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Mike Lewis
3-Jul-2007, 18:34
Hi Folks,

I attended the View Camera Conference in Louisville that ended on Sunday. This was my first VC conference and I thought it was pretty good, overall. I'd like to hear reactions from others who attended. What did you like? What did you not like? Please discuss.

(and for fellow Americans, have a happy Fourth!)

thanks,

Mike Lewis

Walter Calahan
3-Jul-2007, 19:09
Friends had attended but I haven't heard their reviews.

What did you like and not like, from a Severn point of view? Things are different here in Carroll County. Grin.

Any good deals on things to buy? Any new gear to have?

Mike Lewis
3-Jul-2007, 19:46
Likes -- The seminars presented that I attended were all good. My favorites were: presenting work to galleries, ULF, lenses and optics, and digital output. It became obvious that Kerry Thalmann could talk all day long on lenses / optics and I would listen to him all day long. He needs to write a book. His presentation along with Mr. Mutmansky and Mr. Harlin on ULF photography convinced me that, um, I think I should work with my 4x5 for a while before tackling ultra large format. :-)

Dislikes -- I wanted to attend the Sunday sessions on using filters and the future of sheet film, but either they were cancelled and I didn't see the notice, or the speakers didn't show up. Or maybe they showed up late after I left. (I'm not sure what happened here.)

Vendors -- As for stuff to buy, Kodak had its $20,000 iQSmart scanner on display. Epson, Canon, and HP all had printers to show off. And it appeared that all the modern LF camera makes that I have heard of were on sale by several camera vendors. This was particularly interesting to me as I only have experience with Linhof. Seeing other camera designs was educational.

jshanesy
3-Jul-2007, 19:50
What did you like? What did you not like? Please discuss.


What I liked:

Shelby Lee Adams and the lovely Roxanne who accompanied him (apologies for not remembering her last name)

Shelby Lee Adams' photographs (on display at the Paul Paletti Gallery through most of August, I think)

Shelby Lee Adams' Keynote Address to the Conference on Saturday night

The George Eastman Exhibition at the JB Speed Art Museum

The Large Format Primer Exhibit at the JB Speed Art Museum

Mark Nelson's pt prints from digital negatives

Monty McCutcheon's ruby ambrotypes, pt, and gum over pt prints

The Eagle Rare Single Barrel,George T.Stagg bourbons, and the Thomas H. Handy and Sazerac Ryes from Buffalo Trace, all of which I had the good fortune to sample

What I did not like:

The ballroom setup for Shelby's talk - nobody could hear him. Neither could we hear the questions during Q&A. The hotel should've provided Shelby Lee with a mike he could walk with and another mike on a stand in the aisle for questioners to use.

The Large Format Primer Exhibit was very out of the way and hard to find. We really only stumbled upon it by accident. This should've been more prominently advertised. I liked it a lot more than the Eastman thing. Not under Conference control, I know, but it was something I didn't like about the overall experience. I hope everyone who went down there was able to see it.

The shuttle never showed up during the Gallery hop. We ended up driving to the restaurant for supper. Again, not the Conference's fault.

Summary: There was really very little not to like. I didn't register for the conference. I just attended the trade show (where I made a purchase) and paid $10.00 at the door to hear Shelby Lee Adams on Saturday night. I spent most of the time hobnobbing with my photo buddies in the trade show area, most of whom came to Louisville for the event. Even without going to any of the breakout sessions, I still didn't have time to get to the racetrack. Damn!

steve simmons
3-Jul-2007, 20:30
None of the sessions were cancelled. The one on filters and the future of lf film all happened as scheduled.

Shelby Lee's presentation was very good but what was so impressive was the q and a with him after he showed his slides. I wish we had video taped the conversation.

Shelby did have access to a microphone but did not use it. We were not aware that anyone had trouble hearing him.

