Bay Area Photography Day

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Rick Sammon: Canon Explorer of Light, Westcott Top Pro, Lexar Elite Photographer, Awesome Instructor. Courtesy Cheryl Balara
After my Jacksonville Meetup I jumped in the car and headed south for a visit to my old stomping ground, Tampa Bay to participate in the Bay Area Photography Day hosted by Jim Swallows of  The Packinghouse Gallery. This event brought together dozens of meetup groups from around Florida. I don't know if my friend Cheryl and I traveled the furthest but we got a resounding ovation when Jim announced our Jacksonville Meetup Group. This collaborative effort was also to introduce those who are not members of a group to the various clubs and their mission. There were various stations set up around Sunken Gardens, the venue for the day, providing tips, techniques and tutorials. For example my friend Jim Sykes discussed macro photography. And Scott Krebs discussed his lighting modifier, the Saber Strip, which he readily shared with us to try a few shots of the model.
One of many Sammonisms...Very quotable!

Sunken Gardens
The guest speaker at this event was none other than Rick Sammon, whose podcast, The Digital Photography Experience, has given me a TON of insight into the world of photography. I follow him on twitter and this is how I how I learned of this event down south. When I initially ran into Rick in the Gardens, prior to his presentation, he acted as if we were old friends. He immediately started to provide tips on shooting "See Eye to Eye" "Don't cut off limbs".
His presentation was awesome. He asked that we all turn off our cells. So there I am, front and center (well front) with my cell phone, making photos and TWEETING, just after he shared the importance of social networking. I didn't get in trouble, I got praised and I have a new twitter follower, Mr. Rick Sammon, @ricksammon on twitter. Follow his blog. Listen to his podcast that he does with Juan Pons and learn. They're willing to share! Send questions and email them! "We'll make you famous!"
Honestly, I'm just glad that I can say that I personally met him and consider him a newfound photography friend whom I've admired for a long time! It's an honor.

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