I returned home from WPPI last month equipped with a few different things that I felt would really help my business grow. Fresh new ideas. A big dose of inspiration. A huge bag filled with tradeshow brochures galore (which has since sat untouched by my desk – fail!) And then there was the grand prize. The cherry on top. The colorful little toothpick in my proverbial chicken salad sandwich.

Say hello to the new star of my photo-making collection!

I had been eying the 5D Mark II for some time and was planning on hunting one down upon my return to LA. But when B&H lured me to their booth at WPPI and informed me that they had one ready to ship, I was sold. SOLD. Before I knew it, I was signing and smiling away. I’ve used it for a couple of shoots already and I can hereby declare that I’ve fallen madly in love. I might as well be scribbling “Adrienne hearts 5DMkII <3 <3 <3” all over my notebooks. The full frame is perfect. The ISO capabilities are just dreamy. The click of the shutter makes my heart skip a beat. LOVE!

A few of the first shots this bad boy captured upon exiting the box:

This last one is of some herbs we picked up at the Farmer’s Market a couple weeks ago. As much as I ADORE herbs, I try not to get too close to them as to not immediately destroy them with the wrath of my brown thumb. I think I seriously cause them to shrivel with a single glance. It’s a dangerous place for vegetation in here!

It’s been 2 weeks since we’ve been back from WPPI and I think we’ve JUST now finally recuperated. Part of it is that Scott caught a cold right afterwards (undoubtedly the infamous WPPI bug everyone came home with) and just when he was getting over it and I was pumping my fists victoriously in the air for having evaded the virus, it ended up plummeting down on me as well. But now we’re all better, I’ve gotten back into the swing of things, had some time to pop open the folder of WPPI pics and share a bit of our experience with you! It was our first time at WPPI and it was amazing to say the least. Hung out with old friends, made awesome new ones, walked the tradeshow (and bought a shiny new toy! more on that soon), mingled at part-ays, and of course attended a spectacular desert shoot.

Some highlights!

The very first thing we did when we got there was drop off our bags and head to the Go|Bee party! Photo fun with Serena & Jean:

Ran into the fabulous Jackie Wonders!

The next morning we woke up later than we’d like to admit, but still had plenty of time to browse around the tradeshow. So many goodies!! (A big thank you to Scott for lugging the overstuffed bag of pamphlets around.)

One of the most exciting parts of the tradeshow was visiting the Tofurious booth! These guys had been working so hard in the weeks up to WPPI and it definitely paid off! Their booth was fabulous and the photo booth they put together was definitely a hit! Be sure to check out their website for lots of goodies for wedding photographers!

Hit up the [b] Party that night. Met Jordana of Hazelnut Photography – she’s such a sweetheart!

We spent a lot of time over the 3 days with our dear friends Henry Chen, Solana (who does amazing make-up!) and Miguel. A quick shot of Scott & Henry with the pretty Vegas lights:

And some behind-the-scenes shots from the desert shoot!

Tavis strikes a pose:

Shootsac action with Dustin Izatt & Erin Cady

And that’s a wrap! Definitely a great experience for my first time there! Can’t wait until next year!

We stepped out of the cars and were immediately greeted by a sharp whipping wind. The sky was a wide expanse of bright blue and although you could see the highway in the distance, the sound of the zipping cars was barely audible. It was just the photographers, the cameras, the models, the desert!

A huge thank you to Ohana Photographers for organizing this spectacular shoot! They’re an AMAZING and ridiculously talented and kind family and it was so great to get to hang with them! And of course a huge thank you to the amazing models who breezed right through the 40 degree temperatures. I’m a TOTAL wussasaurus when it comes to cold and was all bundled up in boots and a puffy jacket, but the models were not only withstanding the frigid temps – they were looking smoking hot the entire time!

I wanted to blog WPPI in order, but could not wait to share these shots with you! I actually started editing them the night we got back from WPPI (seriously it was like, walk into house, drop suitcase on floor, open laptop, EDIT) because I was just so excited about them! More of what we were up to at WPPI will be coming up soon!

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Also, thank you to everyone for all your kind words and encouragement in my last post! I was overwhelmed and amazed by the incredible support – thank you!