Imaging USA Day 1 was a ton of fun, and Day two continued on with the same emotions. Day two was where I realized what a historic organization PPA is. To give perspective, I asked an employee "so, how many of these events have there been?" The answer I got was "I dunno- maybe 120 or so?" I knew PPA has been around, but I had no idea they celebrated their 50th anniversary as an organization in 1930! You can read more about PPA's history here, including some amazing stories that range from World War I Signal Corps photographers becoming honorary PPA members to George Eastman introducing the first Kodak camera and film system to convention goers in 1888. Once again, I was so happy to be a part of this historic organization and convention.
In addition to classes and the expo, PPA students were taking certification exams.
Dane Sanders giving away prizes after his class.
The Muñoz Brothers taught a very exciting and humorous live shooting class
Including posing tips...
The official PPA mascot for the event- Flash- heading downstairs to the Expo.
David Bergman showing the Nikon booth area how to snap great event and sport photos.
Photographing the volunteers proves to be quite humorous. They were barking questions as me from below. "What's your f-stop!? What camera setting are you using?!" When I would tell them my answer, they would always reply "NO! That's wrong!!!" :)
Lindsey Adler teaching a small group of PPA students.
Michael Barton came away with a few awards at the Grand Imaging Awards ceremony, including photographer of the year.
This character also won an award for best image with his shot of the final shuttle launch. I was amazed at how he took this photo. Because NASA won't let anyone around for miles, he set up his tripod a few miles inside the "danger zone" the day before the launch. He set the camera up on a sound trigger and hoped for the best. The next day, he went to find his camera had captured a number of images, including this winning shot!
