I presented two workshops on flash photography last week in Watertown, MA (which is right next to Boston), on Tue 2/27 and Wed 2/28. They were  on the lines of the tutorials on my website dealing with how I use flash with wedding photography.

The response when I initially announced the workshop,  was very good.  So good that I had to add a second workshop on the next day. The choice of venue - St John’s in Watertown - was a fortunate choice in that we had access to the sanctuary. This was good to help the group figure out flash photography techniques in what is one of the toughest places for a wedding photographer - in the church itself.

Here are two images (taken by John Hartnett) during the workshop:

The feedback via email and on the forums, as well as at the workshop itself, have been overwhelming.

I went away from each workshop in the evenings, tired and exhilarated. It really is a wonderful experience as a workshop leader / teacher to see when someone *gets* something, and things falling into place. It feels good to know that the workshops can have this much impact!

So thank you to everyone who was there. Keep in touch!

At the start of 2006, a group of 28 photographers from the DWF came together in Mystic, CT, to network. A few of us also did presentations on various topics in photography. It was a great success and showed the need and desire for such a meeting.

This year, Walter van Dusen once again arranged the seminar and get-together in Mystic .. and there were 68 photographers who attended. I was one of the 8 presenters, who included noted photographers such as Claudia Kronenberg, Dan Doke and Michael Cody.

I once again held a presentation on techniques to improve on-camera flash.
(Incidentally, those webpages are a result of last year’s presentation.)

And here I am .. in action. 
And Jeannie, if it looks like I’ve been travelling, it *is* because I’ve been travelling. 

Thank you to everyone who was there and made it a great day of learning and socialising. See you all there again in 2008.

Gavin Seim is the host of a weekly podcast on various photography topics - The Pro Photography Show - and for his show last week (episode #9) he had kindly invited me as the guest host. The topics mostly centered around the webpages on the PlanetNeil website where I explain various techniques to improve flash photography. Gavin, thanks! It was an interesting experience.

I was very excited when Jeff Caplan of the Digital Wedding Forum notified me that my proposal to present a seminar at the 2006 DWF Convention in Las Vegas,  was accepted.  The topic that my friend and co-conspirator, David Mielcarek and I had decided on, was to be called Fearlessly Formal. The intention with this seminar was to present techniques to the newer photographers on how to sequence the family formals session on the wedding day, and how to use lighting during the formals session. 

Preparation for this seminar started slowly last year, and picked up roller-coaster speed as the date approached - Monday morning, April 10th, at 8:30am. Weeks and weeks of actual work had gone into the preparation and fine-tuning of the seminar … and then it was actually time to do it.

The DWF Convention was held this year from Sunday April 9th, to Wednesday 12th in Las Vegas - and it tied in with the WPPI Convention and trade show that was held across the road at Bally’s. It was wonderful to meet up with so many friends and acquaintances I had made over the years on the Digital Wedding Forum.

The seminar itself went very well - with one exception.
There were sound problems, which meant that the presentation was delayed by 30 minutes while the hotel technicians rigged a temporary sound system.  Also, a thank you to whoever helped sort out the feedback problem with my clip-on mic. :^)

Other than that, I believe the seminar went very well. I got tremendous feedback afterwards from dozens and dozens of people.  An indicator of the success of this seminar, was that there must have been 200+ people attending - some lined up against the wall at the back of the auditorium - no seats avaialble. Wow! Thank you everyone who attended. It was wonderful to be a part of something so big.

You also need to keep in mind that any presenter is competing with the lure of friends, other hugely talented photographers, the WPPI trade show, and of course … Las Vegas is just outside the room.  In the evenings I roamed the Vegas Strip with other photographer friends.

Here is a gallery of images of (mostly) night-time Las Vegas.

Richard Kizirian, a Rhode Island based photographer, was kind enough to go to the trouble of helping me arrange a mini-seminar in a studio up in Rhode Island, for Sunday Feb 19th. The topic was again the use of on and off camera flash techniques. Thirteen photographers booked a spot, and in the alloted time of four hours, I tried to cram in as much as I could. It was still based on my online tutorial webpages, but I extended it with a hands-on session where we tried out some of the techniques.

It really felt good to me at the points where I could see the the reaction in someone - when an idea which had been unclear up until then, suddenly became clear. I loved seeing that. And I know from the reaction there that I received from the others and in subsequent emails, that it had been worth the while for everyone.

Here is part of the one email I received, which felt really good to see as feedback afterwards:

“I want to thank you for your well thought out seminar last week - very much! Your laid back approach to your style of lighting very much de-mystifies the concept of using flash effectively. You stated this not with words but by example. I think the benefit of leading by example is that you offer people an opportunity to make meaning of what they are leaning in a way that works for them, not what works for you. I feel you did this exceptionally well.”

So thank you to everyone who was there, and a special thanks to Richard Kirizian for going to all the effort of arranging the venue, and coming up with the suggestion of doing this in the first place.

photo courtesy of Eric Turner.
(Myself, Michelle Turner, Hersul, and part of Richard K.)