So, PMA 2010 finally comes to a close. Thank you everyone for attending or exhibiting – you make the event so worthwhile.

PMA 2010 saw lots of great camera-related announcements, a visit from Guy Kawasaki at the first ever PMA tweet-up, and great ideas for retailers and photographers.

Mark your calendars for January 30-February 1, 2011. We return to Las Vegas for another look at the latest gadgets, gear, and ideas for making money from photos.

Here’s some great video from G4’s “Attack of the Show” from the PMA 2010 trade show floor:

Snapping a few pics while at PMA 2010?

Whether it’s from the trade show floor or around Anaheim, be sure to share them on the PMA photo stream at Flickr.

The Ultimate Event for Everything Photo is almost here – are you ready?

Here’s everything you need to know about PMA 2010:

Event Updates

Cameras@PMA – A complete list of all the cameras launching at PMA 2010.

Deals at PMA – Exhibitor specials, prizes, and more are all featured here.

MyPMA – Customize your schedule, floor map, and more with apps for the web and smart phones, including the free iPhone app.

Text Updates – Get text updates with keyword “PMA10.”

Newsline International – Check daily for the latest news, product updates, and more.

Follow Us on Twitter – Tweeting from the show? Use the #PMA2010 hashtag and follow these PMA tweeps! You’ll even find great last-minute registration offers.

Trade Show

Exhibitor List – See the growing list of exhibitors.

Floor Plan – Find the booths you want to visit and customize your route.

Trade Show Highlights – see side-by-side comparisons at the DIMA Shoot-Outs, hit the PMA Photo App Pavilion, International Pavilions, and more.

Trade Show Hours – Don’t miss a moment! See when the show opens and closes.

Education

Official Business Session Keynotes – Don’t miss a moment with Peter Sheahan, George Whalin, or Guy Kawasaki in these thought-provoking and entertaining sessions.

Session Search – Looking for a specific topic? Find it here.

Session Handouts – Want to print it out before class? Or need another copy? Here you go.

Networking

Social Events – Share ideas and meet new people at these events.

PMA Big Night at the House of Blues – Relax and unwind with friends, music, buffet-style BBQ, and an open bar (beer and soft drinks). Tickets are $49 member/$79 nonmember (discounted price of $39 member/$69 nonmember with the purchase of an All Conference Connection Pass).

Planning Ahead

Shuttles – Forget the cabs. Save big with these shuttle discounts.

Hotels – Save on rooms at the Hilton Anaheim, Sheraton Park Hotel, and the Hyatt Regency Orange County

Show Your Badge and Save – Anaheim welcomes PMA 2010 attendees with savings at local restaurants and more.

Can’t wait to see you there!

Bill McCurry knows a thing or two about attending PMA events. He’s shared some of his tips last year for our blog, and we’re posting them again:

Sleep well before the show – Focus on picking the brains of the people who you will meet at the convention center. Ron Inkley taught me years (decades?) ago to be an early arrival at all the education sessions and meet people. Ask them about their business and what their best success of 2009 was. Then listen and determine what germ of wisdom you hear can you incorporate into your business. Everyone has at least one good idea in them… your job is to find it, adopt it as your own and adapt it to the uniqueness of your own operation.

Drink lots of water – When you are on the trade show floor, try to stand on the carpeted area when you stop to talk with folks – at the end of the day your back will appreciate it. If your back starts to hurt take and hold deep breaths, this somehow changes the pressure on your spine. Bring breath mints as a courtesy to your fellow PMA members. Drink lots of water, can’t overstate the need to keep hydrated.

Make your meals count – If you meet someone you think is interesting ask them if they are free for lunch or dinner and make it clear you’re thinking each party pays their own. This is true for people who are speaking as well. You would be amazed the number of times speakers eat alone. I had heard this (and know it from personal experience) when I was at a meeting where a VP from Microsoft spoke. I went up after to talk to her and said I was going to lunch, would she like to join me and she was happy (no accounting for some people’s tastes) because she knew nobody at this particular convention. So we ate and she told me PowerPoint ‘secrets’. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know… most people will be pre-committed but not all of them so don’t be shy.

