Escalate 2010

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post. Things have been quite busy over here for the last few weeks. I've been shooting like mad, with weddings, boudoir sessions, e-sessions and OP Love sessions. All the while to remind myself to take some time away to spend with my husband. He thinks I work to much! Which I probably do, but I can't help it. I love what I do and would rather be working at the computer than watching TV. With all of that, blogging sort of becomes the analogy of a "red headed step child". Blogging is one thing that I really want to work on in my business this year. I really want to start blogging not only my photography shoots, but I want to start getting a little more personal here, adding some little snippits of my personal life. It's something that I struggle with and I'm hoping to change all of that.
In the midst of all of my sessions, last week I had the opportunity to travel to California for a 2 day photography conference. I have always believed that education is of great importance. Maybe it's because of the way my mom would always do whatever she could to engrain it into my head growing up. As a kid and talking about what I wanted to do when I "grew"up, she'd just throw out one little word comments like "COLLEGE"! So it was inevitable that I would get my bachelor's degree, I even started working on my Master's degree at one point.
Now that my "previous" life has ended and I'm no longer a member of the Auto Industry and settling into my new career as a photographer, I'm still in awe of the amazing opportunity I have in front of me. And now that I'm part of an industry that is full of self taught individuals, including myself, I still feel that education is very important. Seminars, conferences and workshops, keep me fresh and constantly learning and trying new things. I attended Imaging USA in January, and learned so much and I was literally bummed out that I didn't make the trip to WPPI this year. So when I first heard the announcement of Escalate 2010, I just knew that I had to be there. All of my favorite photographers speaking in 2 days under one roof? Seriously? I wasn't about to miss it. In my head, I was already there. And lucky for me, I had a friend living in Laguna Beach, just a few minutes from the conference!
I really didn't take as many pictures as I thought I would, I pretty much just took it all in. And to be honest, it was a nice break being without my camera and really living in the moment. And it turns out that I can be a little "starstruck". Not in the Hollywood starstruck way, I honestly don't think I would have recognized any famous movie stars if they would have bumped right into me on the walk of fame! But put these photographers in front of me and all of a sudden, I was like a child meeting their favorite Disney characters at Disney World. Seriously folks, totally intimidated. I've been following Jasmine Star and Jessica Claire since before I even launched my business and had the opportunity to see Jerry Ghionis and Dane Sanders speak Nashville. Add Becker, David Jay, Jeremy Cowart and Julieanne Kost into the mix and wow! Talk about one heck of a conference! Not only are they are all amazing artists, but what I love the most about them is how real they are and willing to share to help other photographers grow. I've learned so much from all of them. I also had the opportunity to connect Denise Hummel, another Michigan photographer while I was out there!

The Lido Theatre where the conference was held was amazing!

My dear friends Rebecca & Sergio! Thank you so much Rebecca for letting me stay with you!

I had some free time before my flight left out of LAX so I decided to hit Hollywood and check it out. These two stopped me and asked if I would like my picture taken with them. At least I'm in one picture from my trip!