Six days came and went in a fury! WPPI was as fast and as intense as the epicenter of a tornado and every bit as unpredictable and thrilling! Between the lack of sleep, inspiration overload, blistered feet and amazing people…it felt like an out of body experience.
I was able to enjoy the Vegas Strip on Saturday with my Mom. There was so much to take in and I was completely blown away by the incredible architecture. The images can not possibly do it justice but I certainly shot enough to give you a great idea of what it’s like if you have never been. The hotels are just mind-blowing! I can’t even imagine what it costs to run just one of them for even one day. And it truly is the city that never sleeps! It cracked me up each night when I was headed back to my room how many people were gambling and then each morning at the crack of Dawn how many people were still there! I tried to think of a clever way to escape with just a single slot machine ;-) can you image the loot inside one of those jokers? I mean just ONE of the hundreds of thousands! They certainly don’t get any of my money! I work far too hard to just watch my money be sucked in and blown away! Now my Mom on the other hand…she supports the Vegas slots.
It would take far too long to tell you about all of the happenings at WPPI but here are the highlights of my experience. My girl Jasmine Star was every bit as amazing as I knew she would be. I almost had to throw my fists up to secure my spot in line though. I departed a valuable workshop early just to get in line for J*. I paid my dues. I was #278 in line and I made sure that I reminded the “counter guy” of my secured position. By the time I entered the room over 300 people had skipped the line and wormed their way ahead of the people who had honestly waited. That is so wrong!!! Nonetheless, I got my seat and heard J*’s platform on Ghetto Fabulous Marketing. And because I am a loyal Blog stalker and I pretty much read everything that she writes…I won a shootsac by being the first to holler out what KIR means. That was so cool!!! And she knew exactly who I was even though we had never met face to face prior to that day. Props to J* for truly caring about those of us who follow her. J* you are beautiful, inspirational and you truly do KIR on all levels! Thank you for all that you contribute to our industry.
My next glorious encounter was with Jesh De Rox…wow! Just plain WOW! This guy is amazing. He not only had everyone in the room (men included) in tears…he truly touched the lives of so many in such a brief amount of time. If you ever have the opportunity to see him by all means do what you have to do to go! He will move you in ways you never thought possible. I am a huge fan of his “beloved” approach and in fact I actually put a bit of that to use over the weekend with one of my sessions. Jesh…if you are reading this post…THANK YOU! Thank you for being a glorious soul who isn’t afraid to approach life with a heart wide open! You are no doubt a wonderful leader in our industry and I am proud to have spent those two hours absorbing all that you were kind enough to share. Thank you!
On Tuesday I spoke at the SMUG booth and I have to be honest and say that I was a tad bit intimidated…not about speaking…y’all know how much I like to talk! ;-) But rather about the company that I was keeping. I mean if you saw the line-up for SMUG then you understand. I followed behind Robert Evans…um yeah! Can you say high expectations? But I was proud to have had standing room only and cramped standing room at that! Thanks a million to everyone who attended. I am honored to have been given the opportunity to speak at WPPI and I am equally as honored to be a contributing part of the SMUG family. What an amazing group of people. I love SMUG! And for you locals who are joining me for my SMUG launch on the 24th of this month…you are certainly in for a treat!
Here is a slideshow that I threw together documenting my 6 days in Vegas. Thanks so much to everyone who made this experience all that it was! And a very special thanks to three hometown guys…Ron, Renzo and Wes…this trip would not have been nearly as special without the three of you there to share it with! Thank you for your friendship and support. I have a feeling that we are all in for a record breaking 2010! Cheers!
We go every September… We love it! Mandalay Bay is the best! We do gamble however…. only one year did we break even, usually we come home in the positive. One visit even paid for our backyard iron fence!
Dawn Dawn Dawn!!!!!!!!!!! What a trip! You are fabulous, just so you know. Seriously, I bet you have the best documentation of your trip of any photographer in attendance. I felt like I was there with you. No detail was left out. I am totally giggling at you. If anyone would get the KIR question, it would be you! Congrats on your new Shootsac! Love how J* knew who you were. That reaffirms my love for her! She’s amazing. Make sure she doesn’t see the pics of you hugging up on her hubby though. ;) Glad you had a fantastic trip. I WILL make it there next year. I WILL!! :D
glad you had a great time(so jealous..lol..my wish is to go one in the future)
love the new blog look too!
It was SOOO fab to run into you at J*’s speech!!!!! You are even lovlier in person!!!!!!!
Love it…I have never been to Vegas but I hope to one day.
I love your new banner and logo….very nice. So glad you had an amazing trip. I am looking forward to the SMUG launch. ((hugs))
Dawn!!! This was so fun to see! Makes me want to go back and relive it all over again. This time I would take more pics! Loved seeing yours. Have to say, your presentation was one of the highlights of the week!! I am already looking at my clients differently.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this! I truly feel as if I was there with you!! Really wish I could have been, next year, it will become true for us, to be there together! ;) Thanks for sharing this!!
Dawn…girl, I must’ve been 5 people behind you in line and was pissed when I got to the door and over 300 people had mistaken where the line was and thought it was cool to just walk past all of us standing there! But anyway….we saw you get your shootsac and that’s awesome. J* is just so cool and authentic in the way that really speaks to everyone. Love your photos…keep up the good work and KIR! haha :)
Sounds like you had a wonderful time!
Thanks friend
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