Bring lots of business cards – make sure your email address is on them – bring about 5 times more than you think you need – you can always take the extra home. You will give out more than you think if you are intelligently working the crowd and meeting friends. Also, bring a small note book that fits in your pocket so you can write down what you hear.

Traditionally, the larger the booth, the lower the margin for the reseller – don’t ignore the small booths in the back recesses of the convention center. Look at booths that aren’t real slick or shiny – that’s where the next new thing is likely coming from.

Now – before you leave, read the brochure about all the educational sessions so you can pick the ones where you need the most new ideas. There are great opportunities – don’t be bashful about looking at the framers’ or school photographers’ sessions. Good ideas are where you find them.

PMA has added a superb resource for attendees this year – nobody has the time to investigate every single booth – there’s too much. Imagine having a “staff” to go out and dig for the gems of the show and possibly paying you to listen to their ideas. It will be Tuesday, February 23 – “Retail Hot Picks.”

PMA is participating in the Clean The World program during PMA 2010 in Anaheim. All unused hotel soaps and toiletries deposited at the Clean The World donation station will be sent to Haiti.

On the way to your meeting, kindly drop the amenities at the designated Clean The World donation station located at the trade show entrance (near the publication bins).

Repeat each day. It’s that simple!

Clean the World is a non-profit, charitable organization that recycles gently used hotel bathroom amenities into life saving goods. They have delivered over 500,000 bars of soap to Haiti.

Follow their progress here.

Jay Kinghorn, RGB Imaging, guests blogs.

Editor’s note: today’s post is from guest blogger Jay Kinghorn, RGB Imaging. Kinghorn will present a two-hour seminar at PIEA 2010 on specific ways to make workflow run smoother.

For almost 200 years, photographers have produced great images by blending a keen eye, creativity and technology. As much as we’d like to believe that great photography lies in the hands of the artist, we must acknowledge that the success of a photo also relies on that artists’ ability to be a technician, with deep knowledge of their camera and lenses and the workings of their digital darkroom. After all, a great image is only great if it’s output in a format (on a screen or in print) that displays its true beauty.

In judging the 2010 Photo Imaging Education Association’s student photo contest just a month ago, I marveled at the entries, obviously produced with creativity, vision and technical sophistication. When vision is paired with technique and technology the alchemy of these three ingredients produces compelling results.

Today’s cameras and computer programs, and new mediums in which to display our work, provide us with extraordinary opportunities to tell stories visually. Consequently, building an efficient, effective and safe digital workflow is a challenge. However, it is a manageable one if you find accurate, up-to-date information on photography workflow.

ASMP’s dpBestflow project, funded by the US Library of Congress, is a key resource you can use to answer your digital workflow questions. The culmination of three years of research and development, the dpBestflow project is a comprehensive look at what works in a digital photography workflow.

On Feb 22, as part of the PIEA/PMA conference, I’ll be presenting a two-hour seminar on dpBestflow recommendations and provide specific advice on ways you can make your workflow run smoother, help you find your favorite photos within a large image library and ensure your photos are safely stored for future access.

Taking the time to optimize your workflow today allows you to focus more time on your photography, not technology.

One the best things about being at PMA 2010 is hearing from and meeting with authors and experts from a wide array of fields. Here’s a chance to meet the authors, ask a question, and get a signed copy of their book:

Friday, February 19, 6pm
Mitch Joel, Six Pixels of Separation

Sunday, February 21, 2010, 10:15am
Peter Sheahan, Flip!

Sunday, February 21, 2010, 1:30pm
Sophie Uliano, Gorgeously Green

Monday, February 22, 2010, 10:15am
George Whalin, Retail Superstars.  Inside the 25 Best Independent Retail Stores

Tuesday, February 23, 2010, 9:15am
Guy Kawasaki, Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition

iPhones, and other smartphones, are becoming the de facto camera for many consumers.  How can retailers and photographers take advantage of the growing photo app ecosystem?

