Late October may mean Halloween for most folks, but for photographers in the New York Metro area (and beyond) it means the huge three-day PhotoPlus Expo at New York’s Javits Center, the most awaited event of the year.  Photographers flock to PhotoPlus from many miles around (I overheard one couple telling a vendor that they were from the Dominican Republic!) to check out the latest equipment, possibly pick up a good deal at the “show price,” meet other photographers, and attend the talks and keynote addresses. And so yesterday there I was, making a beeline for the Canon exhibit (need I mention that Nikon and Canon have the most humongous exhibits in the entire show?) to check out the recently released Canon Powershot G15. Slightly smaller than its immediate predecessors (I own two G11s, one converted to infrared) and with controls slightly different, no articulated LCD display, but 12 megapixels instead of 10, I decided to spring for it when I found that Unique Photo, that great camera store in New Jersey, was offering a special show price.

Nikon had its usual crowd queuing up for the free goodies, which always includes a calendar with the most stunning photos; this one always finds a place on one of my walls. I also got to handle samples of some upscale models that I’m not likely to be able to afford in this lifetime!  Nikon chose to highlight their Coolpix line, which is produced in an extensive range of sizes and capabilities. Over at Canson Infinity’s display I met fellow Hudson Valley photographer Robert Rodriguez, Jr., who uses their exquisite paper to print his pictures. Robert is one of the finest photographers around, and we had an enjoyable chat about places familiar to both of us.

Renowned photographer Rick Sammon gave an informative and inspiring talk.

Another retailer doing a brisk business was Midwest Photo Exchange from Columbus, Ohio. Their staff was unbelievably helpful and good-natured under incredible pressure, and I picked up a LaCie Rugged Mini because I desperately need a new photo storage place to free up space on my computer (I don’t want it to explode when I install Perfectly Clear, the phenomenal editing software that Rick Sammon was plugging). The rep at LaCie was helpful about their products, and I’m going to use their cloud storage, Wuala, as another backup. One does hear horror stories about cloud storage companies going belly-up, taking all the files with them, but this company has been around for 30 years, and so …

Here are more photos from the event.

Showing my true allegiance …

Some exhibitors provide models and dancers that you can photograph.

Another model. Now, why do you suppose only men were photographing this one?