On the road again. The travels of a PPA President

A Busy Weekend

Saturday, February 7.

This is a busy weekend.  Carol and I are actually in South Carolina, but our home state convention, Professional Photographers of Michigan was also going.   Although Carol had entered PPA’s International Competition last year, she had never entered Michigan.

She did great with her fist time out of the shoot.  She landed as one of the Top-Seven Non-Masters and won the award for the top First-time entrant. 

A Visit to White House Custom Color

Monday, February 2, 2009

We had the opportunity to visit White House Custom Color (WHCC) lab today.  Wow, what an operation!   Mike and Chris Hanline took the time to show us through the lab.    They have two facilities there not to far the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.  The main building holds administration, customer service, press printing and photographic printing.  The second building is the wide format printing and canvassing plant.   They actually have a laser based data transmission system that “beams” order data and files from the main lab to the canvas facility.

The technology is all the latest.  Most color labs began with film and have many design holdovers from those days.   Not WHCC, everything is new from servers to ionized water systems, back-up generators, and virtual conference rooms.

Press printed products are huge for them.  They have several HP Indigo presses that spit out custom cards, flyers and books.   Their bindery area has an automated book cover maker that just folded, glued and wrapped to transform images to hardcover book jackets.

Just last fall, WHCC opened an additional facility in Texas (Dallas area).  The plant is currently offering press products, but soon will have full digital printing services.    Mike took us to a small conference room in the lab.  We all sat at a half round table facing three 65” LCD screens.  He made a call to the Texas lab and a manager there appeared on the screens entering a room.  He sat at a similar desk as we began to chat and make introductions.    This was a Cisco virtual conference room connecting the Minnesota and Texas labs.  You sit and chat, face-to-face although you are 1800 hundred miles apart.  

I guess Star Trek has entered the imaging world.    Very Cool!

Not much skiing for me today.

I'd show you photos from the mountain, but I wasn't there for very long.  

Ok, you want to talk about stupid things?  

This morning before heading to the slopes, Peter Howlett and were going through email in our room.  I got up and headed to the bathroom.  I cut the corner a little too tight and jammed my right little toe into the door frame it didn't feel good at all.  Actually, it hurt a lot.  We got ready to head to the slopes and I put my boot on and YEEEEEECH!

Since these were brand new custom fitted boots I bought last year here at Whistler, (and have never skied with them) I took them to the shop to "punch out" the toe area.  Anyway to make a long story short, they spent about 45 minutes working on the boot and I headed to the mountain.  On the gondola ride up, my other foot started hurting.  By the time I got to the top, both feet were in pain.

I ended up making one run, in total pain, then rode the gondola back down.  A great way to use a $90 lift ticket!

These are the guys and they all got in more ski time than I.  It's a good thing there is more to do here than ski.

In the air again!

This is both a usual day and an unusual day.  For the usual part, I’m sitting on an airplane as I write this.  For the unusual part, I’m taking a few days of R & R.  The photo shows the wing of one of NWA’s new Embraer 175 planes over the Canadian Rockies.  It’s quite beautiful as you can see.

This plane is a fairly new addition to the NWA fleet.  It’s a really nice.  NWA is dire need of updating the fleet.

I’m heading to Vancouver to meet some buddies to spend the week at Whistler/Blackcomb ski resort.   I’ll be hitting the slopes with fellow PPA board members Don Dickson and Don MacGregor.   Also joining us is Peter Howlett (ProSelect developer) from Perth Australia, Ken Whitmire, Sam Gardner and Terry Hughes of Washington, Reg Mess of Canada and my buddy Smiley Irvine of Texas.  There are a few other guys joining us too.  Actually, most everyone is already there.  I’m a day behind because of the KPPA convention.  That’s OK, my body can’t take a week of skiing anymore.

More to come as the week goes by!

Kentucky's Larry Long receives National Award

Over the next year I’ll get attend lots of award ceremony’s and banquets.  Its fun to see the excitement as photographers win print awards for their entries and new officers are installed to guide the associations.

