Photocon 2026

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending my first photography conference; Photocon. I have several observations as someone new to the community.

The first and main thing that stood out for me more than anything else was how little photography was happening at a photography conference.

I mean seriously. You would imagine that people would have physical photo albums out discussing prints with one another. You would expect people to have their gear out discussing strengths, weaknesses, etc. You would expect people to talk about their workflows. Instead there was a heavy lean towards the commercial / business aspects of photography.

I'm not even saying there's anything wrong with that exactly. I guess it just left me feeling even more isolated than I already did.

I also find it kind of concerning that I didn't make a single contact. Not one.

I was friendly, put myself out there, had discussions and handed out my cards. But in the past when I went to any kind of conference I just naturally buddied up with someone and we would skip a class, grab some food, hang out. I dunno. Not this time.

I'm not sure that that has anything to do with the photographic community. It may simply be a sign of the times.

Regardless it was something to do on a rainy weekend and there were some good discussions out there.

Hopefully one day I will find some people to actually enjoy photography with.