Day 981

It was a good day to be inside. It rained most of the day, but it didn't matter to me, since I was working inside at the Convention Center anyway. I got up early, so I could get my badge and be at the show when the doors opened. These trade shows typically let exhibitors in an hour or two before the event opens to the public, and this is usually the best time to photograph the booth and merchandise.

As usually, the hall was extremely noisy and the lighting was terrible. I did the best I could, trying to color balance for mercury vapor, fluorescent, and incandescent lights all at the same time. Everyone at the booth seemed pleased with the videos and pictures I shot. Trade show environments are so challenging that the clients who actually attend these shows are usually delighted that I managed to get anything at all. The clients who stay home are almost universally disappointed and wonder why the images aren't better. "You had to be there," I tell them. 

At big industrial trade shows, the exhibitors give away all manner of trinkets at their booths. You can pick up boatloads of ball caps, flashlights, laser pointers, USB Flash drives, and umbrellas. Fashion people are different. There wasn't a lot of swag at the booths at all. There was a lot of activity though. All day long, the Convention Center was filled with frenzied buyers trying on clothes and manufacturers taking orders. I guess selling gas turbine generators and offshore oil rigs is a little different than selling shoes. and purses. I enjoy working these shows though. Fashion is fun.

Las Vegas is fun too. To me, Las Vegas is the quintessential American city. It's shallow, flashy, elegant and tacky, all at the same time. People's dreams and heartaches are close to the surface here. There is more wealth in this city than you can imagine, and yet the city has the highest home foreclosure rate in the country. If you stay here any amount of time, you do learn that you've got to know when to hold em and know when to fold em.

I'm looking forward to dinner tonight. I haven't eaten all day. I skipped breakfast and went straight to the Convention Center early this morning. The photos and videos are done though, and everything has been saved to the hard drive. I'd say it's time to look for a nice place to eat and maybe do a little gambling.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day