PhotoCON Hawai'i

When I heard the first PhotoCon will be held in Hawai'i I was thrilled. I found about the convention through their Instagram page. This convention is open to any photographers and cinematographers from beginner to pro and all enthusiasts alike. Registrations is through photoconhawaii.com. Alexander gifted me with my all access pass for $20 for my birthday at an early bird price. Otherwise, it's $20 at the door for a one day pass including workshops for that day only.At first, I was confused at where and when we were allowed to pick up our passes. I was able to get pass at one of the speakers I attended. With my all access pass, I was able to attend speakers prior to the main convention. I listened to lecturers from Pacific New Media's PhaseOne's keynotes speaker Steven Katzman at the University of Manoa Hawai'i and Onne Van der Wal which is one of Canon's Explorer of Light keynote speaker. It was inspiring hearing and seeing different photographers speak about their biography and art.Since coming back to photography, I've met many wonderful people of my same interest. It was exciting seeing a lot of people I knew that I've shot with. During day one of the convention, we acquired a few cool badge lanyards and an organized booklet of what the trade show expo will have. While this is Hawai'i's very first photo show, there were an eclectic selection of vendors not only big name companies like Canon, Phase One, and Sony but loads of local vendors like a few of my favorites; Pro Camera Hawaii, Hawaii Camera, Pictures Plus and Chromaco, Hawaii Astronomy Club, Oahu Photography Tours and much more. There were lots of contests to enter as well. Hawaii Camera's Darcy Fiero and her daughter Jackie were tending the booth. Darcy is very knowledgeable with all my camera needs and I'm glad to have ran into her on the first day. Pro Camera's owner Tony Zerga is always helpful whenever we are looking for new trending gears in the market and it was great scoring an item from him that day at a discounted price. Canon was allowing free cleaning services for two items during the two day convention (a camera body and a lens or two lens). Hurry up and wait because the wait could be lengthy. While perusing the convention, we didn't forget to sign up for the free workshops, they can get full quickly. Sign ups are allowed at most during the convention or online. The workshops are a mixture of intro to photography, to model walks and photo walks or flash photography, natural lighting, portrait photography to food photography. The experience was outstanding all around. Be ready to walk in comfortable shoes if you're carrying your gears for the day. Certain workshops advice photographers to bring plenty of memory cards, tripod or certain lens for what you'll be shooting. Some do begin before the convention is open or after the convention closes. Aside from all the excitement, looking at the images from The Essence of Hawai'i Photo Contest was outstanding. I love the photos chosen for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners and the honorable mentions. All did a wonderful job and showed attention to advanced skills, focused on quality and artistic approach. Their photos were printed in metal and open for everyone to view upon entering the expo. I'm happy to see a few of my photography friends placed as honorable mentions. I look forward to attending another year of this convention. Thank you to Hawai'i's very own Ric Noyle for gathering us together and shining light to Hawai'i and putting us on the map.IG/FB: PhotoCon HawaiiParking: Street or at the convention for $6.

An impressive event with tons of high tech equipment and specialty gadgets that could capture a great scene in any element. My husband and I were able to get in for free bc of being military members and registering online before hand. (We showed ID when we arrived) I also voted on KHONs website for my fav pic for the photography contest a few days before. All the photos were displayed and they gave you a thick book of info and duplicate pics which was exciting. The how to work shops held upstairs were quick and informative. Salt n Air studios was super neat w all their toys and xplorco had a super cute set up. A fun event with the islands best editing companies and imaging tech specialties.

Finally, a Con just for Photographers! The value of this convention was incredible! $20 dollars for 2 days of workshops (Saturday and Sunday) and another 3 nights of special keynote speakers (Wednesday- Friday). I went to Wednesdays (Surf Photography Panel) with Zak Noyle and other notable photographers. The panel artist prepared a showcase of their art and went into full detail on their inspiration, techniques, and epic stories of their journeys! I also attended Saturdays convention at the Blaisdell Arena. I was able to attend Scott Robert Lims class. To be quite honest...I wasnt expecting much. I though maybee Scott would show us some pictures and explain why he loves his shots and maybee give us a few pointers on how we could make our work better... Let's just say Scotts presentation exceeding all expectations. Simply put, he condensed 15 years of elite experience into 90 minutes! He gave detailed information on working with natural lighting and flash. He showed us specific examples from his own work and taught us how to pose models and use correct composition. He even gave us some of his own personal "trade secrets" that has made him so successful! What photographer tells others his trade secrets? Needless to say I was blown away. Just when you think you've got a hang on photography you realize how much you still need to learn. Scott is a world class photographer and it was an honor to have taken a class from him. Photo Con gave extreme value to the community and i was very happy I attended. I look forward to taking part in the festivities again next year!