The 2009 award winners.
This evening I had the pleasure of photographing the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce's annual "Outstanding Business of the year 2009 Awards Dinner." It was a major opportunity for me to photograph inside one of the premier locations in the city, the Don CeSar Hotel. There were several challenges in photographing this event. As is usually the case with indoor awards events, the lighting was not being used anywhere near full power. I had the added challenge this time of dinner plates being cleared by the wait staff and dessert being brought out while the first awards were being handed out. I was right in the path of the kitchen doors. Besides having to concentrate on the timing of the awards handshake, I had to make sure not to backup into someone carrying a mountainous tray of dishes or chocolate cake.
I was able to meet and have conversations with all the major players in the Chamber organization, including the president and CEO Mr. John Long, a very friendly person with a great, expressive face full of character with the type of personality that makes a photographer's job very easy.
I look forward to covering more of the Chamber's future events.
Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, John Long
The interior of the Don CeSar.