Getting to know….

I’ve only been in LA for a few weeks, so as you can probably imagine, work isn’t really “booming”.

In the meantime, I’ve been trying to get familiar with the photo scene, which is a pretty big task on its own!

I started by meeting with Mark Mercier and Jim Wimberg about a week and a half ago. Mark and Jim are photography partners, their company is called mercier-wimberg. Please click that link, their work has an incredible level of excellence and professionalism.

Mark was actually my Still Life teacher when I attended the Academy of Art University… As an instructor, he pushed us to produce professional images, “student quality” was not an option. I definitely took many of his lessons and kept them with me.

The meeting was great! I was very thankful they took time out of their day to sit down with me and answer all of my questions on the photo scene in my new city. It’s nice to know I have a resource when I hit a speed-bump in my transition. Muito obrigada to Mark and Jim! (many thanks!)

Then, just this past Thursday, I found myself at my first APA meeting in Los Angeles.

The event was called “Personal Projects:Richard Salas”. Commercial photographer Richard Salas shared with us his new book/personal project called, Sea of Light. Absolutely stunning underwater images… Exquisite lighting. While this APA meeting wasn’t heavy on instruction or business practices like most are, this event was still worth my time!! Very inspirational, and Richard Salas has an incredible energy to him. It was very special to hear him talk about his work. Here’s a shot from his book, which BTW, is very reasonably priced.

Sea of Light, Book by Richard Salas

APA meetings have always been great events to attend. There is always an interesting topic, and always a new face to get acquainted with. I’m eager to see what kind of photographers I will meet down here in the Los Angeles chapter, I know that the San Francisco one was an incredible fountain of resources!