There are two distinct parts to Photoshop World; the classes and the Expo. The expo floor is where the sponsors get to ply their wares. It is also the place where people can talk to the actual people who create the products that we use everyday. I wanted to do a post about some of the people I spoke to and my thoughts on their products.
Artistic Photo Canvas: I really love this company and their product. I have never been shy about telling people, if you want your images on canvas, these are the people to talk to. I have two large canvasses in my office right now and plans for four more. The reason is that the quality is great, the customer service is even better and they honestly try their hardest to make sure that you are satisfied. On a side note, they are one of the reasons that the Tweet-up is such a great success. This year they gave away great water bottles and have a deal to get your images on canvas. If you went to the Tweet-up, check this out: HERE For the record, APC does not pay me to say this. They just make a really good product.

At the APC booth. Photo by Camille Pyatte

The APC booth. Photos by Michelle Hedstrom

HoodmanUSA: Years ago I used a different manufactures CompactFlash cards but I started having problems. After long discussions with different card manufacturers I found my way to Hoodman and have never looked back. Their 16GB CompactFlash cards are great and they are the only cards I now use. Recently I started using a Nikon P7000 as a small pocket camera and it takes SD cards. I went to the Hoodman booth and got a real education on the 16GB RAW steel SD cards and picked on up for my P7000. I now feel safe that all my images are saved on Hoodman RAW cards.

My card wallet

Adobe: Since this is the Photoshop World conference, it makes sense that Adobe would be front and center. This time around, the images in the Adobe booth were from the Photoshop World instructors and it was great to see my images of Billy Morrison and Steve Stevens scroll by on the screen. Right there in the Adobe booth. How cool is that… or I’m just a huge geek. Adobe also had a great area where they were presenting talks by the Adobe crew. Some awesome information here for those interested in Adobe products and since this is Photoshop World. there are a lot of people interested in Adobe products.

Nik Software / OnOne software These are two of the top plug-in manufacturers. They are not the same company but I love them both equally so I wanted to combine them into one post here. One of the best things about these two companies is that they get along with each other. Yes, their products overlap a little but realistically they are used for different things. I cannot live without Silver Efex Pro 2 on the Nik side and would be lost without the PhotoFrame plug-in from OnOne. Both of these exhibitors had really knowledgable staff that showed new users and advanced users some very cool tips and tricks.

Kelby Training: This is the online education arm of Kelby media and I’m partial to this because I have a training video available on this service. They have a great booth at Photoshop world, staffed by the really friendly staff, the same staff that is out on the road at the Kelby Training events. If you want to check out my class, it’s right HERE.

Peachpit: The official bookstore of Photoshop World is staffed by some of the nicest folks on the planet and have a lot of books by the instructors at Photoshop World. They are not the publisher of my books. My publisher wasn’t present at the expo this time. It was really difficult to me to stand there and watch people come by and ask for my books. I did hand one lucky attendee a free copy of my both my Exposure Digital Field Guide and Composition Digital Field Guide. If you are reading this, and I gave you copies of my book, please leave a comment, I would love to know what you thought of the class.

Adorama. This is my goto place for camera and lenses. If Jeff or Annie can’t answer your questions then I’m pretty sure no one can.

There were a lot of great vendors that I didn’t mention. This isn’t because I don’t like them but mostly because I don’t personally use them.