Hellooooo Vegas!

It’s that time of year again to join up in the madness that is the WPPI 2010 Convention!  But this year is special: it’s WPPI’s 30th anniversary and with an expected record attendance of over 13,000 photographers from around the world, this promises be a crazy week you’ll never forget

If you’re here for WPPI would love to connect and grab a hug   Here’s some places we’ll be guaranteed to be found hanging out:

Sunday 11am-1pm – DQ Studios MasterClass – For Love, money and art the DQ Way.  Room #203 (Sold out – but free hugs in the hallway after class )

Sunday night: Airhorns and lasers partee!

Monday-Wednesday – (10am-4pm M&T 10am-3pm W). WPPI Tradeshow QuiKeys Booth #1250

QuiKeys Tradeshow Bonus round: With a bunch of our friends, we’ve set up a cool “Speaker’s Corner” right by our booth where amazing photographers will be sharing their imagery and stories. Here’s a schedule of some of the people who’ll be by the booth:

Speaker’s Schedule

Monday March 8
John Mireles – 11:00 AM
Concept & Fashion

Joe Photo – 12:00
Changing with the Wedding Market

Catherine Hall – 1:00 PM
Starting Strong

Tamara Lackey – 2:00
Children’s Portraits

Tuesday March 9
Jennifer Dery 11:00 AM
Pricing Destination Weddings

Dave Quin 12:00 PM
Cutting Edge Weddings

Greg Gibson 2:00 PM
Recent Work from a Top Ten Wedding Photographer

Suzi Q. Varin 3:00
Delicious Wedding Photography

Wednesday March 10
Marcus Bell 11:00 AM
New Work from One of the Best Wedding Photographers Ever to Walk the Planet

Tony Bisson 1:00
Killer Album Design

It’s like a mini-convention within the convention!  I think I overheard there may be milk and cookies too …. just sayin.  I’ll be twittering updates, special guest appearances and some crazy surprises so be sure to follow me on twitter to receive the latest awesome on all things WPPI.

Super-Duper Bonus Round:

We’ve joined forces with WPPI and lots of other cool companies to create a HUGE Scavenger Hunt Giveaway!  With over $50,000 in prizes (including four full QuiKeys Pro systems!?!?!) it’s worth getting a group of 4 friends together and chasing after the jackpot!  Click here for details and sign up to win big.

If you’re at WPPI, don’t be a stranger and introduce yourself! With more parties and events than hairs on my neighbor’s dog’s head, I’m hoping to run into bunches of old friends and making plenty of new ones.

See you in Vegas!!

It’s been a whirlwind of a start to 2010! We’re thankful for such an amazing response from our talk at Mystic5. It was an honor to be amongst such amazing teachers and people and a special Shout-Out to the amazing Walter and his wife Angela who made it all happen. Boy did we Geek and Chic like never before! LOL! I hope y’all took away some great ideas but remember: ideas are lazy; it’s up to you to make 2010 your best year ever.

We’re also thankful for such an amazing response at our Imaging USA QuiKeys booth. Thanks to all old and new friends who made it a non-stop packed booth! It’s so rewarding when our QuiKeys baby has something to offer to not only those just starting out, but to our respected friends, peers and leaders in our industry.

Ok: enough mushy stuff I know we’re a bit late, but here’s a movie of some of our favorite wedding images from 2009. It’s the same one we presented at Mystic5 and after many requests to see the images again, here you go

Thanks to all our amazing clients for their trust and for letting us into their lives … truly we are blessed to do what we do.

Click here for an iPhone friendly super-duper sized version.

xoxo

d (4q2)

We’re honored to have been chosen to be featured on the Digital Wedding Forum’s blog!

We’ve been part of the DWF since the beginning of our careers and have learned so much and, more importantly, made many great friends along the way

Special thanks to Mark Lutz and Jeff Caplan for the opportunity to share

How’d we fall into photography?

What inspires us as image makers?

Answers to these questions and more can be found on the DWF blog here.

Chic:

Somebody pinch me. Last week, we shot a dream wedding on the beaches of Thailand. It was truly a dream come true for Kirsty and Gary who made this crazy idea possible for them and 25 other people who flew across the world to celebrate with them. Kirsty and Gary are a spirited, adventurous and ambitious couple who never let borders get in their way, and their wedding is a perfect example of that. We were blown away by the way they embraced us like family, and took care of everyone down to every last detail, even having a welcome basket ready upon our arrival complete with useful translations, hand sanitizer and aloe lotion.

