People have always told me that it is only with great risk that one accomplishes the greatest gain. That has been almost unbelievably true for me this past week. *Caution* : long story ahead – buckle up.

Every year about this time, the annual WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) Convention happens in Las Vegas. It is the biggest convention in the industry with 14,000+ photographers attending. Along with the teaching comes a mega tradeshow displaying all of the latest products. I have always known that attending WPPI would have to happen eventually. However, organizing my agenda, registration, hotel, plane, etc. seemed deeply overwhelming to me, and I have never been able to gather enough of my left brain to get out there. That is, until this year.

After attending all things Foundation Workshop related over the past 6 months and discovering what an incredible quantity of amazing people are in the photo world, my vision changed. The “I have to go to Vegas” became “I want to go to Vegas.” Really, I had such a great experience at Foundation Workshop 8 that it was more like, “I must go Vegas. Now.” And that is exactly what I did. At 2am on the Sunday of the Convention, I bought my ticket (thank you AA.com miles) and at 6 am left for Vegas. Less thinking and more doing worked in my favor this time around. Did I have a small panic attack on the plane? You betcha. Thoughts like: “This is crazy.” “What is wrong with me?! I just left my dog and am hoping someone can take care of her the next 5 days. She could die of starvation.” Those and numerous other such dramatic mental wanderings sent me spinning my first flight. Thankfully, I am a pretty good judge of my gut instincts and ultimately landed on, “this is supposed to happen, it will all work out, and enjoy.” Once reality set in that I was really doing this, the most delightful sense of freedom swept over me. A risky life is a good life.

I arrived in Vegas to the best roommates one could ask for at, essentially, a 5 day lock-in at the MGM Grand. One of my roommates in particular, the lovely Kirsten Lewis, preached the good news of the Finao scavenger hunt and convinced us all to form a team: Team Firing Squad. The scavenger hunt included 12 clues over the course of 3 days that had to be completed in 5 total. My first WPPI experience was more of a Vegas adventure thanks to the scavenger hunt. I am the better for it. Long story short: we had a hilarious time completing the tasks and oddly enough – won the Grand Prize. The Grand Prize included no less than $36,000 worth of incredible products (QuiKeys!), gift certificates (Finao, Seldex), VIP WPPI 2011 Registration (we meet again, Vegas), plus other rockin’ items. INCREDIBLE.

My investment of $100 on a plane ticket and $75 for hotel room (plus a load of Starbucks) returned one of the more hilarious and profitable experiences of my life to date. My encouragement to you all is to trust your instincts on being spontaneous – life is meant to be lived and that means pushing your own boundaries and comfort levels. I leave you with some images from our video submission. Happy living!

Clue #8 All 4 team members must be in one picture taken with the famous Las Vegas sign.

Clue #3 Get our own Thunder From Down Under to autograph a body part of one team member.

(The upper lip seemed to me exactly what Finao wanted with that clue.)

Clue #12 Get one of your team members to give us your best Elton John impersonation.

This poster was just an ad-on to the stop motion execution of this clue. Boom.

Our winning submission can be viewed here. *Please note* : if you are NOT into showgirls, bronze behinds, behinds in general, and overall Vegas-ness, this video may not be for you. You’ve been warned. :) Everyone else – please enjoy our hard work.

Of course, there were other things to do in Vegas at WPPI. One of the mega events this year was a little something called Airhorns and Lasers. This glamazon party was held in the Wynn at the Tryst – uber fabulous to be sure. Yes I was there. Here I am being there. Thanks Smilebooth!

To celebrate the big Finao win I hopped in the car with my dog and drove out into the great wide somewhere that is Texas, driving at probably (ok, definitely) illegal speeds, and let the strange and wonderful events of the past week and a half settle in. I have always been a city girl, but I am slowly beginning to understand why so many prefer wide open spaces. I leave you with my evening.

Many, many thanks to my team members – Kirsten Lewis, Olivia Brown, and Beth Fladung for being fantastic. Much gratitude also goes out to Finao, LLC for putting on the scavenger hunt and to all of the prize sponsors for making it a scavenger hunt worth going all out for!

wish you were here – xoxo Kathryn

Over Mother’s Day I went to Atlanta to visit my Mom. My aunt and uncle live there and this is the first time we have visited them since, oh, 1999. Atlanta is famous for not only a horrific airport experience, but also for the world’s largest aquarium. Here are a few pics from our day there. These were taken with my lovely point and shoot camera.

Look at this guy

There is a stink eye if I have ever seen one

This is the cinema size window into the cold water tank at the Aquarium (note the tiny people down at the bottom). We just sat and watched for quite some time. All the creatures were truly amzaing.

During the entire month of May I was overseas living in Seville, Spain. Normally I do not post many personal items here on the blog; I save all that nonsense for facebook. However, I chose to make an exception for Spain as I think these images could use the extra space. I hope you’ll agree. The first pics are some of the buildings I would pass everyday.

The Cathedral:

Some random buildings:

The delivery truck of one of my favorite restaurants, “Horno de San Buenaventura” and inside the lovely place:

Infamous Spanish “jamon” (you would not believe how expensive and sometimes hairy these legs are!) :

Cafe con leche (ooh this pic makes me want one – the beverage can be rather exquisite when done properly) :

Color :

Please humor me and endure all the peacock photos. The bird is just so interesting and arrogant. We came across this guy in the Royal Gardens.

I did not know all this was under there. Now we all do.

Some lovely tree somewhere in the middle of a plaza:

A picturesque sky :

I love the following picture so much I could just melt into it. The horses are drawing a traditional wedding carriage. The footmen are waiting on the bride who is inside in the Royal gardens getting her portraits done. Abigail and I tried numerous times to shoot her bridals in the Royal Alcazar, but simply could not get in touch with the King soon enough. He lives in Madrid, and you must have his permission to photograph in the gardens. Next time I guess.

Hooray for the world and all that is in it!