On Tuesday 22nd September the Canon CPS Roadshow officially started with the first stop being CVP HQ in Studley!
Firstly however I feel the need to mention the enormous amount of time spent setting up for the event, when I arrived on the Monday at 8.30am (slightly late for work I must confess, I should be in for 8am oops!) there was an enormous amount of people running in and out of the building carrying numerous strangely shaped objects.. This continued right until 8pm, at this point we had received every single delivery lorry in the west-midlands, I am sure of this!
So what did the Canon CPS Roadshow have to offer?
Five different speakers were at the Roadshow, and conveniently were each offering their knowledge on different topics, with the aim of helping you improve your photography, lighting and editing skills. Two different area’s had been set up within CVP for these talks, one was a studio area, and another a seminar area. The itinerary for the two days was the same, meaning that no one missed out.
Canon products were not the only thing on offer over the two days, Lowepro were all set up with a designated area selling their bags and accessories. I know yellow is not a colour for everyone but I can’t deny the Lowepro DryZone Duffle 20L bag really stood out on their stand in my opinion. If anything, this was the bag to suit the weather that we experienced over the two days the Roadshow took place!
In another room there was an area dedicated to finance where the company Azule were, had a great deal on offer, 0% when spending over £2,000. Within the same area we had the range of Gekko lighting on display.
The flow of activity continued into another area where the official Canon stand was situated, acting somewhat as the hub of the Roadshow. From this area you could borrow and try out any of the canon lenses, see a selection of Canon cameras on offer, or if you were looking for technical help they were happy to assist with anything!
A favourite area of mine was opposite this stand.. With a selection of different printers on offer Canon were happy to print any photo of yours out for you for free! Whether it was a photo you had previously taken, an edited image or one taken on the day you could have a print out done, something of a souvenir for the day. With the professionals on hand they were able to talk to you about the benefits of Canon printers. I took advantage of this area and had an image I had taken just half an hour before printed out.
You may be wondering how I was able to take a photo earlier that day of a Bateleur named Dave, a species which originated in Africa, within the confines of CVP in Studley.. Well hold onto your chair, not only did Canon bring themselves and sandwiches each day, but they’d also arranged for the company The Falconry Centre based in Hagley, West Midlands, to bring along a variety of birds to be photographed.
This is where you could grab some great images using your own camera and lens, or try out one of the one’s Canon had to offer. The birds were shown in multiple ways, perched on their stand, on arms, in flight or even on the Canon stand that had been set up outside, there was the perfect shot for every type of camera and lens.
I shall mention one aspect that was perhaps not taken into consideration fully; the fact it is October, and as we are in England, sometimes it rains. Fortunately we did not let this dampen our spirits, or rain on our Parade…
Whilst the Roadshow was taking place at CVP we were offering a competition to win a Canon Powershot G16, all you had to do to be in with a chance was complete a short questionnaire. The winner was Ian Joseph, who came into our office on Friday 25th October to receive his prize, presented by the Chairwoman of CVP, Alison Baxter.