Kirsty & Gary, it’s hard for us to express how deeply we loved being in Thailand with you. It is obvious how deeply you respect each other, and when you are together, your love flows. Thank you for for trusting us to capture this rich and incredible land upon which you made your vows in a way that will hopefully bring you back there again and again.

We couldn’t resist but work on a few images from your day and put together a slideshow of images to share. Enjoy the show, and don’t forget to turn up your speakers, there’s music!

It was cool to be able to maximize our time in Edmonton and personally deliver a canvas wall print to one of our wonderful clients.  Special thanks to Jolie Art Wraps for allowing us to transport it in luxury and style

We also had the good fortune or reuniting with Mindy & Peter who’s wedding we shot almost 4 years ago!

Thank you for letting us into your lives, and for sharing Sydney with us.  We can so clearly see the strength, courage, hope and LOVE you have surrounded your precious little girl with.

These same things we pray for you as parents as well

Hugs and blessings your way ….

In love,

dq

Nikon D700 24-70 @24mm . ISO6400 f4 1/60

Nikon D700 35mmf2 . ISO2000 f5.6 1/100

What happens when our couple graces us with three hours to shoot them on their wedding day? Stay tuned to find out

Can’t wait to work on their images!!

After re-scheduling *way* too many times due to snow, rain or hail, it was great to FINALLY meet your amazingly beautiful family!

Whether anyone would admit it or not, every family wishes they had pics like this

Blessings on y’all.

dq

At first we couldn’t believe that Ros was selling her exquisite dress at PreOwnedWeddingDresses. She was absolutely stunning in it and we couldn’t imagine anyone else in it.

But after reading her story and understanding her heart, it’s now clear she’s placed the importance on things that truly last … and matter most.

Check out her real-wedding interview here for her insight and more pics from their Argentina adventure. And if you know of anyone needing a gorgeous dress, you know where to send them

We woke on New Year’s day in paradise again: birds were singing their chorus’ while streams of sunlight poured through the windows with a slight breeze to cool the air.

Boy did we fall in love with Argentina!

After a trip to the spa, skyping with our boyz, and a leisurely brunch on the patio, we hunkered down to do something we’d never done before: we converted and retouched 100 images to create a surprise viewing for Rosalind and Jonas to enjoy only only hours after the wedding had finished. We’re thankful we brought a set of QuiKeys!

Sure we could have been soaking up the sun by the pool to enjoy the last day in Cafayate with the rest of the crew, but Ros and Jonas are special. They’re generous to everyone who’s life they touch and we wanted to gift this little treat to them to enjoy while still in the amazing place they had so successfully shared with us all. It was so worth it to just be there with them when they had a private viewing of this micro-story of their amazing Argentina Adventure.

With their blessing, we’re honored to share their story with you ….

Ros and Jonas: you two will forever have a very special place in our hearts. We love you guys …

dq

We’ve got lots more images from Argentina which we’ll be sharing. Just landed at home after 30 hours of travel and need to catch up on life before we jet for Imaging USA on Friday. Yikes!

We’re always honored when we’re hired to capture and create imagery for an event. But this NYE was very special in many ways.

Start with a bride who happens to be a

href=”http://www.rosalindweddings.com” target=”_blank”>*very* successful Chicago-based wedding photographer. To be commissioned to shoot a fellow photographer’s wedding is a huge honor in itself. But to be flown 10,000 miles around the globe to Argentina to be among 30 of their closest family and friends, and to be treated like one of their own and included in all events from wine tastings to extravagant meals … how could we not think we have the best job in the world with clients to match?

Forget the perfect backdrop and wonderful people: did I mention how absolutely gorgeous Rosalind is?

Ros & Jonas: your “Argentina Adventure” was so much more than that and a dream come true. It was the pouring out of two hearts to make one. Thank you for allowing us to bear witness to such powerful love and for not only trusting us, but calling us friends and treating us like family

With much love and respect …. xoxoxoxo

dq

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You gotta know there’s more coming from this shoot: more images and an assessment on how our new Nikon gear held up under some pretty crazy shooting scenarios. But before that we gotta take a bus, 3 planes and 2 taxis over the next 48 hours to make it back home.

Ciao! for now.