As the highest ranking PPA officer, it is my honor and duty to present the National Award. It is the highest honor granted by a PPA Affiliate, it recognizes those whose support for photography goes far beyond any regular expectations or contributions. The simple inscription on this plaque reads “for service to professional photography”.

The National Award given by the Kentucky Professional Photographers Association was presented to Larry Long for his long-time service.

In Larry’s brief statements, he noted not only his appreciation, but that he had lost 175 pounds since last years convention!  Wow, now that deserves an award.  Congratulations Larry.

Program at KPPA Convention

The Kentucky Convention was busy for me.  On Thursday I presented a full-day pre-convention program “Getting the Most out of ProSelect”.  We sold out all available spots for this call.  On Saturday evening I presented an all convention program “Digital Solutions for the Portrait Photographer”.

We also had a trade show booth at the convention.  We answered questions for current ProSelect and Palette users and showed lots of photographers great workflow tips.

Mid-East States Affiliated Judging

Kentucky hosted its first ever Mid-East States (MES) regional judging.   The Ohio Professional Photographers Association has hosted this for many years.  KYPPA did a great job hosting and running the judging.  On Saturday they hosted a Red Carpet Gala for the MES print awards.  Michael Timmons of Michigan earned the MES Photographer of the Year for the highest scoring print case.

Photographers entering regional competitions have an additional opportunity to have their images judged by PPA affiliated jurors.  If a print scores 80 or above in a regional affiliated judging, the print will receive a seal of approval.    If a print has a seal of approval, and is submitted to the next PPA International Competition, that print will receive an exhibition merit.  Exhibition merits are needed to earn a Master of Photography degree.

IUSA Awards Ceremony

The PPA awards ceremony was a lot of fun.     A lot goes on behind the scenes.  There were plenty of PPA staff on headsets directing people where to go. My first duty on stage was really I pleasure.   I presented the Honorary Master of Photography degree to my good friend and outgoing president Dennis Craft.  The Honorary Master of Photography is a very special degree in that it is presented only for outstanding recognition in PPA and to Past Presidents. 

Later during the program, Dennis and I presented the Honorary Masters to Al Hopper.  Al was membership director for 14 years at PPA really “the face of PPA”.  I have worked closely with Al on many projects over the years and he is truly a gentleman and a great asset to PPA.  We all wish him the best with his future endeavors. 

Early in the program I was fortunate to be recognized as a Diamond Photographer of the Year.  The Photographer of the Year (POTY) awards were created a few years ago by the print exhibition committee to recognize photographers who have all four of their print entries accepted into the general exhibition with at least one going in the loan collection.  The Diamond POTY is given to those having all four images accepted into the loan collection.

I was pretty excited about this one because in over twenty years of print competition, I have never done this before.  Actually, I think the odds makers in Vegas would give you pretty good odds on me NOT doing it again.

These are my images.  They were all taken in China

The IUSA booth is up and running

 

The new booth is working great.  We filled up just about every session and many were standing room only.

PPA Charities Celebration

This years PPA Charities Celebration was held at Alice Coopertown in downtown Phoenix.  PPA Charties President Mary Fisk-Taylor and her trustees did a great job of putting on a wonderful evening.  They had both live and silent auctions and presented a check to Operation Smile representatives for over $50,000.  

Since 1982, more than 120,000 children and young adults with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities have been treated by thousands of Operation Smile volunteers worldwide and thousands of medical professionals have been trained globally.

Each year PPA Charites sponsors "Family Portrait Month" where photographer can raise money for charity and generate new business.

During the live auction, Edna Lloyd offered up the head of her husband Bob, PPA Past President.  Actually for art.  Since I was the winning bidder, I get to paint Bob's head as I wish.  It could make a great ad!  I doubt it will be great, but fun at least.  We'll do it tomorrow night at the PPA Canon welcome party.