March 9-16th, 2013

This was my second year to attend WPPI in Las Vegas, the biggest annual convention for professional portrait photographers. I was with Catie Bartlett once again, and our new recruit Jodi Campbell. (We missed our Carly Carlson this year!) We decided to drive this year… and in the words of G.O.B. Bluth, “we made a huge mistake”. Ok, maybe not, but lesson learned and we’ll have to try something different next year. Because 18 strait hours, from Oklahoma to Vegas (and back), in the car is torture. But we had a lot of cool photos opps- a blizzard on the way there, and sight-seeing on the way back.

We stayed in the MGM Grand this year, which was THE BEST, and really the only way to go. Robby & Savannah Doland attended the convention separately, but I was so excited we were able to meet up- love those guys! The biggest lesson I RE-learned this year is not to try to attend a class EVERY block, but rather choose a few topics to focus on, thereby getting a lot more out of it. I probably had a lot more tip if I’d written this post a few months ago, haha. But that was the biggest thing to stick with me. I was a lot better about it this year. I was also stoked to see some of my photo idols in person and sit in on there classes, such as Sue Bryce, and Rob & Vanessa Adams! Rob and Vanessa are incredible talents, and I had the privilege of learning from them both in depth during my trip to Seattle for Creative Live! (But that’s for a later post.)

I focused on stretching the legs of my Canon 5D Mark III, 45mm tilt-shift lens, and my fun new toy- the Fujifilm Instax 210. From here, I’ll tell the story in pictures. (Any photos of me were taken by Catie or Robby.) Many of these images are available to purchase as a print. Please email me if you’re interested!

Triple exposure somewhere in Arizona:

Double exposures on Las Vegas Blvd:

This year we got wind of one of the raddest parties happening during WPPI- LAZERS & BLAZERS! More double exposure experiments, dressed up all fancy before heading out.

Also, if you can’t fully appreciate how jealous you should be about this party… here you go:

http://vimeo.com/61754257

Toward the end of our trip, I had to show Robby & Savannah around my all-time favorite spot in Vegas- The Neon Museum.

Fulfilling our tourist duty:

On the way home, we hit the Hoover Dam (I’d never seen it before)…

…and the Grand Canyon (second visit for me- the first time being also on the way home from my first trip to Vegas):

Grand Canyon Pano:

Somewhere in New Mexico:

As always, can’t wait for next year! Finally posting these photos has made me so anxious. Who’s in??