On the last day of the congres, we had Anne Yrjana for breakfast. This charming lady from Finland is trying to give her local wedding photography industry a new boost. Apparently wedding photography isn’t very big in Finland. The most amazing thing she told is that she advertises with another photographer (or even two) and even shares a studio.

Dutch phtographer Bart Sorgedrager is without any doubt a fine documentary photographer. His pictures and the number of books he published are the proof of that. But he couldn’t convince me as a speaker.

Next up was a stunning audiovisual presentation from the Austrian federations. Very nice but the impressive photographic level is a bit intimidating too, knowing that in a few weeks I’m giving a workshop to sixty professional Austrian photographers.

Time for some more Irish guys then. First up was Vincent O’Byrne. The man showed us some great stuff but I personally think he could have been a bit more selective in the images he showed. Vincent is a master in the darkroom. Some of his pictures might have been incredibly impressive in the days before photoshop but these days the technicality is not that amazing anymore when judging the final result only. But when it comes to composition Vincent is amazing.

Last but not least, Gerry O’Leary entered the stage. I had a few chats with him in the previous days but it still was a surprise how much business sense this nice guy has. Gerry showed us how important name recognition can be and that a photographer should put himself in the spotlight from time to time to get the name out. Awards are a good way to be featured in papers, television, … I also admire his courageous decisions like opening an office in the middle East and work their one week a month.

After Gerry’s talk, my equipment was stolen. That event was followed by a closing ceremony that started with an endless series of handing over local awards and certificates. I don’t mind the Spanish doing that but couldn’t they have done it without all the foreigners present?

No doubt, I forgot to mention a lot about the congres. But I can say that this first congres was a very interesting event even though some things could have been better. I really hope that the organisation will learn out of this event and will find the courage and energy to organise an even better congres next year. Europe really needs this kind of congresses.