I think meeting Annie Leibovitz in NYC last year had the most impact on my photographic life and career. she gave a talk on her latest book Pilgrimage which is basically a collection of her personal photos she took on her travels with her family. she said that after all those years of working as a professional photographer and being given commissions with guidlines she had to stick to, that photography where she wasn’t limited in anything was what she had needed and urged to do. and she eventually did take the time, travel the world, and photographed what she felt. that little story taught me to not produce what people expect and like, and I decided to no longer upload on flickr what isn’t heartfelt and has a meaning to me. it gave me a whole new outlook on photography  

Earlier this year I met and talked to Joel Grimes, Lindsay Adler, Scott Kelby, Vincent Laforte, Syl Arena, Kirk Voclain at a similar 4 day event in Covington, KY.  It was so pleasantly surprising to me that these people actually take the time to chat with you one on one during their busy presentation schedules.As rewarding as those experiences were I really enjoyed meeting other like minded not so famous people and just hanging out for diner and lunch.  Several times we did photo walks in the evenings.
I will be back early next year to repeat the experience.

I highly agree with what you wrote. I am introverted most of the time in social gatherings. However I took a chance this week when I attended Lindsay Adler workshop while she taught on creativeLIVE. I learned much from her on and off camera, even from the crew and another photographer Sue Bryce. Everyone I talked to taught me many things I would not have learned if I never went. However I find it is incredibly important, as everyone I have ever met doing great things are more than helpful to share what they know and to help and sometimes they share their story which it is equally as helpful, not to mention they’re cool too. It makes me want to travel and connect with others who are active in the community.

Hay que salir. Todo el tiempo. No solo para que lo conozcan a uno y estar al corriente de las cosas que suceden en su técnica sino además, porque al conocer a los grandes se da uno cuenta que también son humanos y las herramientas a veces son mas precarias que las de uno.

I’m pretty new at shooting, but I love it. I was on vacations and the best thing I could do was shoot some circus performances, edit the pictures and then give them to the circus staff as a gift. Not only it was a good place to practice, it was great to see that they loved the photos, invited me to stay in the show and wanted to keep in touch with me. I’m a very introverted person, it’s pretty hard to me to go outside and talk to some people, but I want to change and using photography as an excuse to socialize is perfect! Thanks for doing this kind of videos, you guys are awesome!