Las Vegas Recharge

Despite the sunrise, it’s still dark at 6:30AM, as the shades remain drawn shut, what started as relief from the neon, works well for the early morning rays of sunlight. Everyone is asleep, as evidenced in darkness by the unharmonius cacaphony of uncoordinated snoring- Lucas rolls the bass, Mateo tips the the tenor and Andrea provides percussion (she is so going to kill me for this – big grin). The children will awake before I leave and revel in their new role, remaining in the doorway, telling me to “be good” as I’m off to school. Andrea will continually remind the children not to bump the bed or Mommy’s going to… [cue the percussion once again]. We never learn what punch Mommy was packing as she drifts in and out, desperately clinging to the last remnants of sleep.

School begins early and runs through 10:30PM, with two meal and two potty breaks. At this stage of our careers and with the current state of the industry (dominated by beginners), much of the photography seminar is, for lack of a better word, painful. Tired ideas, laboriously dragged through weathered, old mud. This is fully expected, yet is does serve to shine a brighter light on the good stuff.

After a few years, you realize, there are no magic bullets, success formulas or paint-your-way-to-the-top-by-numbers kits. If we come away with a couple of good ideas or insights into our business, we consider that a success and this was a successful conference. Ironically, it’s not so much the new, but often what you already know and either forgot or simply forgot to pay attention to, that proves important.

There’s also something to be said for just getting out of your environment. We had a stellar business meeting on the way up, something that’s always a challenge for us in the office. One of us wants to plan (or daydream, depending upon who is telling the story) and the other one can’t get more than three things on her todo list without reaching for the keyboard to mow them down, just so she can start crossing them off the list. When I want to be stinky, I’ll go and check the “completed” box on her tasks that I know are done. This gets me in a little trouble, but I can’t always help myself. Sadly, I have passed this trait on to my youngest son, who at times is gleefully disobedient, knowing he is quite comfortable enduring any and all consequences to come. Lucas follows a simple, one step checklist for life: Got air? Check. The rest are just details.

Back on track. Apparently, even if you don’t attend the conference, you can still get a contact buzz. Guess who was shooting like crazy and firing off ideas as if she was the grand finale at the fireworks show? That’s right, Little Miss lounging by the pool all day, while her better half is cooped up, in a cold, dark meeting room. Andrea was a phenom, peppering me with idea after idea for our company, with nary a checklist in sight; welcome to the dark side sweety.

It was a great trip and set in motion a number of changes to come at Artisan Photography. Stay tuned for details.