May 15, 2007 - Palm Springs, CA - It was a dark and stormy night...No, actually it was warm sunny days and warm evenings for the 2nd annual Palm Springs Photo Festival, May 6 to 11. With portfolio reviews poolside and slide shows under the stars. Sponsored in part by ZUMA Press and DOUBLEtruck Magazine, the major sponsors included Canon, the Korakia Pensione Hotel, Epson, Samy's, Adobe, PDN, Outdoor Photographer, American PHOTO, the Palm Springs Art Museum and a host of other imaging-related companies.

Unlike with other photo conventions and events that center around trade shows, the Palm Springs event centered around workshops, seminars, symposiums, portfolio reviews and evening presentations. The purpose of this festival was not about marketing equipment, but about sharing photographic ideas on a one-to-one basis with the noted photographers, magazine editors, museum curators, art directors and photography educators invited to participate in the festival.

Attendees came from as close as a few blocks away and at least as far away as New York City to have their portfolio reviewed by ZUMA's Director Scott Mc Kiernan, Fahey Klein Gallery owner David Fahey, Palm Springs Life photo editor Jay Jorgensen, photographer and festival organizer Jeff Dunas and many others. Four-day workshops given by Jock Sturges, Eikoh Hosoe, Robert Maxwell and Robert Glenn Ketchum filled early. Free seminars on Adobe Lightroom given by Julianne Kost and the Canon Digital SLR System presented by Amy Kawadler were well attended.

Symposiums, including one on The Backstory - How Stories are Photographed, Edited and Published moderated Scott Mc Kiernan with a great panel of Los Angeles Times Assistant Managing Editor- Photography Colin Crawford and veteran photojournalist Mark Avery and Michael Tweed, were presented to a packed hall, each evening in the Palm Springs Art Museum theater.

In the evening, attendees gathered together to view slide presentations from the workshop-leading photographers, followed by poolside discussions between the attendees and the participating photographers, museum owners, curators and photo editors.

As one participant was overheard saying as he got into his car Thursday, "This event left me truly inspired to work at what I love to do even more". Another hugged her new friend after exchanging cards and traded prints from the trunk of her car.

It seems clear that the Palm Springs Photo Festival is fast becoming one of the premier photographic festivals in the country. Hats off to this year's director Jeff Dunas.

By Stan Sholik

Stan Sholik is a contributing writer for photographic trade and consumer magazines. He is also a commercial photographer with over 30 years of large format studio and location experience. For more go to StanSholik.com