Archive for April, 2006
The problem with going to a huge photography show like WPPI is that there are lots of cool photographers from around North America and the world to chat with. The result is that we didn’t really see much of vegas other than the inside of the Westin (where we stayed) and Bally’s and Paris (where the sessions and tradeshow were).
But that’s all good, we’ve seen plenty of Vegas before and we were there to learn and network. Both goals accomplished.
We can’t wait for our engagement sessions that are coming up to put into practice some new techniques we learned.
And yes, we ended up spending money at the tradeshow. They suck you in with their slick sales pitch I tell ya…..
Flying over the cascades. Not sure what mountain this was. Hood?
The Vegas strip from the air, just before landing.
The first thing you see when you de-board the plane.
Our hotel (actually, Tanya stayed at the Paris for two days before Jeff flew down to join her).
The old Bourban Street hotel, just west of the Westin. Making way for expensive condos no doubt.
A portrait of us with one of our heros, Jerry Ghionis from Australia. This was his best side 
New friends at dinner
Another hero and another Aussie, Marcus Bell.
A picture of us with the fabulous and wonderful Jason Starr (taken by Marcus Bell).
We’re practically half Australian now after hanging out with them so much. Richard the videographer and Tero the photographer from Tasmania.
Picture of Tanya - putting into use some of what we’ve learned.
Another night shot of Vegas, with Caesar’s and Bellagio reflected in the glass.
Tanya & Jeff
April 16th, 2006
After having our fingers (and toes) crossed for 9 months (for a girl), Jeff’s sister Shawna gave birth to baby Jessica Van Nuys on March 30th. With her due date being the first week of April, I was pretty insistent that Shawna have the baby prior to our trip to Las Vegas so that we could relish the experience of holding the baby while it was still small. Our little nephew Marcus was born a Michelin man and didn’t really look newborn for long he was in the 95th percentile for weight.
Let me tell you how excited I was that I could be so persuasive in convincing my sister in law to have this baby when I wanted her to - the power of positive thinking at work! Know what you want, ask for what you want, and get what you want! Both Jeff and I are excited that Jessica was born prior to the busy wedding season so that we can spend some precious time with her - we never had that luxury with Marcus as he was born on Jeff’s birthday in the middle of the wedding season. Jessica spent 5 days in hospital due to low oxygen levels - so we are happy to see her home now. Below are some images of our visit with baby Jessica in hospital prior to our trip. We will be posting some updated images of her periodically.
Cheers,
Tanya
Shawna with baby Jessica.
Isn’t she cute?
Auntie Tanya gets plenty of cuddle time in.
Uncle Jeff finally gets his turn.
Um… here Mom… I think her diaper needs changing!
April 16th, 2006
…will probably end up on this blog.
Tanya and I are off for sunny and moderately hot at this time of year Vegas.
We are down for a week of learning at a very large photography conference - where we can learn from and compare notes with photographers from all over the world.
There is also a very large trade show, so who knows what photographic goodies we’ll come home with.
Not to mention general shopping at Paris and Caesar’s and the Fashion Mall - I’ve spent many an hour following Tanya from store to store….
And the shows…
And the food…
(hmmm, I may have to take that evening shift at Tim Hortons to pay for it all - but then again I’m just looking for an excuse to work there - I hear you get free doughnuts - I mean, geez, you can’t sell the ones that ‘accidentally’ broke now can you).
If you send us an email, please don’t be offended if we don’t respond right away. In fact, we may not be able to reliably respond until our return on Friday April 14th.
In the meantime, here is “Vegas at night” from our trip last year.
April 6th, 2006
[Jeff]
I’ve finally got comments working. yeah. It’s been on my list of things to do forever, but it was a hard bug to track down because I could add comments from our computers, but outside of our computers no one else could.
So it meant I couldn’t actually test it while at home. Doh!
It should be all sorted out now.
Thanks for reading!!
April 4th, 2006