Golden sunrise through a dirty window

When opportunity knocks… Answer it!

I took the image with Pro Camera app, gave it clarity in Camera+ app then finished it off with Snapseed app.

Orange County Convention Center: Photoshop World Conference and Expo – April 17 thru 19, 2013 in Orlando, Florida

The good people over at NAPP tried something new for their Photoshop World Conference and Expo 2013 – Orlando; they made a few “tracks” changes that, for me, made it an unexpectedly wonderful experience.

• At PSW 2011 – Vegas, they had: Creative Suite Track, General Track, Lightroom Track, Photography A and B Tracks, Photoshop Track, and a Techniques Track.  They even threw in a few classes of a Social Media/Business, Motion Graphics, and Wedding & Portraits Tracks.
• At PSW 2012 – DC, they had all the above, plus they added some classes for Tips & Tricks, Lighting, and Production Tracks.

As you can tell, there was a little bit of this and that in past years with sprinkles of new stuff added depending on whatever instructors came during that conference.  Mind you, the two PSW’s above that I attended were great and overwhelming and definitely made me want to come back!

This year, however, they refined their “track” approach with seven tightly-composed paths of learning.

A small sample of the Photoshop World class and track schedule

And I was finally able to focus on one track in particular yet still enjoy a few classes from the other tracks.

Perhaps some of my comfort came from previous PSW experience, but I heard from several others (noobs and old-heads) who felt the same way: smaller crowd, fewer vendors, but better learning.

Let me make note that Joel Grimes, Janine Warner, Richard Harrington, Jason Groupp, and Erik Valind were especially helpful in their Business track sessions.  I thought I knew a good bit about the business of being paid as a photographer, but I was wrong.  There was just so much excellent information that was laid out before me that it will take me weeks (maybe months) to revise my business plan.  My mind was truly blown!

Bill Fortney chatting before his “Communicating with your Photography” class at Photoshop World 2013 Orlando

Image above made with a Nikon D300 camera and Nikon 50 f/1.4 lens

And finally, Bill Fortney was a treat and a treasure and I pray that he’s invited back!

Because I know those types of challenges are not for me.

Heck, if it wasn’t for the iPhone I wouldn’t carry a camera with me at all.

Still, I decided to join the Google+ Snapseed Community’s first image challenge: “one image a day” for one week with a theme for each day.

Hey, I knew I could handle this one since I had completed a similar one on NikonCafe.com, except we could use one prime lens all week. So let the games begin!

Day 1: first

Nada. Absolutely nothing. My mind went totally blank. Brain-freeze on my very first day! Ugh. How embarrassing…

Day 2: improve

Now, I could either walk away from this challenge with my tail between my legs or I could jump in and catch up or… let’s just say I moved on and found something decent for day 2 on the DC metro.

Google+ Snapseed Community Challenge: Improving the neighborhood

Day 3: left

Once again, I’m stymied! Perhaps my photographic brain/eye doesn’t work on command…?  Geez.

Day 4: faith

Ah, this theme brought me back into focus.

Google+ Snapseed Community Challenge: Enough faith to hear the trumpets when they seem silent to all others

Day 5: communicate

It was just too easy to fall off the wagon again! A large part of my job (the one that pays the bills) is to communicate with others but I worked from home that day and talked to no one.  Yes, I could’ve gone outside and shot the payphone at the gas station down the way, but no… too lazy.

Day 6: home

Whew! It was a late-forming idea but I pulled it off.  No, I was not going to be embarrassed two days in a row.

Google+ Snapseed Community Challenge: Weather-beaten but still standing

Day 7: last

And finally, an inspired image that never should’ve never been taken.

Google+ Snapseed Community Challenge: This is the last time I’ll see this sunset

Kids don’t try this at home!

All images were taken with the Pro Camera app, given a little boost in clarity with the Camera+ app, and then polished off with the Snapseed app.  I used the Marksta app for the copyright.

Conclusion

While I did complete 4 out of 7 days, I still consider this an epic FAIL.

What can I do to make sure that it won’t happen again?  I can either push myself to do better on the next challenge or just sit back and applaud those who pick up that torch.  Failure is not going to be an option.