It’s that time of year already, when people from all over the industry, gather together to get their learn on at the Photoshop World Conference & Expo. It is billed as “The Must-Attend Conference for Photographers & Photoshop Users” and after experiencing it first hand, earlier this year in Orlando, I couldn’t agree more.

“Designed to help you boost your training and experience, Photoshop World offers three days of pulse-pounding training from renowned experts in the field and a once-in-a-lifetime experience guaranteed to enhance your skill set and help your work soar to new heights!

Along with more than 100 classes over the course of three days taught by noted Photoshop and photography professionals, Photoshop World includes a number of interactive pre-conference workshops and an Expo open all three days. The Expo is attended by some of the biggest brands in the world showcasing the latest & greatest technology, products and services, giving people the chance to check out the coolest Photography and Photoshop-related gadgets and gear.”

My friends over at NAPP insisted that I had to go and experience it myself. I took it on good authority, as they are the ones that produce this epic event, and seeing that it was just a short drive down the I4 corridor that splits our beautiful state I figured what better time to see what it was all about. I’m sure glad I did!

The night before everything kicked off the crew over at NAPP News started creating a buzz online about an official “tweetup”  out on the patio of the Rosen Center Resort, where everyone was staying. As I understand it a “tweetup” is a meet up that is organized on Twitter… and it works! We had a ton of people swing through for a drink and a hello, including a lot of the headliners like Scott Kelby and Joe McNally, who I quickly threw in front of the lens. You see just that morning Adobe had just released the latest Beta version of their new Lightroom 3 software and it had a cool new feature… Tethered Shooting! So that evening was the first time I had a chance to try it out and rather then taking a snapshot of my foot in the hotel room, I dragged some gear down to the Tweetup and decided to give it a trial run, in a real world setting. The program performed admirably and everyone quickly started hamming it up for the camera. Who knew so many photo industry people were just dying to get on the other side of the lens after a cocktail or two!

I couldn’t have asked for better assistance that night either as my Adobe Expert friend David Rogers was manning the laptop and not long after Tom Hogarty (Lightroom Product Manager) and Bryan O’Neil Hughes (Photoshop Senior Product Manager and Lightroom Product Evangelist) arrived on the scene and started fielding questions from the crowd. That is what’s great about Photoshop World, its an opportunity to go right to the source.

The best part of the whole experience though, came from meeting so many talented and great people in the industry. The energy was tangible and everyone so passionate about their path in life. To be a “professional” creative and find friends among like minded people really is a blessing.

- UPDATE – Apparently everyone at the Tweetup and the gang at Adobe had as much fun as I did that night! David and I have been asked back to photograph the event again and this time use the full version of Lightroom 3 as it has just been released. If you are planning on attending make sure to come out for the fun. See you in Las Vegas next week!

Join Adobe & The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) at the #PSW Tweetup! 8/31 7:30-11pm @ Mandalay Bay (Vegas)

If are not able to attend, keep an eye on the Tweetup Vegas – Flickr Group to see all the great photographs as we post them. Here is the link to everything from Orlando’s event earlier this year PSW 2010 Orlando too.

Here’s a few shots from Orlando’s Tweetup:

Belleair Beach is one of those places that people work for. They work their entire lives to be able to afford a home on the edge of these sands, and everyday thereafter is a pleasant reminder of how beautiful life can be here. For anyone that hasn’t made that purchase yet there exists the issue of how to physically get from the street you drove in on, past these dream homes, to the beach itself. Normally the city provides some sort of paved gash in the pillars and palisades for people to traverse, but Belleair really did it right. You walk a path pleasantly shaded by overhanging sea oates and palm trees which opens to a boardwalk over the dunes expanding out onto the seashore.

I found this cut-through while riding my bike around searching for a classic beach location to photograph. The approach here struck me as so pretty that I decided to setup a shoot around someone’s trek to the beach rather than the ever popular “girl on the beach” shot we see so much of where I live. When it came to casting someone for the shoot I immediately thought of Liz. She is a local girl working in the Surf / Swimwear retail industry so there was nothing far fetched about shooting her on a skateboard in a bikini on her way to the beach. Now the light quality from the Westcott 50″ Apollo I was using is beautiful regardless, but it was simply breathtaking the way her skin shone under it. She’s the kind of girl with a sun-kissed golden tan in the dead of winter (although winter doesn’t really get too serious here in paradise).

At this point all that was left was to style the shoot. I couldn’t think of anyone better to help out on this than Larry, over at The Island “Surf” Shop on Indian Rocks Beach. It doesn’t hurt that he and his dog, Mojo, are my surf-side neighbors and have a long history of outfitting this stretch of beach with everything from flip flops to paddle boards. We quickly put together a collection of hats, beach bags, sunglasses, and lastly a long board for transportation. Then off we went to make the photographs, with the skate board doubling as a handy way to haul the gear.

