Vegas and Versace

Well, I’ve just returned from Photoshop World and I have to say that Ladakh to Delhi to Phoenix to Las Vegas in four days is kindof, ahem, insane. I spent three days mostly trying to hide in the hotel and conference center to shield myself from as much of Vegas as possible. I had a great time at Photoshop World, though, and it was definitely worth all the head-spinning!

The first day of the conference, I got to have lunch with David duChemin, Matt Brandon, and Chris Orwig – author of Visual Poetry, instructor at Brooks Institute of Photography, and all-around cool guy. As the four of us, gathered from our different corners of the world, sat together in Las Vegas, we discovered we have more in common than we thought, and we just had to marvel at the smallness of the world we live in. Anyway, I’ve sat in on a couple of Chris’s talks at Photoshop World, and he never fails to inspire me. This is a guy who speaks from the heart and really feels deeply about his work. Do yourself a favor and wander on over to Chris’s site at www.chrisorwig.com.

On another note, at last year’s Photoshop World, I was lucky enough to be given the Vincent Versace Guru Award for Photographic Excellence, presented by photographer Vincent Versace and the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. Since this blog didn’t exist back then and since you’d probably like some photos around here right about now, here are some pics from the awards ceremony…

(By the way, that’s John Paul Caponigro up there with me. Vincent Versace wasn’t at the conference due to a family emergency, so JPC presented the award in his stead at the Photoshop World opening keynote.)

At each Photoshop World, one attendee is selected for this honor and showered with an unbelievable amount of prizes. Congratulations to this year’s winner, Tom Bell!