Paul Von Rieter at WPPI with NIKON

Sounds unbelievable right?? I never in a million years thought I would write something like that.

I am still a bit in disbelief.

Last Friday I received a completely unexpected e-mail that pretty much blew my mind; “We love your work!” they said. “We want to send you to WPPI”, “We want to give you our newest, most awesome cameras and we want to hear what you think of them”… Needless to say my jaw dropped. I think I might have actually danced a little jig (it is all kind of a blur).

The reason I am being given this awesome opportunity… well I honestly have no clue why they picked me, but I am not going to look a gift horse in the mouth… Nikon has asked that during my visit to WPPI I spend some time using their cameras and lenses, and let them know what I think of them. I absolutely intend to do just that… I mean how could I say no to an offer like that? “Would you like to play with some of the best imaging gear in the world?”… uh, duh? where do I sign up, right?  Many of you already know that I currently utilize products of a different camera manufacturer for most of my shooting. Which makes it even more exciting that Nikon has approached me to do this. I am a huge fan of their products, just ask my buddy Gavin Wade. I am constantly harassing him to let me mess with his D3, luckily he is always a good sport about it (thanks Gavin). So here’s the thing; if any camera manufacturer is going to pry my current camera out of my clutches, it is going to have to be something really special. Lucky for them (and me) I have been thinking about changing my current kit over to one of the “other guys” for a little while. This experience might just be the push I need.

During my trip I will be definitely be putting all of that awesome gear through the ringer. You better believe I will be blogging and tweeting all of my findings and opinions, as well as all of the awesome events and workshops I will be attending and participating in. Oh, and I get to play with the brand spanking new AF-S NIKKOR 24mm f/1.4G ED , so stay tuned for a review of that bad boy. =) I hope that you will follow along and offer up your opinions or anything you would like to see me try with the gear.

So, there you have it. This Sunday morning I am getting on a airplane and flying to Vegas. For my very first WPPI and NIKON has been gracious enough to pick up the tab for the whole thing. Since I have never been to WPPI, I am not exactly sure what to expect. I know that I will be attending some pretty amazing workshops, and doing my best to meet and network with as many people as possible.

So, if you see a guy with a Nikon camera, a scruffy stubbly beard, spiky hair and a big smile on his face… please come over and introduce yourself…

I would love to meet you.

(If you would like to follow what I am up too during my visit, please add me on Twitter HERE, you can also friend me on Facebook HERE. I will be updating my status on both regularly during my visit.)