Photokina 2010
I’ve just returned from Photokina 2010, the world’s leading fair for photography and imaging. The event is held every two years in Cologne, Germany. It was a great opportunity to meet existing friends in the industry, make some valuable new contacts and see the latest products on the market.
An impressive display in the corridor between halls at Photokina 2010
I think my personal highlight was seeing the legendary Joe McNally who is a photographer with the National Geographic. When I heard he was doing a presentation at the Manfrotto stand I rescheduled an arranged meeting to ensure I got to see Joe in action. The presentation was entitled ‘Small Flash, Big Flash’. Joe’s mix of amazing photography, sense of humour and interaction with the audience was a joy to witness. What fascinated me in particular was hearing someone speak who has been at the top of the industry for several decades pushing photography to the extreme limits. His ability to control light is incredible which is aided by some very expensive lighting rigs.
Joe McNally has the crowd engrossed at Photokina 2010
After Joe’s presentation I managed to meet the man himself and have a quick photo taken. Apologies for the poor picture quality as the photos were taken on my Blackberry mobile phone.
I think you can tell that I'm a bit more pleased to meet Joe McNally than he is to see me!
I think it’s important to highlight how big Photokina actually is. There are ten halls with hundreds of exhibitors. Some of the bigger exhibitors such as Kodak, Canon and Nikon have stands about the size of the main hall at the Clickimin Leisure Complex. As a result there’s a LOT of walking around.
Cecil Hughson (The Camera Centre) and Nigel McNaught (PMA) next to the Photobook Builder from Photo Me
I’d thoroughly recommend visiting Cologne, even for a weekend break. German Wings fly direct from Edinburgh and prices are very reasonable.
I was very impressed with the tram system in Cologne. Anyone who is against the trams in Edinburgh could do with visiting Cologne to see how well they have made the system work. What I found particularly good is that when you depart the tram in and around the town centre then you are at ground level – there’s no steep stairways to tackle. Cologne’s subway and tram-system, or U-Bahn, is a combination of both systems: a subway line can go on street-level and end up as a tram or vice versa.
All in all it was a thoroughly worthwhile trip.
-Ben