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Party Like a Rockstar
One of the largest photography conventions in the nation is WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International). Hosted in Vegas, it is known for its all-night, open bar, rockstar parties. Combine that with the overwhelming flood of glitz and glamour from vendors on two full tradeshow floors, you can just imagine the visual overload that is quickly reached.
A Pure Moment
So you can imagine my surprise and delight when I walked past a booth that looked like an African hut, complete with brown burlap, dried leaves, and canvas images of some of the most beautiful African children.
It was the booth for Thirst Relief, a cause my husband and I are familiar with, after donating to and creating a promotional film for them last year. We spent almost twenty minutes there talking with Jason, one of the volunteers, who we had met last year at the closing ceremony of WPPI. He specifically asked about tasra365 (so cool!) and I was sharing about the adventure the last six months have been. At that moment, we realized this booth was the perfect place for me to take my images for the day… because it’s not what you might expect to see at this convention (and I like to be different).
This jewelry is handmade by women who have been helped to leave the sex trade and are trying to regain and restore their lives.
Here’s what I was reminded of at WPPI 2010 today:
- Every 15 seconds someone dies of a waterborne illness
- 11 billion people lack access to clean drinking water
- Children under the age of 5 account for almost 90% of deaths caused by waterborne disease
Here’s the promo video these amazing photographers created a year ago…
Seeing the booth, hearing the stories of the women who made the jewelry, and watching this video again was such a great perspective to have while I’m here.
WPPI Day One Highlights
Honestly, the best part of the day was connecting with friends, some regular folks like you and me, and others who happen to be some of the above-mentioned rockstar photogs that everyone wants to see. Friends like Brian Palmer (see image below!), Nellie Guerrero, Lydia Takeoka, Erin Saldana, Jennifer Herbig, Roy Ashen, Christine Tremoulet, Chris Williams, Shawn Reeder, Dane Sanders, Kevin Kubota, Jen & Steve Bebb, Joe Photo, Jeff & Julia Woods, Skip Cohen, Kevin Swan and more than I can even name.
Such an incredible joy to see these friends! For me, that will be the highlight of this trip… and we’re just getting started!
On Pinterest? 
