The reason I was in Boulder last night was because Apple was hosting a seminar for digital photography called “The Photography Tour”. Since I have been taking baby steps into the realm of digital photography in the last year, I figured this would be a great opportunity to learn something new, both about the camera and about Aperture, Apple’s software designed to help photographers manage libraries, edit photos, manage workflow, and print. First, however, I had to pop into the Apple store to inquire about a new computer since it’s about time for me to upgrade. The question I had was whether I should buy an iMac or a new laptop + a large display for editing. The answer I got was the one I wanted to hear - a Mac Book Pro would be the best choice for what I want to do, edit photos on the go. Now I just have to hold on to the hope that more of my old cycling clothing sells on eBay so that I can afford such a fine piece of machinery.

Empty handed but still excited about a new purchase soon within reach, I left the Apple store and headed over to campus for the lecture. Starting off the lecture was one of Apple’s technical designers, Ben Capone, who greeted us with a most unexpected welcome - a FREE Aperture 2 installation disc for everyone who braved the snowy conditions to attend the evening’s lecture! A value of almost $200! How cool! Now, getting a new laptop is even more important since the software will work best on a machine that is much faster than the snail’s pace computer I have now (relatively speaking, that is). Anyway, after Ben gave us a brief introduction to Aperture and all the new rockin’ features of Aperture 2, he introduced the guest speaker of the night, Bill Frakes, a Sports Illustrated staff photographer who has spent 25 years pouring out his heart and soul through a camera’s lens. Bill shared with us several incredible slideshows (which is only just a small portion of his work - he has close to a MILLION files!) which highlighted some of his best work, from pain and suffering in Sudan to thrills and spills from the most recent Final Four and NASCAR. He showed us one of his proudest pieces, a story about a 6 man football team in the small town of Arthur, Nebraska. Bill also explained to us how he spent $80,000 to build his own strip camera for the Sydney Olympics so that he could capture an event like no one else could. Rest assured, this man is brilliant with a camera and incredibly inspiring.