It was the night before we were supposed to leave for WPPI, and I was sitting on our bedroom floor with suitcases all around me...empty suitcases. Anderson came in and looked around, obviously surprised that I hadn't made much progress since I had been packing for over an hour. He asked what was wrong, and I burst into tears. The tears quickly turned into ugly, snotty-nosed, gasping for air crying. The worst part was that I couldn't explain what was wrong, because I just couldn't pin point it. In between sobs I told Anderson that I had too much going on and not enough time to do everything. I didn't want to go to Vegas anymore, because I knew I would feel pressured to work the whole time, and all I wanted to do was relax for a few days. He listened to all the blubbering and finally said, "You're burnt out. We're going on this trip, but you don't have to work at all. Let's just have fun." So that's exactly what we did! I didn't take my computer or the massive list of fab photographers I wanted to meet and network with. Instead I just took a silly book to read on the plane, and when we got to Vegas we decided to be total tourists. I dragged Anderson to see EVERYTHING. Even though we didn't get much sleep I came home feeling refreshed and energized. Maybe next year I'll actually take a class or two while I'm there...maybe not!
The tradeshow was incredible. Information overload for sure! This is me and Jessica Claire at her booth. She's such a rockstar!
The WHCC (my printer) booth.
Anderson waiting for me somewhere.
We had no idea the fountain show was starting, so we were pretty excited at our timing!
The fountains at the Bellagio.
Us inside the Venetian. My absolute favorite hotel in Vegas. My mom and I stayed here once!
We were pretty impressed by the vine woman. She was on stilts and covered in leaves. Weirdness!
Self portrait.
After seeing the cirque de soleil show, Ka. Waiting in line to get into Studio 54.
Me-going out. Anderson-with a statue man.
Anderson in front of the Mirage.
Leaving New York, New York.
This cool lounge was right below our room.
We have really bad "staying in a hotel" etiquette. Look at that messy room!
Enjoying our last day.
A few more of the photographers from our night shoot have posted pictures, so I wanted to share their links with you:
Jackie Blair from Michigan,
Cindy Schultz from Illinois,
Noelle McCoy from Tennessee, and
Beth Dreyer from Texas.
