Can you feel the love?

Scott and I headed to Las Vegas this long weekend because we got tickets to see the fabulous Elton John in concert! (The show rocked!) I'm not a big gambler and Las Vegas, with a nickname like "Sin City" seems like the last place for a romantic getaway. Yet somehow, whether strolling through the fake canals of the Venetian or watching the water show at the Bellagio the weekend still was quite romantic!

Even better, we realized we would be in town overlapping with the Wedding and Portrait Photographer International Conference. As a very new, very green photographer, I felt too clumsy and unready to even attend the lectures and workshops. Still, one of my early goals was to network with other photographers and learn more about the industry at every opportunity. So with free passes to the Tradeshow in hand, we wandered into the MGM Grand on Monday morning and were greeted by friendly faces at every turn.

Can I just say that I have been overwhelmed by how nice and willing to help out almost everyone in the photography industry has been? (I regularly go into Samy's Camera and ask completely stupid or simple questions and they are always super nice anyway.) We gathered tons of information and were given free advice at every turn. On the car ride home, as I happily sorted through business cards of new contacts and brochures, I started looking forward to attending next year.

Living in the Past

Some might say I'm living in the past. I prefer to call it nostalgia. But I love vintage posters, cars, clothes, and more. I don't exactly drive around in a Ford Falcon, but I admire things all the same.

So you can imagine my sadness when Polaroid announced it was discontinuing making its instant film. How could they get rid of the original "instant gratification" photography? In the pre-digital world, Polaroids helped you pick outfits, record funny memories, and decorated dorm room walls. What could be more classic and fun than taking Polaroids? We even had a Polaroid guestbook at our wedding!

However, with time comes change and it is not always for the worse. Polaroid has launched the PoGo, a new digital device that takes and prints pictures without even using ink! That is pretty neat. I haven't actually seen one of these babies in action, but I would be interested to know if anyone else has. I'm immediately adding this plus the Canon G10 to my "wish list."

Until then, I have two sad packs of Polaroid film left. I have to decide what is worthy enough to use my last 40 Polaroids on.

Daily Inspiration

Hello, my name is Jamie and I'm addicted to magazines.

No, seriously.

I like reading books and I know I should watch the news more, but I love reading magazines. I subscribe to quite a few and when I get home at night, there's nothing I like quite so much as curling up and poring over those glossy pages. Since they are so short, I feel a real sense of accomplishment when I finish them and I can go back and look at some articles or pictures over and over.

Even better, magazines serve as a constant inspiration for my photography. This month's InStyle had a beautiful photo shoot with Sandra Bullock that I just loved. The muted light in the desert, the casual and relaxed look and feel... What could be better?