The 2 days in La Jolla went wayyy too fast – I wanted more time with the other bloggers, more time with our awesome hosts, more time with the amazing and inspirational Me Re Koh. But the best things always end too soon, don’t they?
The hotel was beyond exceptional – the La Valencia was built in 1926 – it was a big social spot back in its heyday, and it was a favorite of Hollywood actors back in the 30’s & 40’s. Every room I saw was different and had cool little quirks – I had a tiny little balcony, which was irresistible for listening to the ocean and letting the cool breezes in. The only drawback was my room opened to the street, so I was awakened to the morning deliveries-lol. Small price to pay for an amazing room (I will try to upload a video I took of it).
Sony was a most gracious host – they not only gave each of us the cameras we used throughout the weekend, they overlooked nothing to make our stays comfortable – they provided spa passes, meal vouchers for the restaurants in the hotel, and huge breakfast and lunch buffets overlooking the ocean. We had amazing views, and were treated so well.
The highlights for me were learning from Me Ra Koh (she’s a blogger too!), and spending time and sharing information with fellow bloggers – it’s going to be REALLY hard for me to resist going to blogher this year!
Me Ra made what is essentially a technical explanation (f-stop, ISO and aperture – oh my!), and made it so relatable and understandable. It’s been a long time since I used an SLR camera, but it clicked right away when she explained it. She is not only a renowned wedding photographer, but she has also made a passion of teaching women to capture the little moments in their families lives. She also provided us with a set of her amazing videos to reinforce what we learned with her.
I am so indebted to not only Sony for giving us these wonderful tools to capture and save our precious memories, and Me Ra (and Her Brian 😉 ) for making it all seem so understandable, AND the awesome women I got to experience this with, but also my amazing husband who more-than-capably held down the fort while I was gone. I am deeply grateful for the inspiration ALL of you have given me.
PS-Prepare to see a lot more pictures here! 😉
I knew it was all swanky! Sweet.
Sounds like a great time! Great photo!!
YAY! You’re back! I’ve missed you!
Man, that sounds like an AWESOME weekend! I’m so envious! Good for you! And feel free to pass along any little photo tips you may have gleaned on your weekend. 🙂
More pics, more pics! So glad you had a great time, you deserve it!
Thank you so much for all the kind words on your blog today! I had the most wonderful time meeting all of you, and I wish we only had more time together! I can’t wait to recconect again and love that things were making sense for you in regards to the cameras! Yeah!! But you must promise to post more photos that you took b/c your eye was so unique! Most of us saw the emotion in babies and people, and you saw the emotion in still life. What an amazing thing!
It looks like you had an awesome weekend! I think it’s wonderful you were able to learn more about photography. I got a digital SLR for mother’s day last year and know that I am definitely not using it’s potential. You’ve inspired me to do a little more learning about it.
It was an amazing time, wasn’t it? I couldn’t believe how Sony pampered us!
I enjoyed meeting you. Hope we run into each other again someday.