photoplus 10A couple of months ago, I decided to grab a $150 round trip ticket for October’s Photo Plus Expo in New York. The exhibit hall pass was free, so with cab fare, it was less than $250 for a day focused purely on photography.

What bliss!

I had a great time walking around the exhibit hall. Not only did I get to see the latest camera gear, but Nikon, Canon, Sony and others provided free seminars throughout the day. Without doubt, the Sony booth had the best speakers.

I watched 3 speakers at the Sony booth, but Matthew Jordan Smith’s inside look at how he shoots portraits was incredible. Not only was he very forthcoming with the details, but the apparent simplicity of his photography really inspired me to start building a simple studio so I can practice my portrait photography.

I have a few photos that I took while walking the exhibit hall. One that I’m excited about was taken at the Westcott (lighting) booth. Not only were they teaching you the basics of studio lighting, but they had a female model “on display” that anyone could take photographs of–how cool!