More from the PMA in Las Vegas

"Celebrity photographer" (feast on that two-for-the-price-of-one modifier) Brian Smith presented a slide show of his work, dispensed wisdom, and did a photo shoot, all the while remembering to promote his sponsor at the Sony stage today. Here's another shot I took with the Alpha 900 Sony. It's so portable and the quality looks just as good as my medium format cameras...

Although the product endorsement was as subtle as "The Stephen Colbert Dorito's Spicy Sweet Pennsylvania Primary Coverage Live From Chili-delphia City of Brotherly Crunch," I enjoyed hearing real-life tales of Smith's long career. Smith's self-depricating sense of humor came through in anecdotes about his work with septuagenarian burlesque dancers and nudist golf enthusiasts.

Otherwise, and uneventful day. Here are a few shots:

As I watched lens-envious photographers gaze at exhibition booths through 800+mm lenses, I thought of Marcel's touristscope photos.

Outside of the convention center...

I'm not sure if I felt more trapped by the trade show or the disorienting casinos.

The dizzying pastiche of Vegas that provides so much fodder for French theorists' smug assessment of American excess makes me feel like a ball darting through obstacles on a miniature golf course.

The amount of photography that takes place with cell phones amazes me. What do people do with those photos? Do they print them? Save them? Blog them? I have taken a total of 5 pictures on my cell phone. Ever.

Here is what they are photographing (quickly rendered in monochrome for the sake of my own sanity):

I overheard the announcer bragging that this habitat cost 9 million dollars. For a split second I wasn't sure whether he meant the one for the lions or for the humans.

Tomorrow I will go out and do some street photography. After that, I will be glad to get back to a more familiar kind of frenzy.