March Madness…but not for what you think…

It’s that time of year again…where my cousins and sister are on cloud nine and the sound of buzzers and baseball are prominent in my house. The time that marks the coming of Easter and the sun starts to shine again. But for me, this March is special for a ton of different reasons.

It started when my sister mentioned the possibility of attending WPPI 2010 in Las Vegas.  At first, the thought was a mere twinkle in the hopeful eye of a budding photographer and her second shooter…. but with much prayer and the advice of a complete stranger, our dream was coming true! Within a few days, our tickets were booked and we were set to leave. Talk about having an idea and running with it! 

During the madness we soaked up as much information as we could. We planned out what our schedule was going to look like and what tourist attractions we were going to hit up.  We paid close attention to our twitter accounts so we could stay updated on the latest  Gray Photography  news, and [b] school happenings. We couldn’t miss our beloved Dane Sanders or Mike Colon speak! Twitter was our friend! I mean come ON, we were going to be within a 15 foot radius of some of our favorite photogs and most influential people in our industry. We didn’t want to miss a beat! We were like kids at Disney World seeing Mickey and Goofy for the first time!

Here are a few shots of us with some of the wonderful people we met, the blessed things we did and some fun touristy stuff we did along the way.

A special thank you goes out to Dane Sanders for making us feel so welcome. He is such a  good-hearted, funny guy who actually took the time  not only learn our real names, but to build a solid foundation for friendship. We <3 This guy

Oh, sweet, Mike Colon. We are truly blessed to have met you and thank you for your inspiration. We are looking for ways we can contribute to this wonderful planet.  I still think we are related in some form.

He thought he’d get on my sisters level ha,ha.  How cute is he?!

The wonderful photog couple of Gray Photography, Zach & Jody. You two were an absolute pleasure to meet. We look forward to getting to know you better and hopefully bring you two down to SoFl to share your talent

Did I mention… I MET JASMINE* ?! Oh the Boriqua Love!

We made it in time for [b]eckers headshot shoot out… he is way too much fun. And perhaps slightly inappropriate in the best way possible You’re pretty hot too, Mr. Becker

We also ran into our oh so sweet South Florida photog friend, Mrs. Lydia Shannon, toooooooooo. Love this girl!

 Internet, meet Pete. He is one of the most incredible men you will ever meet in your life! He’s more than a cousin to us… he and his brother, Cesar, are the brothers we always wanted. Protective and all

We are truly blessed to have had such a wonderful first WPPI experience anyone could ever hope for. Can’t wait for next year!

You didn’t think this was the end of my March, did you?!….. although Vegas is pretty mad… that’s not the only reason my March is MADDD! We are fresh out of the car from our weekend trip to Tampa! Why Tampa you ask??… well, SPRING TRAINING of course! What’s the start of baseball season without our annual trip out to see the Yankees play! We pretty much landed from Vegas and jumped into the car and headed to Tampa. Ok, not really… but that’s how it felt!

This photo was taken on my iphone so please excuse the quality ha, ha.

 And some good ones my sister took. Check her out.. her name is Mirelis and she’s pretty stinkin good at what she does!

She’s also pretty good at making her way up to the players! She’s My Idol!

WPPI….Yankees… next up, a wedding! Our super sweet couple Brian and Mallory are set to wed this weekend! We are counting down the days! My sister and I are lucky enough to be shooting this wedding and I will be “dolling up” the girls pre-ceremony! Makeup and photos- what more could a girl ask for! 

I also have a special post I’m working on that I’m truly excited about…. I got the opportunity to show off some of my “madd skills” while at WPPI!!!!

Want a hint?! It has the color purple.. and a super fab Jacksonville photographers workshop!!!

‘Til then, later internet!