Lethbridge Portrait & Wedding Photography & Design by Tanya Plonka

It’s been a busy season so I’m two months behind on posting this, but better late than never, right?

I had a great time at Photoshop World again and learned many things which I have since forgotten (good thing I took notes!).

On my first day, I went on the Photo Safari with Joe McNally and Moose Peterson. I am lucky I signed up for it when I did because it was sold out several days later! This event is always popular because you get to spend an entire day shooting with these two very influential, talented photographers. They show you how they light scenes, interact with subjects, and see things the way they do. This year the field trip was to Bonnie Springs Ranch, which is a tourist attraction just half an hour outside of Las Vegas. The employees/actors who work at the ranch were our models, and they were great to work with. (more…)

By Thursday, I was definitely ready to go home even though I was enjoying myself so much (my own bed sounded way too good). However, I was ready to put in the final push to get through the last classes and learned all kinds of wonderful nerdy things about fonts and design. (more…)

Wednesday at DrupalCon was another full day of learning, and I attended extremely diverse classes from styling maps to talking about internet marketing. I had a few “ah ha!” moments, which are always a treat at these events. (more…)

Last week I had the priviledge of attending DrupalCon Chicago, a nearly week long conference dedicated to my favorite CMS, Drupal (it’s what I use the most to build websites, and since I’ve only been using it for a little over two years I still have a ton to learn). I went with U of L web guys Trevor and Wesley. I have a lot of photos I want to post, so I’ll be breaking this into three blogs over the next few days. (more…)

Because I design websites in addition to doing photography, I sometimes go to really nerdy conferences too! The guys at Redwall organized this year’s Drupal Camp Alberta, which was held at the University of Calgary over two days this past weekend. They had some really great speakers this time around and I learned a ton, plus had a great time with everyone. Not all nerds lack social skills :)

There are more photos after the jump. (more…)

This Thursday I’ll be giving a brief talk at the Lethbridge Photo Club on how to choose a website for your photography. I’ll cover the differences between doing it yourself, purchasing a template, and hiring a designer. I won’t be talking about how to make a website, but rather how to determine what is the best choice for your work and skill level (and wallet!).

Date: Thursday, September 16th
Time: 6:30pm (I’ll be on around 7pm)
Location: Lethbridge Public Library Theatre

If you’ve never been to the Photo Club before, they allow you in for free for your first meeting to check it out and see if you want to buy a membership or not.

Hope to see you there!