I have never had any desire whatsoever to go to Las Vegas. Gambling, no thanks. Gaudy shows, ehhh. The food and partying... ummm, well maybe, a little bit. (AIRHORNS!!) This year I went to WPPI in Vegas not exactly sure what to expect from the experience as a whole. The last time I went to a convention of this type I did not have my own business, so while a lot of the speakers were interesting to hear, I couldn't exactly implement any of that knowledge into my own business.
This year... whoa, talk about business changing. Life changing.
Jesh de Rox's talk was inspiring, moving, self reflecting, it was the first class I attended. It really set the tone for the entire trip for me... thinking about the powerful energy in that room, is bringing me to tears while typing this. I sometimes say to myself or others, dude, it's wedding photography... it's not that serious, chill out. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love what I do, it has given me confidence, opportunities that I've that nothing else in my life has offered. Ever. My photography is helping me become the woman that I've always wanted to be. Until listening to Jesh on Monday, I never thought that it, photography, could make that same weighty impact on my clients lives. It's going to take some hard-work and time, but I am determined to bring what I learned from him to as many couples as I can. If you were in that class... you know what I'm sayin'.
I kept referencing back to his photo love philosophy when deciding which other speakers to hear, which may have both hindered and aided my sponge of a brain. Justin and Mary's class was another one that shook me up and I am beyond stoked, totally overwhelmed to put what I learned from them into motion.
So Vegas... OK, perhaps I will visit you again. If I can experience this every year by putting up with your smoky Casinos and overpriced margaritas ($14 @ the Wynn... really?!?!) then I'm down. It's a deal.
Once I can extract everything I've gained from this trip out of my stuffed brain, I'm going to rock my couples worlds... here's to 2010!
My monster of a camera stayed home. She needs to chill out before wedding season. Instead, i had my iPhone and shot one roll of T-Max which will be developed in the next couple of weeks. My random iPhone photos can be found here: http://marywyar.posterous.com Also, to make this trip even that much more enjoyable, I had two rad roomies and fellow Toledo photogs Carli and Joshua. Special thanks to you two for being patient with me when I was a pain in the arse trying to find a not so, ummmm, working girl, outfit to walk down the strip in :) AND these fabulous shots Joshua took of me... Yeah I have red hair AND bangs.
Now that doesn't necessarily mean that our lovely Ohio winter will soon diminish, but calendar wise, the busy season is on our heels.
For the first few months of spring, I will be jet setting (i.e. travelling in coach on the cheapest flights I could find) to Vegas, NYC, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. for all things photography! Once weddings get under way, I'll be back and forth between Ann Arbor, Cleveland, Mackniac Island, good ole Toledo... rinse and repeat. So excited to tell the love stories of so many rad couples this year! 2010 is going to frickin' raawwwk!!!
What this means to MWP clients? If you haven't scheduled your engaged session or are interested in a portrait session, available dates are dwindling.
While the past few months have been slow regarding shoots, I will have some work to share soon enough. My handy hubby has been building me a darkroom for the past couple of months, and I should in there agitating silver with chemicals in the next couple of weeks.
And finally, I will be in Vegas for the huge WPPI tradeshow, classes, partay, and general good time photog love March 7th thru 11th. I am going to try my best to get back to emails and inquiries on my iPhone but I won't be as quick to respond as I usually am.
I'll leave you with a too cute photo of my pup Trixie in her favourite sweater.
I just finished up a new design that I had been working on since mid-summer for a new photo guest book sample. I used the amazing shoot I had in Seattle with Mary & Scott for the book, since it had more of a lifestyle session feel to it... props, action, playful. I encourage all couples who haven't done their engagement session yet to come up with unique ways to make the shoot more personal... props are an effective way to achieve that... sans balloons :)
One of the more popular add-ons couples choose to customize their wedding photography package with, is the photo guest book. I design the album with ample white space for guests to leave well-wishes and love for the newlyweds at the reception, and an ordinary coffee table book becomes a great memento of the time before the couple married. Oh and it's actually a guest book that you'll want to look at again!
Here is the design, feel free to look at it larger here.
Oh 2010.... you're oh so very... unpredictable. This has been one strange week.
I found myself watching hours of CNN, feeling helpless, crying until my face was red for the people in Haiti. Feeling incredibly guilty for spending $8 on lunch, for being able to fill my dogs water dishes up until they over flow. Watching CNN scroll the statistics on how incredibly impoverished that nation is... feeling like an idiot for spending money on silly things. If I had any sort of medical training I would be there in a heartbeat, but I don't, so I donated a bit of money to the Red Cross. It's what I could do at that moment.
Then there is the late night debacle to lighten the mood. For the record, I am Team Conan in the Leno/Conan battle. However, when it comes to late night programming in general, my heart belongs to Jimmy Kimmel... his response was pure genius.
Today I found myself needing to take my eyes away from CNN & the computer, so I took up a challenge that my photog friend Joshua White had posted on his blog "Take 50 photos in one day"... below are the results... some good, some great, some not so great, and some just to make you smile.
Hope everyone has a great weekend and is constantly thinking about how beyond lucky we all are to live in this country.
Click on the first thumbnail then use the arrows on your keyboard to scroll through the images... enjoy!
I love the couples I was able to photograph in 2009... thank YOU for allowing me to do what I love! Thank you for trusting me to capture the most intimate and special moments in your lives. All of you are the ones who make me want to challenge and push myself further out of my comfort zone with every shoot. It is truly impossible for me to express in words how lucky I feel to have the clients that I do, you're all amazing people.
Here's to 2010!!!