I promised excitement on Black Friday (November 29th) in Los Angeles, and here it is:
- 6am til mid-morning — Mark Comon and Thom Hogan lead a free bird photo walk at the Ken Malloy Harbor Regional park. Learn how pros approach birding, and find out what settings, lenses, and other gear might be useful. All while photographing the local bird life. Bring your camera and long lens, and be prepared to hike a bit, if necessary. Thom's bringing a Z50 II (lens to be determined).
- Noon — "Lunch and Learn" at the Creative Photo Academy classroom in Torrance (next door to Paul’s Photo). This is a free, open end Q&A/demo time where you'll get direct, in-person access to Thom, who’ll try to answer all your questions and help you deal with any photography, setup, or other issues you have. Bring your own bagged lunch or pick up something at one of the nearby restaurants, such as the neighboring Di Roma Cucina.
- 4pm — "Mastering Nikon JPEGs", a free live and streamed presentation where Thom will give a brief preview of his upcoming book, Mastering Nikon JPEGs. Understand the basics of getting straight-out-of-camera photos that sparkle in the way you want them to. If you don't think that's important, remember that Pre-release capture images are JPEGs!
- 5pm — "Nikon News and Developments", a second free, live and streamed presentation where Mark Comon and Thom Hogan will talk in depth about the new Nikon Z50 II, including presenting images they've been taking with the new camera.
But wait, there’s more:
- Nov 30 (Saturday morning) — Mark Comon and Thom Hogan reprise yesterday’s walk for those who couldn’t make it on Black Friday. Call it Dark Saturday.
- Surprises — With Thom and Mark, there are always surprises, but you'll have to be at one of the in-person events to get them.
To those wanting to participate in person, you should sign up in advance as space is limited. Those of you who won’t be in LA and want to view the Zoom-streamed version of the two afternoon talks will need to sign up in advance, as well (pick the Online session ticket). The Nikon News and Developments (Z50 II) stream will be recorded and and available to those who couldn’t participate in real time but who were signed up in advance.
Thom rarely does in-person events, so if you’re in the Los Angeles area on November 29th (Black Friday), you’ll want to consider participating in one or more of the above events. This is not Thom kicking off a nationwide in-person tour; it’s a once-in-a-blue-moon event, and one of your rare chances to meet Thom in person and pick his brain (please be gentle). Yes, you’ll have to put up with Mark Comon at these events, but don’t worry, he’ll be tired, having just flown back from a Japan tour.
