Back to the old grind, as they say, and I have had a few weeks to reflect on this year’s Photoshop World. I didn’t get to blog as much as I wanted to on the PSW blog during PSW because of unresolved technical difficulties. However, I didn’t let that fact ruin my PSW experience, and the staff worked hard to put on a great show. I loved every moment of PSW and didn’t want to miss a thing. That’s hard when there are 5 amazing classes going on during one time slot. Thank goodness for the hundreds of pages in the PSW Workbook, even though it’s not the same as sitting down with a legendary instructor to teach you those things.
Between the classes and the Expo floor, there was always something to see, learn and buy. My favorite event at both the last PSW I attended two years ago and this one was The Art of Digital Photography panel, comprised of nine PSW instructors: Jim Divitale, Joe Glyda, Joe McNally, Jeremy Cowart, Jay Maisel, Gregory Hesiler, Julieanne Kost, Dave Black and Moose Peterson. Each photographer exhibited a different perspective that they brought to the table and left the attendees in awe. I am humbled that I had the opportunity to even be in the same room with these talents, and even more so by the fact they were presenting their own work before me and a few hundred of my PSW friends. But nothing was more memorable than when Joe received a standing ovation for his project “Faces of Ground Zero”, a portrait series of the heroes and survivors of September 11th in 2001, and in 2011.
Something I noticed in each class and walking the Expo floor was the range of attendees' ages. I saw young kids (a 14 year old boy was one of McNally’s subjects) and retirees. I loved seeing that variety. How great is that to be a young kid in the 10-14 age range and to be going to Photoshop World? I applaud the adults in these kids’ lives for nurturing their passion at such a young age, as well as retirees for continuing to feed their passion. One of those retirees whom I attend every PSW with is my dad, making it a wonderful experience for us to share.
Which leads me to the PSW closing ceremony. This year was definitely an emotional closing ceremony. The afternoon began with a movie clip from Joe McNally’s “Faces of Ground Zero” project in his absence. Then Moose Peterson took us on his photographic journey, which chokes me up every time. One of the newer instructors Dave Black told the tear-jerking story of how one college professor saw his talent and encouraged him to pursue photography even though it wasn’t his major. New Photoshop Guy Pete Collins wrapped up the presentations with the equally emotional story of how he started out as a missionary in Thailand and ended up on that stage in Vegas.
I want to thank all of NAPP for putting together yet another amazing PSW. Thank you to all of the instructors who shared their knowledge for three days out of their undoubtedly busy lives.
And thank you for stopping by.