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VMworld 2009 Portraits

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Over 12,500 people descended on San Francisco’s Moscone Center at the end of August for VMworld 2009.  Out of those masses, twelve took me up on my Portrait Project offer.  This diverse group included VMware vExperts, IT Strategists, and VMware Administrators from around the world.  Below, listed in alphabetic order, is one of the portraits from each of those individuals with a bit of information about them.  Most have an online presence focused on virtualization, so make sure you click through on their photo to visit their site (most provided one).

Thanks to everyone who participated!  What’s amazing, is that if you look at this set of photos you would never guess that they were all take within the same two block area of Moscone Center in San Francisco.  In retrospect, not sure if I would be able to do more than twelve of these during something as hectic VMworld.  We’ll have to see what next year brings…

Jason Boche, Lakeville, Minnesota

Peter van den Bosch, Gouda, the Netherlands
Peter van den Bosch, Gouda, the Netherlands
Dave Convery, Philadelphia Area
Dave Convery, Philadelphia Area
Jim Jones, St. Marys, Kansas
Jim Jones, St. Marys, Kansas
Ken Jorgensen, Ontario, Canada
Ken Jorgensen, Ontario, Canada
Shawn Logan, Alberta, Canada
Shawn Logan, Alberta, Canada
Vlad Nagornyi, Tucsan, Arizona
Vlad Nagornyi, Tucsan, Arizona
Stan Novinsky, Washington DC Area
Stan Novinsky, Laurel, Maryland
Ron Porter
Ron Porter
Bill Morton
Bill Morton, Des Moines, Iowa
Seun Solanke, Houston, Texas
Seun Solanke, Houston, Texas
Andrew Storrs, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Andrew Storrs, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Update: As an added bonus, I even got a portrait of myself thanks to one of the participants!

Your Host: Greg A. Lato, San Francisco Bay Area
Your Host: Greg A. Lato, San Francisco Bay Area, Califronia

Thanks to VMworld 2009 Portrait Project Participants

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With the holiday weekend quickly following last week’s VMworld it seems like the show was longer than just a few days ago.  I wanted to thank all 12 of the participants in my VMworld 2009 Portrait Project for their eagerness to participate.  I also want to thank everyone for their patience with the timing of getting their photos.  With the holiday weekend also being my Anniversary I had to dedicate most of the weekend to the Mrs!

Participants can expect an email within the next day or two with a link to their private galleries of photos.

Those who missed the fun, stay tuned for next year and we’ll see if my schedule will allow for this again.

Announcing the VMworld 2009 Portrait Project

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Recently I have been wondering if there may be more ways to cross the streams between my day job and my photographic passion. This originally started with me photographing the vSphere launch event back in April.  Recently I come upon a way to extend this to VMworld 2009 while also engaging more directly with my readers.

On Friday I was walking from the San Francisco VMware office to the the garage where I parked my car and ended up walking past the Moscone Center.  As I walked by my mind was in a photography mode and I started noticing how many great locations there are at Moscone for taking portrait photos (something I have been working on lately with my photography, including location lighting techniques).  And guess what, there will be thousands of people coming here for VMworld 2009.  Perhaps there might be a few people who either need or would like to have a new portrait photo taken in this great location?  Like some virtualization  bloggers who haven’t put a photo up on their sites yet to better connect with their readers.  Or some of the social media users who would like to update their online avatar.  Maybe just some attendees who are just looking for a different kind of memorabilia from VMworld.

Bam! My VMworld 2009 Portrait Project was born.

The goal of the project: to provide 15 different VMworld attendees (can also include spouses/significant others) each with two on location portrait photos taken around Moscone Center.

There will be no charge for these portrait shoots, only cost will be your time.  Each participant in the project will be granted fully rights usage to their photographs and will be able to download a high resolution copies of their portraits shortly after VMworld from my photography website.   In exchange, I ask that you give me credit if you use it on a blog and that I retain the right to use these images for an portfolio of portraits (I would like to do a blog post after VMworld with all the portrait taken during this project.

Here is how it will work:

  • Working around the show schedule and my VMworld schedule, I have identified a window of availability each day for doing the portrait photo session (see schedule below, I will cross off slots as they are reserved.)
  • Each window will be 30 minutes and the actual portrait session shouldn’t take longer than 20 minutes.
  • We can meet up at the designated spot each day at the start of your session and do the portrait session at one or two different locations of your choosing on the Moscone Center grounds.
  • Reserve you’re spot by posting a comment on this post stating your preferred time slot.  Slots will get assigned in order of comments posted and I will followup with an email confirming you slot.  If you’re a blogger or social media users, please include a link to you site for reference.

Portrait Session Scheduled Start Times

  • Meet at Front Entrance of Thirsty Bear, location of the Sunday Night Extravaganza.
    • Sunday, August 30th, 5:30pm
    • Sunday, August 30th, 6:00 pm
    • Sunday, August 30th, 6:30 pm
    • Sunday, August 30th, 7:00 pm
    • Sunday, August 30th, 7:30 pm

    (Update: Since the SNE is so popular and likely to be overbooked, anyone wanting more slots on Sunday let me know…)

  • Meet at the Moscone Center entrance near the Show Registration booths.
    • Monday, August 31th, 3:00 pm
    • Monday, August 31th, 3:30 pm
    • Monday, August 31th, 4:00 pm
    • Monday, August 31th, 4:30 pm
    • Tuesday, September 1st, 5:30 pm
    • Tuesday, September 1st, 6:00 pm
    • Tuesday, September 1st, 6:30 pm
    • Wednesday, September 2nd, 5:30 pm
    • Wednesday, September 2nd, 6:00 pm
    • Thursday, September 3rd, 2:00pm
    • Thursday, September 3rd, 2:30pm
    • Thursday, September 3rd, 3:00pm
    • Thursday, September 3rd, 3:30pm

Yes, there are more than 15 slots listed above to provide some flexibility.

I’m excited about this stream crossing project and look forward to providing those who participate with a unique VMworld 2009 memento.

Please Note:  After the photo shoot, time is required to process the photos to achieve maximum quality.  Due to my VMworld Schedule and commuting needs during the show, I won’t be able to provide photos until after the show.  Most likely this won’t be until after September 8th as Labor Day weekend is my anniversary (you’ll have to be patient or else my wife might prevent you from ever getting your photos!  JK  🙂  )

The reservation window is open….please help me meet my project goals by spreading the word about this project!  Even if you don’t participate, I’ll see you around the show…I’ll be the one lugging the orange and tan backpack around with my camera out…