Today is the day that all of my friends are on their way to Las Vegas for a jam-packed 3 days of Photoshop goodness. I, sadly, am not going to be in attendance. I try to limit myself to one PSW a year and this year I chose Orlando. If you have never been to Photoshop World, you really should put it on your calendar of “must attend” events. It is by and large the best 3-day training conference I have ever attended. No where else will you find a more dynamic group of industry leading instructors than those that are assembled at PSW. Another great feature is the diversity of subjects that are available to all creative needs. Along with the diversity of the curriculum is the free-form scheduling which allows you to move from track to track as you see fit. It’s this ability to create your own schedule and then change it on the fly that really makes it such a great learning environment.
So not only will I be missing out on all of that but there’s also the trade-show which is growing larger and better with each conference. Scott Kelby told me the other day that this will be their largest trade-show floor yet. And unlike a lot of the trade-shows these days that are geared towards the corporate suits, this show is all about the attendees. There’s also a ton of training that goes on right on the show floor.
Okay, so the instructors are first rate, the classes are excellent, and the trade-show is right up my alley, but missing all those things isn’t really what is giving me the blues. It’s the fact that I am not going to be hanging with all the great people that attend PSW. I have made some great friends over the past years and I will miss not hanging out and catching up. I am going to miss the After-hours party with Scott, his lovely and talented wife, and all of the other great members of the band as they completely ROCK the House of Blues. I am going to miss sharing my hopes for the upcoming football season with my favorite Skins fan, Scott’s lovely and talented personal assistant, Kathy Siler (seriously, if there is a bigger Redskins fan, I have yet to meet them). And finally, I am going to miss one of the most hilarious, side-splitting, donut eating, t-shirt grabbing events of the entire week…Midnight Madness, where the moto is “We promise that you will learn absolutely nothing about Photoshop“.
So my advice to you is; if you haven’t been to Photoshop World, start clearing your calendar, saving your spare change, and making plans for the next event. I guarantee it will not disappoint.
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Hey Jeff – too bad you’re missing this one. I’m headed for Vegas tomorrow (driving from LA) to attend PSW. It’s gonna be my first (hopefully not the last) and I’m excited! Hope to catch you in one of the future Photoshop Worlds!