I recently went to New York to represent BLACKRAPID at the B&H Bild Expo. It’s a huge multi-day photography conference and tradeshow for photographers. I of course took a ton of photos, and here’s a couple to set the scene.

Long before I did work for BLACKRAPID, I have loved and used their straps. Anytime you catch me photographing a wedding, family, or having an adventure somewhere, I’ll be wearing a BLACKRAPID camera sling.

The Bild Expo was advertised all over New York and in neighboring states. The turnout was huge! When we arrived, there were ads like this one around the city.

I was happy to run the booth because I personally use the products and can talk as a working photographer and honestly answer people’s questions. Looking around the show and comparing booths, I thought ours looked especially great! We had two stools, and never once had a chance to sit down!

B&H did an awesome job. On the first day, over 25,000 photographers were in attendance! There was a sea of photographers in all directions, on multiple floors.

My wife and I ran the booth, talking and answering questions constantly. We never had a moment to even sit down or eat. Before we knew it, the first day was over. The second day was much the same, crowds of people asking about the brand, and wanting to try on the slings.

Most everyone talked about comfort. If a photographer had already heard of the brand (many were wearing BR straps already), they talked about how comfortable they were and how they were able to shoot longer without pain because of it.

If someone had not heard of the brand, their most common question was about solving their neck pain. Typical straps cause aches and pain points, particularly in the neck. They wanted to know if the BLACKRAPID strap would help.

Of course it would, and I had straps to demo and let them try on. It seemed that everyone who tried one on, could feel the difference. I even had some big, heavy cameras and lenses to hang on the strap, knowing they’d be heavier than most people carry daily.

There was a calmness to the mornings, as we set up and got ready, with the show floor empty. Then the doors would open and we were flooded with people for the day.

At nights, B&H had dinners and events including a catered boat tour of New York and New Jersey, and a rooftop party. Last time I was in NY, I didn’t get to see the Statue of Liberty. This time, B&H took us all out there on a boat tour.

I even ran into photographer Louis Medes, known for his street photography using an old Speed Graphics camera. I think he’s been taking portraits for over 40 years. I paid him to do a quick street portrait of me, and I took this of him with my iPhone.

And until next time, America.