In January I attended PPA's annual conference, Imaging USA, in Nashville and last week I attended PPC's conference, Pro Photo Expo in Pasadena.  All I can say is Wow!  If you weren't there you missed incredible opportunities for networking, education, and reviewing the latest gear.  IUSA was PPA's largest conference ever, with 10,000 attendees and amazing instructors like Ann Monteith, Rod Evans, Joe and Louise Simone, Julie Klaasmeyer, and many, many more.  At PPC's conference in Pasadena, we heard from the likes of Suzette Allen, Dennis Craft, Sam Gardner, Yogi Patel and Carl Caylor.
 
The best way to sum it all up is this - As photographers, we have the most incredible job in the world and there has never been a better time to be in this industry.  Yes, it is more competitive than ever but that's a good thing because it keeps us on our game and forces us to continue learning while we hone our skills.  To help you hone your skills, we've scheduled an array of world-class speakers for you in 2010 and we're already working on our speaker program for 2011.  I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting on February 25, where Lia Segerblom will present "Wall Portraits Are Alive and Well!"

Jim Brammer
PPLAC President