PhotoshopWorld 2009 Recap

PhotoshopWorld 2009 Recap

For those that don’t know I attended PhotoshopWorld East last week which was here in Boston. Having the conference on the East coast was a bit of a change for most as its still pretty chilly during the early spring months and excluding Saturday that was pretty obvious.

The Day Before

I arrived in Boston on Tuesday (the day before the conference) to ensure I wouldn’t miss out on any of the conference. This day consisted of travel to the convention and hanging out with people at Bukowskis before it was time to get some rest.

The First Day – Keynote

The keynote seems to be the place were new things are announced. This year was no exception, Wacom introduced the Intuos4 line of tablets which feature customizable oLED screens to label the tools, double the points and a larger tilt angle, to name a few things.

Wacom Intuos4

For a detailed overview, check out the review from PhotoshopCafe. Adobe also announced a Photoshop Marketplace, which will be available this summer.

One thing I can’t really comment on is the majority of classes at PhotoshopWorld overall as I was working the PhotoshopCafe booth and spent all day Wednesday in an Adobe developer series of sessions that focused on Flash panels. These sessions didn’t have that many attendees in them, which offered a more one-on-one format allowing everyone to get their questions answered. I gathered some awesome inspiration and will be writing more articles about Flash panels for Scriptplayground very soon.

The first full day wrapped up with the PhotoshopWorld Party where NAPP provided food, entertainment and good people for a night of fun. If you ever get the chance to attend a PhotoshopWorld, I highly recommend making a trip to the after-party, its a different dynamic from the day, but very fun.

Day Two – Classes, Indian food and Gridiron Software

The second day consisted of classes for most, but me working from the hotel since the expo hall didn’t open until 1:00 pm. The second day, once the expo hall is opened tends to be a busier day because the general public is able to come by. I actually prefer this as the public likes to talk more, enjoys learning about your product and isn’t trying to rush around to various classes.

While at the booth I attempted to shoot some live video, but had to quit early because the wireless connection in the convention is not meant to stream video.. although in their defense, it was free.

Once the show was over for the day we (the PhotoshopCafe crew) ventured out into the city of Boston for some really good Indian food, which I actually had never had before.. but enjoyed it enough that I want more now. After dinner there was a private gathering hosted by the fine people of Gridiron Software, the makers of Flow. I always enjoy these events because you are with a group of familiar faces but still get the chance to meet new ones too.

The night ended with a group of geeks ordering pizza at 3 am (because Boston closes early) and eating it while playing with a Microsoft Surface table in the Sheraton lobby. While this has nothing to do with PhotoshopWorld it was quite fun.. or so you probably noticed if you follow me on twitter.

Day Three – Final Day

The final day starts at 9 am just like the first, which I think is pretty evil considering the fact they know we will all be out late. Maybe not 3 am late, but late either way. However the show must go on and this day seemed to be relatively slow overall until about 12:05 when classes must have let out because the expo hall was packed tight.

The day wrapped up about 1:20 when all the vendors begin tearing down their booths and pack everything up, putting another PhotoshopWorld in the past. Living just outside Boston I (along with a friend that stayed the weekend) were able to hop on a train and was back home in about an hour.. something I prefer much more than a 5 hour flight.. like when I attend PhotoshopWorld West.

Wrap up

So, there you have it.. a rundown of PhotoshopWorld day-by-day. Hopefully this gives you an idea of what you’re missing if you don’t attend and may even fire you up to attend an upcoming show, like Vegas this October for instance. If you’re gonna be at the show, be sure to look for me at the PhotoshopCafe booth or just msg me before you leave and i’ll let you know where to find me.

Sorry for the lengthy post, but I hope you found it useful or at least fun to read.