICE NINE, in 8×9 and 12×13 inch format. Also, the company has a great sample rack with their entire photo line. I made a print for their booth this year, and the company printed up a card with one of my photos and a partially excerpted tip from my book, 301 Inkjet Tips and Techniques. I also recommend checking out the Moab Somerset Photo Satin 300 paper, as well as the amazing botanical image by Barbara Bordnick printed on the company’s Moenkopi Japanese Washi. Very impressive.
website: https://www.moabpaper.com
The PhotoPlus Expo continues until 10/24/2009 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. Visit this page for more info or to register.