Camp Blogaway 2010 Attendees
Group Photo by Art Ramirez
This last weekend I had the opportunity to attend Camp Blogaway, the Bootcamp for Food & Recipe Bloggers, presented by Patti Londre of TLC. The conference took place in Southern California’s beautiful San Bernardino Mountains 7,000 feet up! The weather couldn’t have been more perfect.
The day started off mid-morning with a scenic drive to the campsite. Activities already buzzing as early arrivers assisted in filling the conference swag bags with a myriad of goodies from the Camp’s sponsors and last minute preparations were being attended to and organized by our fearless leader, Patti.
(L) Erika of In Erika’s Kitchen & Robyn of Earthbound Chronicles stuffing swag bags.
(R) Robyn helped a blogger out and designed the cutest visor for…Teenie Cakes! Thanks Robyn! =)
The itinerary started with Tastestopping’s Food Photography Slide Show, followed by a Hands-On Wilton Decorating Workshop Competition and then a Wine Tasting Meet and Greet by Mad Housewife Cellars. Ice breakers included a visor swap and quite a spread of nibbles and wines.
There was a very informative panel discussion with PR representatives on How & Why Bloggers Work with PR Folks. Winding down an evening that seemed to just fly by we voted on a movie (Julie & Julia, Sideways or Chocolat), continued PR Panel discussions and I had my very first S’mores! Not just any S’mores…these gourmet treats were shared by TasteStopping’s Casey and her fresh, homemade Vanilla Marshmallows and RegionalBest.com’s artisnal chocolate and handmade maple syrup crackers! E-Yum!
(L) Martel and Patti
(Top Right) Denise Vivaldo of Food Fanatics, Greg of Sippity Sup and Gwen of BunkyCooks
(Bottom Right) Patti and Barbara Ostmann
Saturday morning started bright and early with a Sunrise hike for some, for others an informal continued round-table discussion of the panel discussion held the night before, over coffee and tea. After breakfast the action-packed day continued with:
- Benefits of Running Your Blog Like a Businesspresentation by Patti Londre
- A memorable fun activity posing for a group photo (“Knocker and Chins Up!” and Lindsay Olive props).
- Steps to Shoot Stunning Food Photos, Demystify Camera Settings by Art Ramirez
- An educational Onionista demo by Kim Reddin
- Photoshop Fixes by Art Ramirez
- Recipe Writing Essentials, Copyright & Attribution presentation by Barbara Ostmann, author of The Recipe Writer’s Handbook
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- Food Styling Tips & Tricks for Bloggers presentation by Denise Vivaldo and author of soon-to-be-released The Food Stylist’s Handbook
Sunday wrapped up with a Sunrise Hike, Brunch, Danny Jauregui’s presentation on SEO & How My Single Post Drew Over 20,000 Hits In One Day, Closing Ceremonies and Awards plus a prop swap! I could not attend the fun activities on Sunday…but there are a myriad of posts being written about the Camp Blogaway weekend that will have all the fun details.
With over 60 attendees, bloggers flying and driving in from all parts of the country, it was a very productive, informative and educational experience. Meeting fellow food bloggers and knowledgeable representatives that have been in the food industry was an invaluable experience. It was inspiring and a relief to talk to others that cared and understood the same lingo when you’re referring to food blogging and its communities, social networking and questions and concerns that could be shared during your networking discussions.
A warm thank you and appreciation to Patti and her staff who kept the activities and presentations flowing smoothly and the event very well presented and organized. Also, much appreciation to all the sponsors who treated the attendees with an assortment of books, samples and kitchen tools in our camp/conference swag bags.
Camp Blogaway 2010 Swag Bag Goodies! Absolutely loved the Sur la table book!
Visit the Camp Blogaway site and add yourself to the email list for updates on the next Camp for food and recipe bloggers!
To see more of your fellow bloggers and the event happenings, visit the CampBlogAway 2010 Flickr Group created by Greg of Sippity Sup, or even better yet…check out Sippity Sup’s fun video and all about (“Meeting Sippity Sup”!).
The images in this post and the many more that I took will be added to that Flickr group OR you can view it on the Teenie Cakes’ Flickr set, as well!
From Denise Vivaldo and GoodCook.com
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m always late to the party… didn’t show up to Camp Blogaway until Saturday, and now, I’m not even saying hello ’til three-four weeks after camp. :blush:
I DO, however, wanted to drop a note, say hello, and hope that I see more of you and your blog soon!
