Hello everyone.  It has been a little while since I blogged because I have been so busy ! I have just spent the last nine days away again.  I was in Las Vegas where I was attending the WPPI International Print Competition.

WPPI=WOW. 

That was the best way for me to sum up my feelings. 14,000 photographers from around the world to compete, to educate others, to learn from others, to buy lots of stuff from the tradeshow. Holy cow, I don’t think I have ever been around so many photographers at once. This was my first year to go to WPPI and also my first year to compete.  Seven Maria Bernal originals proudly hung in the Awards of Excellence gallery and I am so excited. over 3500 prints and less than 1/3 “merited” and a few less than that were given awards of excellence.  Might I also mention that there are two levels of awards of excellence denoted by a white ribbon and a black ribbon (you love the white ribbons but you looooove the black ones). I got a black one and six white ones. That was cool.

After all the judging and they choose who did well enough that their prints should be given the honor to hang in the gallery, they go hang them. Wanna know what I thought was cool? Walking into the first gallery room to see my first print -right there, dead center, right under a Jerry Ghionis print. woh. Jerry is the number one wedding photographer in the world-total celebrity (I met him btw) and there is my print, right next to his. cool.

So, enough about the competition, I also got to go to two classes. One with Jerry Ghionis (he is from Australia and a cool dude) and one with John Paul Caponigro who is a genius on color and color theory and  I love his work. That was super cool.

Then… I got a chance to go to the tradeshow as well. HOLY COW!! if you wanted to buy something for your studio there was no way you would not find it there! INCREDIBLE–two HUGE rooms with booths everywhere. Of course, my sponsors were there…BWC, Profoto (the MAC group), Lowepro (my newest sponsor) and many many others. New albums, new props, new everything. left my wallet in the room (it was safer there). Had dinner with Zida (from Studio Z, the one who did my cards and who I just adore!)

Then…a HUUUUGE treat. I got to see GRACE ORMONDE in person. For those of you that know me, you know I love her and her magazine and if there is anyone that I ever wanted to meet it is her. well, I went to listen to Mike Colon  about his trip to Africa and the work they did there for their Thirst Relief  project which is awesome and there was Grace in all her Grace. wow, I so wanted to introduce myself and she was sitting a few seats away from me but I did not introduce myself. Oh well, maybe another day and one day…maybe I willl get to be in her magazine. that would be AAAMMMAAAAAZING.

Anyway, it was a great trip, I had a good time. I didn’t end up with a first place trophy on my first time but you know…I am pretty proud of having the honor or having 7 photos with an award of excellence on my first time and to know that my photos were hanging side by side with some of the top, most famous photographers in the world. pretty cool. I want to put the photos up but I cannot at this time. I have two other competitions coming up and I cannot risk any of the judges seeing them or they will not be able to judge them if they know that I am the maker of the prints… so stay tuned and I will share them soon