New this year, the PMA Photo App Pavilion makes its debut on the PMA 2010 trade show floor.

Glyn Evans, editor of the popular iPhoneography blog, will present the top photo apps available today. Special guests and application developers will be on-site to share new techniques and applications as well as answer questions throughout the PMA 2010 trade show.

Evans recently blogged about a tweet-up planned for PMA 2010:

Myself, Sion Fullana, Anton Kawasaki and Marty Yawnick will all be at the event, either presenting or as a visitor, and so I have decided to try and organize a meet-up.

If you are attending the show, or will be in the area during this time and would like to meet up with us, then please add your names here and I will organize something and post when and where the meet will be nearer the time.

Think Twitter is a waste of time? Many heavy Twitter users turn to the site first for breaking news. Some are even finding special deals.

If you follow @pma2010, you’ll find that you can get a free PMA 2010 trade show badge, insights into the upcoming event, and industry-related news.

Why should you join Twitter?

Well Guy Kawasaki is a big user, and he sat down with PMA Magazine to discuss how businesses can use Twitter:

PMA: Many business owners are skeptical about the value of being on Twitter. What’s your response?

Kawasaki: I can’t say I blame them, because the first time you look at Twitter, you think: “What is this crap? Why do I care if Lonely-Boy15’s cat rolled over?”

That is a very logical, understandable re-sponse indeed. If you don’t have that response, something is wrong with you.

The thing to do is to push beyond that. I think the scales come off your eyes when you start using searches. Let’s say I’m the vice president of marketing for Nikon. I would get on Twitter and immediately start doing dedicated searches for “Nikon,” plus “Canon” and all my other competitors. I would also search for the word “photography.” I would constantly monitor what people are saying about my brand, my competitors, and the general subject of photography.

My goal would be for my “@Nikon” Twitter account to be known as a source of information, not just about Nikon, but also about photography in general. The @Nikon account can be used just to push out coupons, promotions, and similar things – that’s a very legitimate use. If you want to go beyond that, you tweet about photography-related things you find on other websites, such as, “Check out this incredible collection of inauguration pic-tures from the Boston Globe,” and you include the link. Or, “Here is a link to some great portrait tips.” So your tweets are not just about the brand, but also about the utilization of cameras.

What will happen is Nikon will tweet that out to their thousands of followers. Their thousands of followers say: “Wow, this is really useful. I will retweet this to my thousands of followers.” Pretty soon, hundreds of thousands of people will see this thing that originated with a Nikon tweet. Many of those people will begin to follow Nikon, and it just gets better and better. That’s the way to use Twitter.

Guy Kawasaki will show PMA 2010 attendees how to use one of the most powerful tools on the internet, Twitter, to increase sales and customer loyalty at his Official Business Session on Feb. 23 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Lynn Goldsmith can honestly say she captured stars – Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Madonna, C3PO, and countless others. Her remarkable talent has taken her worldwide, and she will share her experiences as this year’ Evening with An Artist.

While other would be envious of Goldsmith’s subjects, she found herself not happy with her work. So, she began looking for inspiration elsewhere. In an interview with PMA Magazine, Goldsmith describes the need to find a new creative outlet as a photographer:

“I realized, while my photography pleased others, I was not reflecting on it and it no longer made me happy,” she writes in her introduction.

Goldsmith found a way to recapture that photographic magic by observing others, many times at the mall.

“In the past nine years, I have often gone out at midnight with a high-resolution digital camera, one black curtain, tripod, ladder, Windex, paper towels, and an assistant, and stayed up until dawn, photographing the display windows of New York City,” she wrote. “I chose to work digitally, as this technology has a nearly limitless capacity to blend fiction and fact. I can create a single image that is actually a combination of any number of photographs.”

Catch Lynn Goldsmith, the PIEA 2010 Evening With an Artist, Sunday, February 21, at 7:00 p.m., sponsored by Nikon.