Last week I drove down to Rehoboth Beach for the second annual Photo Beach Bash. I attended last year because I had heard that Rick Sammon would be speaking and I wanted to see another of the “rock stars” of the photography world. Last year’s event was so enjoyable, I didn’t hesitate to register when I got the email about the event this year.
The event was held at the Sands Hotel right on the beach in Rehoboth. They have a decent size ballroom on the second floor and it was packed again this year. The cost of the event was a mere $19 and was jam packed from 10AM until 9PM with interesting speakers. With just enough break time to grab lunch and dinner, there was barely time to view the photography on exhibit, stop at the B&H table or take advantage of the critiques offered.
This year’s speakers, in order of appearance were:
I had heard both father and son Fleming speak before, so I was familiar with their work, but was unfamiliar with the other three. Michele Celentano, a portrait photographer from Phoenix, is a Canon Explorer of Light and was sponsored by Canon like Rick Sammon the year before. Ron Wyatt was a very entertaining speaker and has quite an impressive resume, having shot the Beijing Olympics and quite a few well know personalities. I think I learned the most from Harold Ross, though. He has a totally different approach to doing light painting from anything I’d seen before a la Dave Black style. To create his very painterly works Harold combines many shots of individually lit elements in Photoshop to create his final images. It was interesting to see his process.
Kevin Fleming
Jay Fleming
Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of Ron Wyatt…
Harold Ross
Michele Celentano
Photo Beach Bash was put on by the Coastal Camera Club. If you live anywhere within driving distance of Rehoboth Beach, I’d encourage you to watch their website for information about next year’s event. It was easily the best value in photography education I’ve ever experienced. And, it’s always fun to go to the beach, even in March!
