Just about every hotel in Vegas was loaded with kids from all over the world, ready to dance the night away and waiting for their free shuttle bus out to the event.  The party doesn’t really get going until after 10:00 pm and I’m excited when I can actually stay awake past 11:00 pm!

Anyway, finishing touches on Summer School are in place. The Mirage might just become one of my favorite new venues. Everything is relatively close to the ballrooms we’ll be using for programming. No long hikes like we had at the MGM. The hotel has some great restaurants and it’s close to a whole series of great hotels on the strip.

We went for a walk one night and there’s nothing like the Vegas strip at night! I can promise there will be more than one Summer School group heading out to photograph the strip at night and the crew from Tamron is bringing a whole series of lenses for people to borrow for a test drive.

If you don’t have your room reservations at the Mirage yet, get them in soon. The program for the special rate is currently scheduled to end on July 10 and it’s $79 a night. The Mirage has gone through a multi-million dollar renovation, making it a great place to stay and even better for a conference like this.

The best part of Vegas is definitely seen through a camera lens. It’s one big giant canvas of lights, color and people, offering every photographer the opportunity to shoot everything from wide angle to macro!  Just people watching alone makes it the entertainment capital of the world! Might be a fun contest in the air at Summer School for the best shot that screams “Vegas”!

I’m really looking forward to seeing so many old faces and new ones. It’s going to be a terrific program and definitely filled with a few surprises.

I found a great quote from Mark Twain that gets me through feeling a little out of place with the Electric Daisy crowd…

“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”  It’s unlikely that I’ll ever go to the Electric Daisy Carnival, but they never worked a convention for three days!

Happy “First Tuesday” everybody!

It’s credited to an unknown author, but this quote really seems to fit: “Do not wait for your ship to come in – swim out to it!”

I know it’s been a tough year, but I’ve also talked to hundreds of photographers who are “getting by” and a few who have even seen growth.  Everyone recognizes all the paradigms have shifted and whatever was the norm a year or two ago is totally different today.  But there are some common denominators with photographers “getting by”, “having an okay year” and “having a great year!”   

They never stop looking for new business.  They keep fine-tuning their skill set in order to be able to shoot virtually everything that comes in their door. They’re constantly looking for ways to diversify and they utilize their network. They accept failure as just a word and part of the learning process and simply get up and start over, every time they fall.

It’s a short thought this morning, but so appropriate as the year comes to a close.  There’s a new year just around the corner and your opportunity to analyze everything you did this past year and fine-tune your approach for 2011.  Next year will be whatever kind of year you make it and everybody has a shot at making it a record-breaker!

“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.” Mark Twain

In trying to come up with a way to encourage “John” that he’s on target and he’s doing the right thing, I found Mark Twain said it best over 100 years ago…

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Kind of says it all…make it a great Tuesday everybody!

It’s just a quick thought for a Saturday morning, but for a weekend blog, it just makes so much sense to ponder a little  and think about how you can explore, dream and discover.  Many of you are headed to WPPI and some of you are there already.  WPPI is an incredible arena for stimulating creativity and new ideas.

And, if you’re not there, it doesn’t matter – everyone has the same opportunity in the race to explore new ways to photograph, dream about exciting accomplishments to add to your “bucket list” and discover better ways to stay in touch with friends and family while still pursuing your passions in photography.

Just my two cents on a Saturday morning – sweet dreams!