At Imaging USA, Julie and I met the absolutely best people! Mongkol Siriyutwatana, (pronounced NED) is the man behind this camera. He sent me these photos of us taken over our four fabulous days in New Orleans. He’s the amazing photographer at Focal Expressions located in Nashville Tennessee. Seriously – check him out- he totally rocks! But he wasn’t the only one…Julie and I also met Bradford Jones, the owner of RB Jones Photography in Phoenix Arizona. Ned and Brad took advantage of being in the big easy and spent a night shooting with a cute pair of peeps we met earlier on Saturday. OMG- I got to see a sneak peak of those images – they are wicked good. Keep your eye on Brad’s website too cause you gotta check them out! The last musketeer is Jackson Tyler Eddy of A Frame Forward Photography in Minneapolis Minnesota. He’s the highest rated green photographer in Minnesota. How cool is that? He’s also a goofy dad of two boys and despite the fact he uses Nikon, he’s a great photographer.

In the top picture, I’m talking to Helen on the phone. She just texted a fab shot of her new hair do and I had to call and tell her how great she looked. It appears I’m also doing an impression of a lizard in the sun. It was my first venture outdoors for days since we spent most of our time soaking up wisdom and inspiration of photography greats like Doug Gordon, Robert Evans, Jim Garner, David Beckstead and Jerry Ghionis (to name a few). In between sessions, we wandered the expo aisles looking for the newest gadgets and the most striking wedding albums. In the middle photo it looks like Jackson and I are enthralled with the Finao guy. I actually was. I found a Finao album I’m not sure I can live without! The last shot is of Bradford, Julie and I putting our new lighting skills to the test at Meson restaurant across the street from the convention center. Meson is unlike any place I have ever been. No menu, no prices and they let me play behind the bar. There’s an adorable old man who delivers surprise goodies from the kitchen until you tell him to stop. When you are ready to go, pay your bar tab and whatever you feel is fair price for your dinner. I think Brads name is now carved into the table. He was there almost every day! The food and the atmosphere was soooo good, it’s now a must see on my NOLA list. You can tell the place is mainly male dominate since they set the table with saucers instead of bread plates. It just made me like them more.

While in New Orleans, I ran into a number of old friends. The most amazing reunion was with Ricky, my BFF in University. We were inseparable back then. I received a cryptic text from an unrecognizable number…

“Are you in New Orleans? I think I just saw you?”

“Yes…Who is this???”

“It’s Ricky!!!! Holy #@&!, how long you here for my Amy baby”

…blah blah “Bourbon Street” blah…”I love Wentworth Miller ”

…blah blah “Meet me outside!”

That was a good night. I can’t believe it – of all places to run into Ricky after a dozen years! I also ran into Matt Cole, a Panama City friend and photog who always makes me laugh. I very rarely see him without his beautiful wife Casey so I almost didn’t recognize him at the expo. And on the last day, I was spotted by my old boss from Capital Film Works in Montgomery. It was great to see Keith and Tony again, but it made me realize I’m not a spring chicken anymore. I worked there before digital was even a fad.

There is lots more to share about our adventure in NOLA but if you can’t wait, check out the shenanigans on Facebook!