Well, it’s been a busy few days. After working til 3am on Sunday night, I was picked up just after 5am for the first flight of the day. That was a Galway-Dublin flght. With a small amount of time to spare, we made comfortably time on our next flight. Into Birmingham for Focus On Imaging 2008. I was there for a number of reasons: meeting people, buying things and making new contacts.
I spent the day walking around getting a feel for the show. My intentions were to make a list of places to visit and things to get done. There was no Adobe stand per se, but Rapid (a reseller) had an Adobe Theatre. Mike Wong from On One software was giving a talk on Lightroom. I introduced myself before the show and MIke kept pointing at me and referring to me during the show.. Funny MIke 😉 Good to meet you in person! 
I spoke at length to Phil Jones from the SWPP about competition judging. They’ve recently changed the way images are scored to an Award system, rather than a points system. It was refreshing to hear the thought that went into it.
Today, I got to meet Andy Rouse finally and have a chat with him. I’m an avid Canon user, with a fair amount of money invested in glass, but it was still great to hear him sing the praise of the Nikon D3 for noise and autofocus. As I shoot a ot of gigs, it was a very convincing argument, but despite the show price of £2999, I still didn’t bite.
I also met Mike McNamee from Professional Imagemaker magazine. I”ve done an article as an introduction to Lightroom for them in the past. I promised a further one on Develop, so I’ll be doing that shortly.
I didn’t intend buying anything, but the bargains were to be had, so I’m currently sitting beside my Compudaypack, with a 10’X20′ Muslin stuck in the Laptop compartment. It fits…. kinda! I got it from Viewfinder Photography, along with some hotshoe umbrella clips.
One bit of fun was getting to jump in on the Bowens stand with Jon Grey shooting model Jade Cartwright, After each session there was a free for all where people watching the talk could shoot. I happened to be passing by a few times and got a go. I spoke to Jade a lunchtime. She’s a good bunch of fun and a cracking model. There’s nothing like working with an experienced model.
So good fun, nice purchases and great networking! Well worth the trip. 2 fellow photographers, Mike and Trevor, were along for the first time. Trevor got a 5D and Mike got an 85 f1.2, so I think it was worth their while! I’ll be back again next year and maybe it’ll be with a Press pass for Lightroom-News.com!..
