On a recent weekend this summer I had the good fortune to be able to attend the annual NECCC Photography Conference. For those of you that are not familiar with the group NECCC is the New England Camera Club Council. They are a non-profit umbrella group for 84 camera clubs in the New England states (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont), and each summer they hold a 3 day conference for all things photography at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. I had been talked into going by my friends at my own club, PSRI, and really had no idea what to expect.
Now, when they say that it is a busy weekend, they certainly weren’t kidding! Well over 30 presentations by some amazing photographers, like Canon’s Explorer of Light Jennifer Wu, Landscape photographer Joe LeFevre, and Nighttime Photography expert Roman Kurywczak just to name a few! Top it all off with a presentation by photography’s rock star and one of my favorite photographers of all time, Joe McNally himself! There were presentations on landscape, water, macro, nighttime, nature, wide angle, street and portrait photography! Each presentation ran for an hour, and were presented several times over the course of the 3 days to give everyone the chance to see the programs that they were interested in.
In addition to all the presentations, the conference is full of all kinds of stuff! A classic car club brought all their rides over for a car show, there were motorcycles and models set up on the lawn. Indoor portrait sessions with all the lighting you can imagine, and more models then you could count! Want to practice shooting still life, you can do it. Macro your thing? They had that too! Are you an animal lover? Well, the local zoo brought over a bunch of different animals for you to photograph!
While at the conference you could also browse the vendor area, where many companies were showcasing their wares. Local merchants, such as Hunt’s Photo and Video and Printmakers were on hand with plenty of helpful folks, and LOTS of answers to questions. If you were interested in any new gear, Canon, Nikon, Tamron and Sigma all had lots of reps on hand, and you could even borrow lenses and bodies to try out!
I stayed both nights right on campus, and staying in a dorm was really no problem at all, simply cause I really never spent any time there! With presentations starting at 8:30 AM and running til 9:30 at night, I had just enough time to sleep and shower before it was time to head to the next days events!
The bottom line is that if you enjoy photography, and are willing to invest about $350 and 3 days on yourself, you will not find a better deal then the next annual NECCC Photography Conference! I highly recommend it!