The comments we heard were all very favorable. We can always learn for next time - see the thread on next year's combined conference with APUG and Silver, so constructive feedback is always appreciated.

thanks

steve simmons

Thom Bennett
5-Jul-2007, 09:56
This was my first VC Conference and I really enjoyed myself. I think Steve and his staff did a wonderful job of putting it together. The speakers were great (I especially enjoyed Gordon Hutchings, Kevin Sullivan, Michael Mutmansky, Peter LeGrand and James Rosenthal.) My only complaint is that I didn't get to hear some of the other speakers because of scheduling conflicts; there were so many interesting topics that it was difficult to choose which one to attend. To cap it off, Shelby Lee Adams' keynote address was fantastic. I agree with a previous poster who said that perhaps there should have been a central mic that people could walk up to and address their questions to Shelby but, other than that, it was very inspiring. His passion and vision really came across during his talk. Louisville was a good choice for the conference this year. The Speed Museum had some photo exhibits and the local galleries were featuring photography. The Brown Hotel was wonderful and provided some unique photographic opportunities in and of itself. Even though I didn't buy anything the trade show was very good and I got to meet some of the people I regularly buy from. The only glitches that I was aware of was when some of the speakers were having technical trouble with the Powerpoint projectors but those problems were overcome in short order. It was great to be around like-minded photographers who are all excited enough about their craft that they made the trek to Louisville to learn and share their craft and passion. I intend to go to next year's combined Conference in Ft. Collins, CO. I might also go early and attend a workshop prior to the conference. All in all a very rewarding experience.

Peter Collins
5-Jul-2007, 11:15
My first VC conference, so I have no reference--maybe just as well.

The presentation by Shelby Lee Adams was not just superb; I would call it extraordinary. Extraordinary because of the images comprising his recent work, true. But for me, clearly extraordinary because of his ability to articulate the direction and purpose of his work, to articulate his thoughts about some disapproving critics and the climate in contemporary art criticism, and to express the connection between his work and the religious impulses within himself and within some of his subjects. Much of this emerged in his answers to very insightful questions (no, I didn't ask any). I left his presentation with a very different and stimulating point of view about camera work, and I am still, in a way, sitting there in the ballroom listening to him.

The sessions that I attended were excellent. Standouts, I'm sure, are different for each person who attended--we all had to make choices about which to attend. The two presentations on HABS/HAER were eye-openers. Purpose, vision and technique came across very clearly. Kerry Thalmann's session on lenses and optics was great for its Q&A and extensive and detailed replies. Steve Simmons on exposure/metering/Zone System made clear. These are just some reactions.

The vendors precipitated some discreet drooling on my part. Didn't get any on the goods! Appreciated their efforts and patience during long days.

So, I loved it all. It was a treat. Thanks to the staff at the hotel; thanks to the organizers. Thanks to View Camera!

Peter Collins

JPlomley
6-Jul-2007, 18:58
I'm curious about the presentations by the film manufacturers? Was the outlook generally positive? Any news on when Velvia 50 will actually ship to North America?

Ted Harris
7-Jul-2007, 04:08
Jeff, expect the new Velvia very soon. I wasn't at the film presentation so don't know if any indicationw as given there but the Fuji rep. did tell me that he had expected a case of the new Velvia to be waiting for him at the hotel when he arrived. Alas it never showed. I am assuming it was shipping to him for distribution from Fuji USA but not certain.

Bruce Barlow
7-Jul-2007, 04:25
I'm curious about the presentations by the film manufacturers? Was the outlook generally positive?

Don't know about presentations, but Kodak told me that black and white LF film sales are very strong, and up from prior years. LF Color is "recovering," but the rep seemed optimistic and upbeat. Good for us!

A number of people told me how much they liked my friend Richard Ritter's talk on camera repair in the field - a lot of solid, practical advice on repair, prevention, simple maintenance, and field working techniques. Richard is an underapprecaited gem.

We got good reviews on our Landscape workshop, using a revised curriculum that works folks a lot harder in a more sturctured way. With some tuning from student feedback, it will become standard fare for Fine Focus Workshops. We owe thanks to our dedicated, hard-working students who were joys to teach and to just hang around. We welcome them as new friends.