During this last weekend pictureline hosted its eleventh annual DiGiTALFEST event. Starting out on Friday at 1pm the pictureline store was a non-stop party for all things photography. From an extensive trade show, to a variety of workshops and seminars, the goal was to further the knowledge and education of those attending.
Trade Show
During DiGiTALFEST, the pictureline store was transformed into a phenomenal show floor, with enough space to feature over 35 of our best vendors showing off their latest and greatest equipment. Products like the recently announced Wacom Cintiq 24HD, the not yet available Nikon 1 camera system, and the very popular Fujifilm FinePix X100 were available for all attendees to see and test. In addition to exciting product, many vendors offered a variety of promotions and show specials for all in attendance. The show was a hubbub of people trading in old equipment for new, testing the latest devices, and discussing ideas with the vendors on how to round out their own equipment.
Workshops
Over the course of DiGiTALFEST, we were fortunate to offer incredible workshops, of which slots filled quickly. Our workshops covered everything from speed lighting with Nikon, to effectively accelerating your workflow using Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. Saturday morning featured an outside workshop with Corey Rich. Corey led a group of photo enthusiasts up Little Cottonwood Canyon for an on location photo shoot.
Seminars
Pictureline kicked off the seminars Friday night with keynote Alex Buono, the director of photography for Saturday Night Live! Alex focused on HDSLR video, and noted it is rapidly becoming more common in the film industry, for many reasons. Some reasons for choosing HDSLRS include the capability to film with them in tight spaces, high-sensitivity to light, and the fact they are lightweight make them easy to carry around. He noted, they are often times the perfect solution for filming in places where a large cinema-style rig is simply not an option.
In addition Alex was very inspiring for all in attendance, explaining how DSLR film-making is within reach for anyone. He offered several tips from ways to improve your equipment using affordable means, optimal camera settings, simple editing tricks, and even the best ways to scout locations.
The closing seminar featured professional outdoor and adventure photographer Corey Rich. Corey clients include Patagonia, Nike, Outdoor Magazine, and the Discovery Channel. Corey shared how he got his start in photography, and touched on how following his passion on a photographic expedition eventually catapulted him into the job he has and previously dreamt about. His advice to all those interested in photography, whether it be professionally or on a hobbyist level, is to never turn down an opportunity but to embrace it and find a way to make images that are unique to your style of shooting. You may not have the best lighting or the most ideal subject, but that doesn't mean the possibility of creating a great image isn't there. There are a lot of good images out there but there are few great images, and great images of any kind will always have a place.
In addition to the tradeshow, Friday night offered a complimentary BBQ for all attendees, and enjoyed a skate park set up in the pictureline parking lot for on location sports shooting. The skate park sponsored by Ski Utah and Ride Utah, was a huge hit and allowed anyone itching to get a little time behind the lens to photograph the skateboarders and capture some fun action shots.
Pictureline would like to extend a big thank you to all those that made it out for DiGiTALFEST this past weekend! We hope you had a great time attending our workshops and learning from some of the people in the industry that attended. In our efforts to make DiGiTALFEST better every year we rely on the feedback of those that experienced it, so if you were able to attend, please let us know what you thought!