Earlier this month, I attended my first industry convention in Pheonix, Arizona. It was such a great experience and I was glad to have made that last minute decision to drive solo for six hours for the event!
In the three days that spanned the expo, here are some things that I’ve learned after being surrounded by 10,000 fellow photographers and listening to great industry leaders:
1. Things happen for a reason. Out of ten thousand people, I sat in a table with four other people during the Opening Ceremony dinner. I didn’t talk much, as I can be quite the shy person. Coincidentally the next morning, I bumped into one of the photographers from that table in my hostel’s dining area! There were only four photographers staying in the hostel and I ran into someone from my dinner table. Fate, I tell ya. By the way, her name is Tamara and she runs Thirty-Three Photography, based in New York!
Another crazy coincidental thing was that after being closed for a year for renovations, the popular Camelback Mountain became open to hikers on the last day that I was in Phoenix! Lucky, or what!