Anti-Workshop: Neon Boneyard

The final day of the workshop was spent at the awesome Neon Boneyard, where old Vegas signs and structures go for their final resting place. Such a cool place to photograph! We were warned to be very very careful since the ground is mostly gravel and broken glass, plus the occasional rusty wire sticking out of the signs. John, Chenin, and Doug were doing a shooting demonstration with another one of John's wedding couples, so I had fun both observing them and exploring the artwork.

The friendly welcome sign. Special permission has to be granted to be able to shoot in here.




The reason smoking is no longer allowed in the Boneyard






Playing with the Lensbaby again!




















Toni sporting her awesome new hat


My first trip to Vegas was in 2006 for a chorus convention, where we stayed at the Stardust Hotel. It was demolished just a couple months later, so I was so excited to find the remnants of the hotel!

Anti-Workshop: Elvis is still alive!

This was a great activity at the workshop: we were given life-sized cardboard cutouts of Elvis and Polaroid cameras and sent to the streets! A few behind-the-scenes snippets...

Yes, we put Elvis in the middle of traffic. Anna is risking her life by holding him up.


Yes, we threw Elvis into the dumpster


Anna modeling with The King


Behind bars! We were told we didn't have to return Elvis in one piece, so we tore him apart in many places.




Doug welcoming all the groups after our shoot

Anti-Workshop: hanging out

One of the greatest things about attending workshops is meeting more fabulous photographers. We all had such an awesome time together.

Eliesa


Eliesa with her husband Judson in the background (more photos of these two will arrive soon!)


Eliesa's really awesome shoes. I was a little jealous.


Doug doing a lighting demonstration


One of my roommates Toni from Australia






Random cute family on Fremont Street


Here's where we get to the quality photography! :) Michael and I attempting a self-portrait


Another self-portrait - for some reason I rather enjoy the strange blown-out color from the neon lights, making me appear even more pale than normal.


My other roommate Jennifer from Kansas City along with Josh.


This was Jennifer's brand new hat purchased on Fremont Street - it's adorable!


Jennifer working the angles


Cool tree


Crystal




Cool candle at a local bar

Anti-Workshop: Yessenia and Mark

Long overdue posts coming your way! Last month I attended the incredible Anti-Workshop with the Boutwells and Coopers in Vegas, and what a treat it was. We went over so many aspects of the business: marketing, branding, shooting, Photoshop, networking, etc. No question was off-limits and Chenin, Doug, John, and Dalisa were very open about everything.
They brought in lots of models for us to play with for an afternoon, and I had a great time with Daniel, Scott, and Ali shooting Mark and Yessenia. They were two of John's wedding clients - lots of fun to work with!













Kudos to Scott for arranging this shot: he paid a local guy $20 to let us use his bike for a little while.


My group named this one the Terminator. I love Mark's look in it! This is a shot of his reflection in some darkened windows we found.