I am back from my brief hiatus from blogging. Why? Might one ask. Well, to let you in on a little secret, I am totally fired up from an event I attended today, The Flash Bus Tour 2011 with David Hobby and Joe McNally.
The Flash Bus Tour is basically Joe, David, their (Joe's) assistants and all of their (again Joe's) gear piled into this bus:
About 400 of my photographer friends and I that wanted to know all about small flash systems made our way to the Los Angeles Convention Center today for a morning of David Hobby and an afternoon of Joe McNally. Needless to say, it was a full day. Hobby started off the morning with more of a presentation where he took us through shots, building layers of one light on top of the other. Informal and informative, it really set the tone for the rest of the day.
And then McNally took us for a post-lunch ride (no food comas allowed). He went through a live shoot using one of his assistants and members from the audience, building layers of light while gracefully hitting any curve ball that came his way. And during a live location shoot, there are plenty of curve balls.
The afternoon was finished up with an amazing Q&A session with both photographers. Watching these guys together and taking all kinds of questions from the audience was really cool to experience.
I feel really lucky to be a part of this tour. Both guys are really down to Earth, willing to help other photographers, and willing to do things like sign books and posters. Here's a photo of Joe and me after he signed my copy of LIFE Guide to Digital Photography: Everything You Need to Shoot Like the Pros
Note: Of course, why would I set my point and shoot to auto without flash when about to take a picture with master flash man Joe McNally? This is photo #2...
If this tour rolls through your city, it is definitely worth your time and money to attend. I am not only pumped about doing more with my flash photography, but doing more with my photography in general.
A big thank you to David Hobby, Joe McNally and the team and sponsors that made it possible to bring us The Flash Bus Tour 2011! I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store!
And thank you for stopping by!