Well after three years with the same website and the same old design, I’ve decided it is time to replace my website. Like any home improvement project, it started small and is growing bigger as the minutes pass.

First, I decided to change my sample galleries. It was exactly like the woman who looks in the mirror at the same hair style she’s had for years and suddenly can’t stand it. It was the same way with my sample galleries. Suddenly, I just couldn’t stand to have those photos representing me any more! So out with the old and in with the new.

Next, I started changing my logo. You’ll notice the hat is gone. Too many people thought I did parties or was a magician. I also wanted to make my logo more elegant. A change in font was required. The hat just looked out of place. So it was gone. Finally, I needed to add our newest family addition’s birthday and my wife demanded I remove her birthday from the logo. See if I remember her birthday now!

With these two changes, I realized the rest of the website needed to be changed. After spending the day on the site, I’ve got the basic templates done. Now I need to work on the individual pages. I’ll let you know when all of this is done.

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Getting home from Image was an adventure. I woke up early on Wednesday morning only to have a message from the airline saying my flight was cancelled. They would not be able to get me out of San Antonio until Saturday! Ugh.

Right after I gave up trying to get home, inspiration hit. I found a flight to Dallas for less than another night at the hotel would cost. From there I could get a flight to Chicago. Well I arrived at Dallas Love field with less than 45 minutes to get to DFW airport. When I found the taxi stand, there was a problem and no cabs were leaving.

I reverted to plan ZZ432 (well at least it seems that way), and called my best friend Julie who invited me to stay overnight at her house. Julie’s husband Steve picked me up at the airport and we had a very enjoyable evening catching up. It was the same weather problems which kept Julie from getting to San Antonio the previous Saturday. So I guess it was just meant to be.

The next day, I caught a flight home. After I arrived home, a friend told me that had I been at the San Antonio airport 30 minutes earlier I could have caught a delayed flight home where they were actually looking for anybody going to Chicago. All in all it was a good trip and I got to see Julie.

Well here it is the last day of the show. I’ve made some new friends from across the country and learned a thing or two. The speakers today more than made up for the poor speakers yesterday.

I managed to get a deal for my new sample albums. Wait until you see my new “CoolTure” line. There was some software I bought and then came the most exciting news of the show. I was talking to the publishers of many of the photography “how to” books and was invited to submit a book proposal. How I’ll find the time, I don’t know but I do know that it is now high on my list.

Also, I’m a little worried about getting home tomorrow. We’ve heard that many flights this afternoon and Wednesday morning have been cancelled. So far, my flight is showing on time. However, that can change in an instant. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

The weather around here continues to be rotten, even for Chicago standards. It is cold with a freezing rain. It has been this way ever since I got here on Saturday and shows no signs of relenting in the next day or so.

Today’s schedule of speakers was pretty weak. There were one or two which were interesting but nothing earth shattering. I’ve been walking the trade show floor looking for some new and exciting products to offer my clients. I think I’ve found a thing or two. You’ll just have to wait to see what I’ve found.

It is pretty late and I want to get an early start for the last day of the show. This is the day where I typically make my final purchase decisions and go from there. Also the last night of the show is known for its party to celebrate the next year’s show. Image 2008 will be in Tampa. Maybe we’ll have better weather there.

I arrived in Texas yesterday. The journey itself was a saga of a broken plane which I will not bore you with. Suffice to say, we arrived in Texas, three hours late. When I arrived at the hotel, I had a message from some friends from home who coincidenally were in San Antonio for another conference. We met for drinks and then they went to dinner.

Sunday the conference started. Wow, what a day. I started at 7:30, in a talk on how to excite your brides to get the best images. Sad to say, I disagreed with much of what the photographer was saying. My clients are excited enough and don’t need me to get them more emotional. However, I the point I did take from the talk is a wedding photographer needs to read the mood of the client and use it to create the images.

Next I went to listing to another photographer talk about marketing. He gave me some ideas and also confirmed that my new marketing plan is the right approach. There were no speakers in the third block who interested me, so it was off to the trade show floor to see what was new. I spent 6 hours there. I ran into many old friends. Saw some interesting new products. My plan is to go back in the next day or so when I decide what I will buy or add to my packages and get the stuff I need. The evening was spent networking at a couple of sponsored events (ie parties). Now it is nearly midnight and Monday’s events start at 7:00.