Happy weekend,
Kim
ooh would’ve love to go to this…
Hi Shree: It was great meeting people and discussing common interests with regards to food, blogging and ideas. You would’ve enjoyed the camera/photography session with your new camera! =)
Loved your post about Camp Blogaway! I’m fairly new to blogging about my cooking, but not new to cooking. :) In my real life I’m an Internet Marketer so I related to many of the topics that were discussed. Wonder if we could put on such a camp in Minnesota, but on a smaller scale – I think there are enough foodies here to make it work. :)
Hi Paula: That could be a great idea and I bet local food enthusiasts, writers and such would find much value in not only some of the content, but meeting up others with common interests.
Loved your Camp Blogaway recap, I’m so glad we finally got to meet! Don’t think I’ve forgotten… I definitely owe you a few macarons since they never made it to your table! :)
Hi Josie: Ok. I’m holdin’ ya to it! =) Lookin’ forward to it.
It was invaluable to meet professionals that have been in the food industry in one way or another for quite awhile and the blogging personalities. This was the most valuable aspect of the conference…the networking and many informal discussions. I hope that we will keep in touch and that there will be other opportunities to meet more fellow, passionate food bloggers that I feel I know already …that weren’t there.
The content during this conference and the ones I see scheduled for this year is similar and really should be broken out into more intense workshops where your interests lie. You can’t possibly give recipe writing, food styling and photography, pr panel discussions, etc. enough time within an hour. I will be looking for workshops on the topics that I feel I’m more in need of when seeking out more direction/discussion.
Christina – Nice sharing a table with you. You captured the weekend beautifully. It is so nice to meet with people who understand what you do and that you want to talk about food and your blog all of the time! (BTW, I was diagnosed with vertigo upon my return hence the constant dizzy feeling!) Dawn
Christina – It was wonderful meeting you at Camp! Very nice recap and photos of the experience. Keep in touch. Denise
No doubt a chance in a lifetime to go there…your a lucky girl and its well deserved….I can just imagine the adrenalin rush…I got it just looking at the pictures…..this is like hitting the jackpot in the casino for some people! lol love the pictures thanks for recreating the fun it felt like I was there….nice job. :)
You’ve captured it beautifully – it was a terrific weekend.
Looks like you had a great time.
Looks like you guys had a blast. :)
What fun to be with people who share the same passion for food as we do. I’m attending my first workshop in Seattle this weekend. I can’t wait!
Looks like so much food. All food loving people in one place is such bliss :)
Oh wow, this looks like too much fun!
I so wish i could have gone to that! It’s way too difficult being on the other side of the country with small children. Maybe next year when they’re a touch older I’ll try to persuade my husband to let me go. I’d really love to do some type of food blogging conference one of these days. What a great experience!
WOW!!! It must be so liberating to be in the presence of people who so get why you do what you do!! I have a tough time explaining even to my husband who enjoys what I cook well enough but never gets why I spend so much time photographing, thinking and writing up posts, scouring markets for interesting ingredients or crockery and china shops for new plates and props, visiting my bloggie friends! *sigh* You MUST have had a wonderful time Cristina!
what a great time, so many friends who share the love of food,m maybe next year i shall join in the fun
sweetlife
Great post Cristina and it was so nice to meet you this past weekend! It really was a fun and jam packed conference. I am so glad that we were able to attend and get to meet so many great bloggers and presenters.
I will have a post up tomorrow. I am still recovering from the big adventure! :)
Gwen
Hi Cristina, you always attend those fun events, I never did. Too bad I am in Northern Ca, oterhwise I would join you. That seems to be like very useful and fun gatherings. People who share the same hobby and passion, seem to understand each other quite well.
I would not have missed this weekend for anything. You can tell how jam packed it was too because this post captures every minute! GREG
Wow…that looks like a lot of fun! Must be great to put a face to some of the familiar names. I should make it a point to attend one of these camps.
Oh Wow! what a great synopsis of the weekend! I can’t believe my picture (front and back) made it front and center! But they’re not bad pictures. You’re a great photographer! ;-)
Actually your photos are superb, the one of the spoon I covet! I can tell you had as good a time as me, it comes through here and will make everyone want to go next time it is held! Patti should be hiring you for PR.
Thank you so much for the kind words, I look forward to keeping in touch.
Hi Teenie …I wish I was there ! So fun …thanks for this great write out about the bootcamp for foodies..it was like I was there too. Thanks for sharing. It must be fun for all :)
How super fun! Wish I was there!
What fun! I have to say, being still relatively new to the world of food blogging, it is amazing to me that resources and experiences such as this exist! It must have been very cool to meet fellow bloggers, some of the names you mentioned are already familiar :) it’s so nice to know that a community exists that understand how and why we so what we do (sometimes I think my in laws don’t get it. Yikes, hope they don’t run into this post, LOL).
LOL! I know the feeling…it’s a tough thing to explain or have others understand unless they’re foodies and/or blog too. =)