One major challenge when building up a shot in a location like this is the sun. At midday it doesn’t always cast the most flattering light, and if you position your subject in the shade to combat this, everything else will probably be quite over exposed. There is an upside though, if you know how to get there. The sun makes for one heck of an accent light in a number of capacities and when properly balanced with other lighting, the sky reveals that deep blue we love it for. After framing up a couple spots I took a reading for the ambient light needed to pull out that beautiful blue I just mentioned. With this set, we began the process of building in the light needed to make Liz pop. This was accomplished with a strobe light controlled through a Westcott 50″ Apollo softbox with some fill light kicked back in using a Westcott 72″ Scrim Jim. Another light was used to bring out the green in the foliage behind Liz, as it fell into some pretty heavy shadow from the sunlight. Make sure to check out the Lighting Diagram for a better look at the setup. After working through a few different looks under this lighting we migrated down towards the beach shedding modifiers as we went.

In the end there’s nothing quite like that soft glow left lingering on the horizon just as the sun sets into the Gulf of Mexico. The last few images below were taken after successfully chasing the fading daylight and enjoying another unadulterated sunset here in paradise. Enjoy!

Liz Beachwear Shoot – BTS – Belleair Beach, FL from Erik Valind on Vimeo.

In essence they saw that I live and breathe lighting and photography and love to share my knowledge and energy whenever I get the chance. Naturally when a fellow Westcott Top Pro called to say he would be in town recently we quickly got to work on organizing a workshop to do exactly that, share our knowledge.

With the help of Westcott and the Tampa Bay area’s large Meetup & Strobist communities we filled up all the available workshop slots in 24 hours! On top of that, local photographers Jim Sykes and Kathy Porupski let us use their studio, perfectly located in the Ybor City Art Community.

As people started to arrive the day of the workshop I was stoked to hear that 2 attendees, Michael and Mel, had driven from as far as Atlanta, GA and Jacksonville, FL to attend. It was an amazing opportunity to share my passion with people obviously eager to expand their own knowledge and create some awesome photographs along the way.

The images in the BTS (Behind the Scenes) video below were all made by the guys and girls that attended our workshop. Im not sure if it was the instruction, or just the raw talent everyone brought to the table, but they rock. Enjoy!

Westcott Top Pros Workshop – BTS – Tampa, FL from Erik Valind on Vimeo.

Also be sure to check out more great shots from this event at the Group Flickr Pool.

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Abby couldn’t have picked a more beautiful animal to ride that day; I was amazed at the personality our horse exhibited too. He reminded me of the family dog at times, only this guy weighed in at +1,000lbs. Abby on the other hand, much less than a 10th his size, exerted a firm yet gentle control you’d expect from a rider many years her senior.

After making our rounds and getting some of the great shots above, Abby changed into her riding gear and we got down to the shot I was really excited to create… the JUMP!

Click here to view the Lighting Diagram for this shot.

When I finally arrived Ryan was just wrapping up a portfolio shoot for Jennifer Kirkpatrick, a local fitness model and yoga instructor. Jennifer is incredibly fit and has an awesome energy to her, which is exciting to find in a subject, as it isn’t often that I find someone that can match my own energy.  After kicking around the idea of shooting something down the road and finding that they were both free the following morning we decided to reconvene the next day and knock out some fun running / lifestyle shots.

Above are some of the photographs we made and here is a fast paced look behind the scenes. Enjoy!

Run Run Run Photoshoot – Behind the Scenes from Erik Valind on Vimeo.

Click here to view the Lighting Diagram for this shot.

Sahara Smith Photoshoot – Behind The Scenes from Erik Valind on Vimeo.

Click here to view the Lighting Diagram for this shot.

“Westcott is proud to announce the addition of the following photographers into the elite group of Westcott Top Pros: Joey Wright, Ryan Gibson, Lindsay Adler, KC Gunn, Tri Huynh, George Simian, Michael Thompson, Erik Valind, Rafael Concepcion, Pete Wright and Dave Cross.”

The Top Westcott Endorsed Pros was developed for photographic education and inspiration. This elite group is comprised of talented photographers from around the world, each a master of his or her own creative specialty, including fashion, sports, wedding, nature, photojournalism, advertising, portraiture, food and travel photography. Most Top Pros share their photographic and technical expertise with eager audiences of photo professionals, hobbyists and enthusiasts in a variety of workshops throughout the world.

For more information on Westcott, please visit them on the web at www.fjwestcott.com. You can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

lighten up and shoot

Check out their blog and videos for a few laughs and an inside look at their minimalist approach to stunning portrait photography.

Here are two shots I grabbed as we “adventured” around Vinoy Park in St Petersburg with a group of like minded photographers and models.

Here’s a quick shot of some plunder we found and one such pirate by the name of John Silver. Apparently pirates need head shots too.

Taking a break from the laptop for a few minutes to wonder out back and recharge…